April 28 – Bouldering on Table Mountain

I went bouldering on Table Mountain at night again! It was spectacular making it to the top of a rock and seeing the city view at night.

April 27 – Visiting Robben Island

Freedom day so no school! Appropriately, we did a very touristy thing and went to Robben Island where there was a large prison that Nelson Mandela served 18 years at. The tour included a ferry ride, a bus tour of the island, and a tour of part of the prison, including Nelson Mandela’s cell. Visiting Robben Island honestly was not that exciting, but a good historical thing to do. The ferry boat ride was the best part, especially because we saw a bunch of dolphins!

April 25- Rock Climbing in Kleinmond!

We went rock climbing in Kleinmond! It is about an hour and a half drive away from Cape Town, down the N2 a little bit and then on a highway along the coast that has good whale spotting (but whale spotting season is June-November). The drive was gorgeous, especially the final destination, and just a 20-minute hike up to the crags. 

Five of us went on the trip, and it was the perfect number of people to have. There were other people climbing and it was a cool atmosphere. I did five decent routes, including a South African grade 19 which is an American 5-10b, the toughest I have ever done!

The wind started pumping pretty hard later in the day, but that didn’t stop us! The views of the valley, mountains and ocean were incredible. The sunset on the drive home was stunning as well.

April 24 – Skyler’s 21st Birthday!

We celebrated Skyler’s 21st birthday by doing a sunset hike to the block house which is part way up Devils Peak. We also surprised him with some homemade cupcakes and party hats. I think he enjoyed it and was thoroughly surprised. When we came back, Daniel and Evan played some guitar and we sang along. I love evenings like this spending time with my housemates.

April 23 – Night Bouldering

I went night bouldering on Table Mountain again! Two other locals joined us, and it was a great time.

April 22 – Peer Review Session

I had a peer review session of our methods section for our research paper. It was good to have these checks along the way.

April 20 – More Volleyball

I went to volleyball practice because I had not played in awhile and was missing it. Load shedding happened halfway through the practice and the gym went completely pitch black. It was very eerie.