Fun Fun Fun Day

Yesterday was a good day. I got up and did yoga on my porch. WooHoo that is a first that I hope to continue. While I was doing yoga, Mike came around and said we’re going to the beach at 10- this was at about 9:30 so I had to stop and quickly get ready, eat breakfast, pack a lunch and all that jazz. The beach is a good 15 min drive from here because it’s located on the Kosi Bay Reserve which means you need a license/permit to get in. We were piled into Mike’s truck- me, Chris and Colin (two guys from Germany)- and were bounced around as the 4x4 climbed over sand dunes and through Mangrove trees to get to the actual ocean.
This area is so unique because it’s a lot of wetland, with sand everywhere. Mangrove trees are all over the place just chilling in the water and turning it a lovely reddish-brown color. We first stopped at a freshwater lake that had about 50 fish traps set up. It sort of looked like unfinished docks with the poles leading far out into the water but no boards to stand on- if that makes sense. The traps consisted of wooden poles that ran out straight from the shore for about 25 feet before starting to curve into a wide circle that got smaller and smaller as it circled inside itself. The fish would be swimming along when they encountered the poles and would naturally follow them and end up getting caught. The middle was a complete circle about 6 feet in diameter, where the fish ended up. The men would then use their spears and easily catch the fish. The circle had a small hole in it where the fish squeezed through but the sticks were pointed backwards so they weren’t able to get out. It was a smart invention and worked quite well!
We finally got to the ocean and Mike gave us some basic warnings. We were snorkeling in an area that is called ‘The Aquarium’ because the water is so clear and is filled with beautifully colored fish. He said “Don’t touch the fish and make sure the fish don’t touch you or you will die.” There are scorpion fish here that I guess if they touch you- you will actually die. “Watch out for the manta rays and moray eels.” “Stay on this side of the lagoon and only go in front of the trees.” “Watch out for sharp rocks and make sure you only step on sand.” “Watch the tides because water completely fills up this area in high tide and you’ll be stranded if you don’t get out in time.” “If you want to go swimming head to the beach over there, going up through the stairs and down the other side of the mountain, but make sure you go about 50 meters past where you come out because otherwise the tide is too strong and you’ll get taken out to sea.” “Keep an eye on your belongings because people have gotten stuff stolen before.” And finally- “Just watch out for each other.” Alright. Mike took off after that and said he’d be back to fetch us at 3:30. We three just looked at each other with nervous excited grins and were like “uhh okay, lets go!”
We were standing on the edge of this small beach looking out into a big open area with about 10 different lagoons all separated by sandy islands. This was low tide, and I guess when it gets to be high tide all the islands disappear. The entire cove area is filled and the current is pretty strong. My first question to the guys was if they knew when the tide was coming in or how to even figure out signs of the tide coming in because I had no idea. They looked at each other, shrugged and we all sort of just laughed (gotta admit though I was a tad bit nervous ☺).
Well we start through the water to the closest island. We have to travel on about 4 different islands to get to the mountain where the trees are and we can go snorkeling. This water wasn’t so bad- it was quite warm and only came to a little above my knees. No biggie I thought. Our first island was filled with tiny little crabs that moved at about 100 mph, very cool. The next section of water got the bottom of my shorts wet and I had to be very careful about my backpack because I had my camera and cell phone, etc in it. Crossed another island. We’ve got about two more water sections to cross. Colin goes first and I hang back a bit to see how far up the water is on him. Both these guys are a good bit taller than me- I’d say around 6 foot or so and have strong builds so they are easily able to walk in this water. Colin gets about 4 feet from shore and takes one step and sinks down to the middle of his chest. Great. He comes back and we take our clothes off. Haha I realize how odd that sounds but we had our suits on and just wanted to try and keep our clothes dry. (No worries John ☺). We start off again- this time holding our bags overhead. The guys make it pretty easily- it hits mid chest for them at deepest length, but for me another story. I am walking on my tiptoes against current with a decently heavy bag over my head with the water just under my chin. Quite the experience let me tell you. And this was supposedly at low tide. I realized then and there that we had better figure out some way of watching the tide because I’d pretty much be stuck if it got any higher.
So anyways, we crossed another island and another body of water with our bags overhead until we finally reached the sandy part by the mountain. We drop our stuff and head to snorkel. The water was so clear that I was standing chest deep and could still see my toes without using goggles. It was really cool to see all the colorful fish hanging out and chilling in their natural environment. Red ones, blue stripy ones, big angel yellow fish, small iridescent ones- if only I could remember their names.
We snorkeled for a bit until we saw a moray eel and all got a tad bit nervous and decided to call it quits. The weather was still a little funky from the storm we had two nights ago and so the sky was pretty cloudy but looked as though it would eventually clear up. Snorkeling distracted us for a while and by the time we got done doing that we realized it was time to head off for the beach because our little island was getting smaller. Oh man- this was quite the journey getting back to the path that would take us to the beach. Haha…We started off through the water and got so confused until we realized that a couple of the islands we had walked on before were now completely underwater. I’m sure we would have looked quite funny to anyone watching us because we would head in one direction and have to turn around and come back as soon as it got too deep or the current too strong. But to make a long story short- we finally get across after much laughing and trudging through high water and thick sand. Good thing was I think my biceps and triceps got a workout from carrying my bag overhead!
We make it to the beach and lay down our towels to rest when luck will have it- it starts raining. Hard. So grabbing our towels and bags we run for cover in the trees and end up finding this path that leads us to a bunch of cabins in the forest. All the cabins are locked however so we leave our stuff on a front porch and run back down to go swimming in the rain. It was awesome because the wind was whipping the waves around and rain was pelting us but it was a lot of fun. Probably not the safest however. I finally had to get out because I got tired of constantly readjusting my suit to make sure it didn’t get pulled off in a wave!!
The afternoon was spent swimming, laying on our towels, running for shelter as it rained, and doing it all over again. It may not have been the most relaxing beach experience but still a great time. We got back and met up with Chris’s brother, Sebastian (LOVE the name) who didn’t go with us to the beach because he’s got a cast on his leg- and cooked spaghetti. It was delish. I have been quite lucky so far with my supper meals because the night before two South African guys cooked me steak, firebread, and pap with a spicy sauce. That also delish! So far I haven’t used much of my food because people just adopt me and feed me- I’m not complaining!
After dinner we headed out to the local pub/bar for a few drinks and playing of pool and darts. John I thought of you the whole time playing darts and told them all how I used to be really good at it. Ya know in beating you all the time!! Hehe. It was a lot of fun and the thing about being the only girl with 5 guys is they wouldn’t let me buy any drinks. They were quite the gentlemen and again I didn’t complain ☺.
Well- that was my day yesterday. I started with yoga at 8 and finished with a couple ciders and White Russians at about 1:30. It was a great day and a big treat to get to spend it with other people!