A report from Johannesburg, South Africa,

It was surreal waking up this morning knowing it would be our official last full day in South Africa. We only blinked once and here I am right now, seventeenth day of the trip. My hostel breakfast routine remained the same, a slice of toast spread with butter. It was much needed for a long day we were about to have. We left at 9 AM, headed straight for Sterkfontein Cave.

Sterkfontein Cave is just one of many caves in Cradle of Humankind territory. Cradle of Humankind is famous for its discoveries of ancient human fossils. It is located approximately hour and half away from Johannesburg. The site was declared as a World Heritage Site in 1990, meaning the whole land is preserved and protected. Pyramids in Egypt, Great Wall of the China, and Taj Mahal in India are several examples of World Heritage Sites. That's how important Cradle of Humankind is to the world. We put on hardhats before we can proceed. We went through an exhibition specifically on evolution of humankind, and our ancestors for almost 20 minutes before going toward to the cave. The cave opening we used to enter is natural one, not man made. We explored inside the cave, shining the flashlight on the limestone walls. Some section of walls reflected gorgeous glittery crystals. Can you imagine yourself working in cave hunting/mining for the human fossils for over 50 years? That's what Phillip Tobias did! It took us around 40 minutes to get in and out the cave.

Our next stop was Maropeng, or better known as a visitor center and museum of Cradle of Humankind. Its architect is very fascinating, the dome shaped building with the grass growing on the sides and top of dome. Museum was very mind-blowing, learning every bit about our ancestors. The ones who roamed on the planet hundred thousand years ago before the modern humans, Homo Sapiens, appeared. Homo Sapiens only appeared around 190,000 years ago. The Earth was born 4.6 billion years ago, the shocking wide gap between our existence and the birth of Earth begs us to question what did Earth even looked like back then? The museum is very interactive, including the short boat ride, lot of hands-on activities. Unfortunately, the schedule was tight and we had to leave sooner than we would like to.

The drive to Lesedi, an African village, took us around 30 minutes. Lesedi is a village consisting of 4 different tribes where we can immerse into their culture and understand better. The following 4 tribes are: Xhosa (Nelson Mandela's clan), Zulu, Pedi, and Basotho. We shopped around little bit before the show begun. We started with Zulu first, and we got to see what their homesteads look like. Zulu one was interesting because it was part of their tradition to pick up a stone and spit on it, then toss it to the pile of rocks. It will bring the good spirit and luck to the journey. Next tribe was Basotho, surrounded by the reeded fence. It serves as a purpose to protect the young children. In the Xhosa tribe village, we ate mopane worms once again! This time it tasted weirder since it didn't have any sauce or flavors like restaurant did have. It also tasted very salty. We went through 1 more tribe, Pedi before the dance show begun. The dance show included every tribe's group of dancer and it was mesmerizing to watch them dance in rhythm. The dancer called up Kaci, and then Jack on the floor to join them briefly. They did awesome job! Just in right time, as our stomachs were growling, we ate the buffet style dinner. The foods were African, lot of meats including the crocodile and ostrich meat! Crocodile surprisingly tasted good, almost like chicken. After our stomachs were filled, we returned back to the hostel. Here comes our favorite part, packing our bags up! Ugh. I still cannot believe it is our LAST NIGHT here in South Africa!

- Nevan

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Comments:

Crystal Schwartz: Worms, crocodile, and ostrich meat-oh my! Glad you all got to visit with several tribes and witness their dancing up close/feel the rhythm. Everyone, enjoy the rest of your trip as you journey back to us.

Katherine Murphy: Sounds like an amazing last day! Did Jakiya taste the crocodile?? All in all it sounds like the entire trip has been a great experience, we cannot wait for everyone to be home. Stay safe.

Wanda Kelley: Glad you all got the experience of the Tribes. Can't wait to learn about what really Precious ate. Safe travels back to the USA.