Jeffrey’s Bay, a small tourist town well known for its huge surfing attractions (aka the ocean), was incredibly fun for the three days we spent there.It was a time for us to relax and enjoy the nice hot weather.We were also given the opportunities to participate in either horseback riding along a gorgeous beach, sandboarding among the sand dunes and surfing lessons.I ended up doing all three options and they were all equally fun and challenging in different ways.I’ve got the bumps and bruises to show for the effort I put into it:)
Even in this short time meant for relaxing we’ve found something to do that honors God.There is a volunteer, Bev, where we were staying who cooked all our meals, organized our activities and drove us to where we needed to be.She worked 7 days a week volunteering.While she was buying groceries for us her wallet was stolen and she desperately needed car repairs done.By the end of our stay we had managed to raise the money she needed and more!It was a fantastic time for all of us and we really enjoyed it!
Mmm…Mdumbi.Yes, Mdumbi was quite tasty.The food, people, atmosphere, and most of all, the beach, made Mdumbi one delectable dish.Let’s take a closer look at this tasty dish.
The food:
The food was fantastic, usually some type of stew or pasta, which was cooked on an open fire.For a chosen few chocolate bars got the best of them, for others they purchased traditional Xhosa bread, which was massive.
The People:
The people at Mdumbi are unique.Most of them volunteers, they are always friendly and willing to talk.The two founders of Mdumbi, Johan and Hyman started Mdumbi as a backpackers hostel, but soon realized that the community around them could benefit greatly from the business they were running.After eight years Johan and Hyman have planted a pre-school, community center for kids, a micro-financing program for people in the community, as well as bringing health and AIDS awareness to the community.Not to mention the majority of workers being the local Xhosa people.It was very refreshing to see someone who had an idea and ran with it.
The Atmosphere:
The atmosphere was something I have never experienced before.Mdumbi by itself is a very rural area.There are very few people living around it, and the people that do are local farmers and herders. This allowed our group to just relax and hangout since there are not many places to go.The majority of Mdumbi’s buildings are grass huts, including the ones where we slept.It was a very unique experience.
The Beach:
It was set along the Indian Ocean, and let’s just say it was basically ours for the week.Rarely would you see anyone else on it.Boogie boarding was a big hit, going on for hours on end.Catching massive waves gave us a thrill which most of had never experienced.
Now that we have analyzed our “dish”, let’s look at how we “ate” it.The week was titled “Knowing Yourself.”We started off by taking a test called the enneagram test, which is similar to the Myers-Briggs test we took first semester.After this we had a series of discussions on passions, spiritual gifts, and our own personal spending habits.
Following this was a day and a half of silence, with no talking, or any veal communication we were encouraged to spend the silence with God.Whether that be through praying, listening, reading your bible, or maybe even Boogie boarding with God.The rest of the week was basically our to relax and just hang out.A couple of people made their way along the coast on a scenic hike to Coffee Bay.
All in all Mdumbi was an amazing place that I will never forget.The relaxed atmosphere is something which is very rare in our world today and was something I loved experiencing!
After a lovely stay at Pietermaritzburg we traveled to the seaside city of Durban.We were all very excited about this, as it would be our starting city for our coastal journey of South Africa.Durban is a very beautiful city.I was put into a home-stay with Mr. Ryan Barkey and Mr. Vijoy Simon.We were taken in by a lady named Reena.She was the coolest lady/mom ever.Her cooking was amazing and sometimes we laughed so hard that we cried.Reena cared for the three of us like her own.I can honestly say that there was not one dull moment that went by while we were in her care.
Durban was very informative for our group.We visited two temples, one being the Hare Krishna temple and the other a mosque.We toured the Ghandi Centre and a place called the Aryan Benevolent Home.The Aryan Benevolent Home was a place for the elderly, the mentally disabled and the physically disabled.Some were happily retired, and some were just at the point of needing a caring person to help them through their day-to-day tasks.Others sadly had been left at the home due to family circumstances.The really cool thing about this is that they all lived together in a community where they treated each other like brothers and sisters.You could see on a lot of their faces that they were proud of what they had accomplished and overcome together as a community.
The last days in Durban were spent going to a water park.This was very fun as we had the option of going to the water park or walking across the road to go play in the Indian Ocean.This was our first visit to the Ocean as a full group.I think we were all amazed how warm the water was.Overall Durban was a place full of good times, interesting and fascinating culture, and memories that I’m sure will last a lifetime.
