Just about everybody that arrived with me in January has either left already or is leaving this week. It’s a bit of a strange period for me now, because as I’m saying a lot of goodbyes I’m also prepping to meet a bunch of new people and shake things up a bit. I have to move on Friday to a new house, since my current room was only booked through my official internship dates – which ended last Friday technically. I’ll continue to spend time with Michael and going into Kalahari, but now it’s unofficial and I’m simply coming to get work done.
As far as I know, there’s only one other German guy living in the new rental I found on Gumtree (South African Craigslist). There are six total room though, so I’m assuming I’ll be getting more new roommates as well. The house is actually pretty cool, it used to be a church then was renovated to be a restaurant, and is now finished remodeling to become a rental. It’s not far from my old house, and the rent + utilities is about exactly the same cost.
Sunday I went to Mzoli’s as one of the last celebrations for Abby. The whole 89 Station Rd group and many more all met up at Mzoli’s to relax, chat and dance. On Monday Michael was busy in meetings so I worked out of Yours Truly, a coffee shop on Kloof street, and perused downtown Cape Town again. I went back to the Kirstenbosch gardens again as well, this time to watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with another group of VAC kids.
My documentary is still coming along. I am now very close to sealing interviews with the Center for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies at the University of Stellenbosch and Enel Green Power, which is a company responsible for building multiple utility scale renewable energy plants including the Paleisheuwel PV plant.
On Friday VAC took us to Somerset West to visit Cheetah Outreach and Triggerfish Brewery. Cheetah Outreach is an example of a moral wildlife refuge not aiming to profit off their animals like a petting zoo, so we felt justified to pet some cheetahs. It was actually a highlight of my trip, getting to stroke a full grown cheetah as it purred like a massive house cat. They are beautiful animals, very smart and personable. They have a simple way of communicating when they want to be stroked. If they’re standing, don’t touch them. If they’re laying down they’re fair game. Afterwards we stopped by Triggerfish Brewery, where I found the best dark beer I’ve had in Cape Town. In the evening Thomas and I took a couple friends to the Hout Bay market for the first time, I bought some gifts and enjoyed a nice meal.
Finally, on Saturday a huge group met up on Sandy Bay beach to camp and braai. There were quite a few people there at the height of the event, but most went home that night. A small group stayed the night, most of whom slept terribly. I actually really enjoyed sleeping on the sand, waking up to the ocean is nice too.
March 26th
Highlights
- Breakfast at Honey Bun with Aliza and Ellie
- Heading to Guguletu
- Celebrating at Mzoli’s for one of Abby’s last days
March 27th
Highlights
- Working solo on Kloof street at Yours Truly
- Setting up a meeting with IPP Projects
- Talking to Ursula at GreenCape about getting the rights to US State Department footage
- Spending the afternoon browsing downtown
- Big goodbye dinner with Abby and the gang at Jerry’s Burgers
March 28th
Highlights
- Checking out my new rental
- Breakfast at Cocoa Cha Chi
- Checking out Lagoon Beach
- Heading to Kirstenbosch Gardens in the evening with friends
- Watching Harry Potter 2 under the stars
March 29th
Highlights
- Eating pizza at Ferdinando’s
- Contacting UCT through Monde for my documentary
- Following up with Take-a-Lot, Jinko Solar, IPP Projects for interviews
March 31st
Highlights
- Driving to Somerset West with VAC
- Visiting Cheetah Outreach
- Checking out various big cats
- Petting a full grown cheetah and feeling its purr
- Dinner and dark beers at Triggerfish brewery
- Driving to Hout Bay market for the evening
April 1st
Highlights
- Driving to Sandy Bay beach
- Lugging down our gear to the beach
- Setting up and camping on the beach
- Beach party with a big group of VAC friends late into the night
Oh that all looks so fun. You said you bought presents. Was one for me?? Heehee. Also one of your pictures in the Hout Bay Market had the cutest meerkats. Remember when Jimmy loved them?? I miss you and can’t wait to get there. Keep working hard on your documentary. I am bragging a lot about you, so……..
I love you much!