Hello TTS families and readers,
It is Catherine and Annie, and we are back with another blog for you to read! This week we embarked on the adventure of kayaking the Orange River. It was a four day trip where we covered 70 kilometers, each student in a two person kayak accompanied by another student.
The third day was quite exciting and we would love to share ‘a day in life,’ bringing you along for the ride!
Ellē’s alarm went off around 7am the third day of our trip. She rolled to the right side of her sleeping bag, poked her head out and saw our lovely guides preparing the fire to cook our delicious breakfast on. The sun was not quite over the mountain at this point, so she snuggled her head back into her sleeping back and allowed herself to feel the peace that the morning brought. Once it was time to arise, she got her yoga mat and began her morning yoga practice, along with Aunge. Although they were doing their own flows, it felt like they were having “a silent conversation” (Ellē). As Ellē packed up her yoga, students began to make their way to breakfast. Julia had a cheese toasty, which is a common South African breakfast food. It consists of mixed vegetables and cheese cooked together in a grilled sandwich. There were also bananas, apples and a group favorite, peanut butter. Once the plates were cleared and stomachs were full, our daily 5 min “silent sit” was held. Julia enjoys this time as she can mentally prepare for each day and “be in others’ presence without having to speak” (Julia). The five minutes went by quick and before we knew it, it was time to put on sunscreen, drink water, and get with our boat partners.
Julia and her partner, Taran, set out for the expedition and encountered the first rapid of the day, The Entrance Exam. They made it through successfully, no capsizing here! Moving a little downstream, Olive and Annie were also feeling quite confident after conquering that rapid and were “excited for what was to come” (Olive). Little did they know, the biggest rapid of the trip was ahead of them. This rapid required great technique and agility. Luckily, our semester rocked this course and made it through with no tipping, flipping or falling out. After finishing this rapid, each boat pulled out to the left and were given the opportunity to swim the last 20 meters of the rapid, which was a rambunctious, yet safe, wave train. Laila engaged in this activity and loved it so much she did it twice!
The river flowed fairly flat after this rapid, making students antsy to play games. Luckily, Ale’a and her boat mate, Catherine, led the group in a riff off, inspired by the movie, Pitch Perfect. To play, one must sing a song and the opponent chooses a word from that song that aligns with a word from another song. It sounds confusing, but when students return home, this will be a game in every household! Ale’a says this was a “10/10 experience and a great way to pass time!”
The water wasn’t calm for long before Taran and Julia hit some shallow and unexpected rocks. The kayak, unfortunately, capsized leaving both of them to join the Orange River Swim Team (ORST)! Luckily, our guides came to the rescue and Taran and Julia crawled their way back into their boat. Taran states they had to scoop out 27 gallons of water, but the facts behind this statement are quite unclear. We floated down to our lunch spot, unloaded the boats and began our daily field journaling. Each student was tasked to document five observations they had on the Orange River. When lunch was ready, students put down their field journals, and lined up for the buffet. Betty had a gourmet burger with sautéed onions, a special sauce and cheddar cheese. On the side of her dish was an apple with peanut butter because “what is lunch without peanut butter in it” (Betty).
After our delicious meal, we took some time to reapply sunscreen, and once it was all lathered in, some students and teacher Sophie made a floatilla. A floatilla can be known as a “floating tortilla” according to some students, but in reality it’s a human chain floating down the water. Ellē pulled the students out of the water, and led a quick geology lesson on recrystallized quartzite sandstone, or the “Rosyntjieberg” which in Afrikaans translates to Raisin Mountain. Ellē wrapped up the raisin lesson, boats set off and we continued the journey.
While the river was beautiful, it was also extremely flat, so our rowing was rewarded by a swimming stop at the Witch’s Hat. Charity and other students jumped right into the cool, refreshing water. She swam for about 15 minutes before hopping back in her boat and continuing to paddle. However, some students wanted the swim to last even longer, which led them to swim along side their boat while their partners paddled downstream. “When I have the opportunity to be in the water, I take it” (Marina). Marina swam along her boat for another 45 minutes; we think she could beat Michael Phelps!
Not long after Marina got back into her boat, we arrived at our campsite where we would spend the night. One of our guides, Parley, suggested that we go cliff jumping off of a rock not too far away. Some opted into this, including Sophie (student). When reflecting on the jump, she explained the experience as “the most fun she has had in a long time.” Games were played and laughs were shared. Once everyone dried off and returned to camp, teacher Sophie got to watch all of the students recite their Eras Tour songs. The Eras Tour assignment was an environmental science project that tasked the students to create a parody to a Taylor Swift song about a geologic era, like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. You can find us on Spotify, @thetravelingschoolsings!
After working hard, stomachs were grumbling, and the pap (a traditional African meal that is a porridge made from dried maizemeal with a consistency similar to mashed potatoes) was calling our names. Sorry for that mouthful sentence, no pun intended 😉. Our stomachs were pleased and our voices were ready to sing our songs! Ellē introduced each era and the concert was in full swing. Parley, impressed with each performance, said “They are awesome!” Once singers cleared the stage and were back to being students, Ivan, our other guide, introduced a game that he learned from guides throughout the years. In this game, everyone playing chooses an animal name and they must remember both their name and the other players’ animal names. Ivan, who was also known as the chief, would call out an animal’s name, the animal would respond, the chief would ask wabdsa, which means is it you?, and then the player would respond with another animals name. Because it’s easier done than said, it looks like this:
Chief (Ivan): Leopard
Leopard (Player): Chief
Chief (Ivan): Wabdsa
Leopard (Player): Elephant
The guides were impressed by our ability to keep up with this fast pace game, but in the end there were three winners; Laila, Olive and Ale’a. These three students competed in a moo-off to determine who was first place. Olive, being able to moo for an incredibly long time, was announced as our first place winner.
If you can believe it, we still had our Friday Night Fun after this, which was led by the leaders of the day, Catherine and Ale’a. Each Friday, awards are given out to four students and/or teachers who demonstrated acts of either a Leading Lion, a Curious Cartographer, a Relational Rhino, or a Heroic Hippo. This week, the Leading Lion went to Annie, the Curious Cartographer went to Catherine, Taran was awarded the Relational Rhino, and Charity got the Heroic Hippo. Aunge states that these awards are a way to recognize one’s accomplishments in the fast moving life of TTS. Friday Night Fun was concluded by an epic riff off where each mentor group was a team, competing against each other for first place. The guides later joined, forming their own team. While the rules may have been lost in translation, we still had loads of fun, with a side of competition, of course.
As the stars began to fill in the night sky, everyone snuggled into their sleeping bag, but not into a tent because we were cowboy camping! As students began to drift off to sleep after this action-packed day, we couldn’t help but anticipate what tomorrow was going to bring.
Thanks for joining us on this adventurous day!
Catherine and Annie
