I have been uploading posts on here happily thinking they were posted- eviently not! They didn't have much stuff in anyway so I'll cram it in this post. We've now got (pretty crap) internet at home so I don't keep having to go into school to use the internet, it doesn't seem to have done anything anyway though! The picture attached is from our day surfing last week- we drove about an hour through some villages to reach this amazing surf beach- the reef comes close to the shore and creates the best surf. Driving through the villages was amazing, all the little kids waved and ran alongside the car, it's crazy to think how little these people have yet how happy they all are.

Yesterday was my 18th birthday, and although I wasn't really excited for it it turned out to be a pretty good day. Spent the morning at home and on the beach and went to a club thing for the afternoon; just lazed by the pool and had a lovely meal. Pretty much everywhere is quiet during the week- but there was us 4 and 2 other people eating, and about 11 staff. We're heading out to the bush camps on Saturday- I'm so excited to see all the animals! There's lions, hippos, elephants, kudu, zebra, crocodiles and a load of things like bushbuck, gazelle, etc. Will hopefully get to use my zoom lens for my new camera- no close encounters hopefully. (Although the hippos do like to come to the tent in the night to eat the grass, and there's Ben the elephant who comes to the tents every night and sticks his trunk through the windows to say hello- he's completely wild but doesn't seem to bother anyone as long as you don't confront him)

On the subject of animals, we've got something living in our roof space and it's so annoying! I've heard it moving before, but just as I was getting to sleep last night something was chasing it, or it was chasing something, absolutely terrifying! It was a big-ish animal, with long claws that I could hear scraping the ceiling right above me as it ran around the roof! I've convinced myself that it was infact two cute bushbabies chasing each other around they're all cute and fluffy, and not the more realistic version of a snake chasing rats. Aaaah!

I'm able to drive off the main road here- which I think my parents are enjoying- and as I drove home yesterday a big cat came out of the bushes infront of the car, it was either a margay or a serval and it was absolutely amazing (google them). They're completely wild and it was not even 5 minutes from our house- shows how wild this part of Africa is! Loads of wildlife is majorly threatened in Africa because the local people build on new land, and any animals that once lived there come back to their homes and are killed by the people who see them as a threat- but it's encouraging to see there's still wildlife in this area, and because of the few houses here they should stay!

It's hard to remember where I am sometimes- I'll either be on the beach or in the sea swimming, surfing or kitesurfing, or in the hammock reading or something. It's all good fun and good to have a bit of a holiday, but then driving through parts of town is just shocking. My dad took us to a market the other day just to show us, and it was almost harrowing- the conditions the people are in is horrible, and the next thing we can climb back in the car and drive home to this paradise and escape it all. I want to do things to help people but it's a massive thing to tackle and I'm white so nobody would take me seriously here! Being the minority is weird here- the stares I get from everyone is something new. But it's all good experience!

I've got a few new pictures I'l add to the album on here, so I'll set them to upload and then I'm going to go and take down the 'Birthday Princess' banners my parents embarrassingly put around the place yesterday. There's balloons and everything!

Will hopefully update from the bush camps- there's internet in at least one place so will get a chance to tell some tales!

"Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow."
― Anita Desai