And if your friend jumps off a bridge, do you also jump?

3... 2... 1... bungee!

The moment those words were said and I jumped off the Bloukrans Bridge was possibly the scariest moment in my life.

I decided this year to go bungee jumping as it was one of those things people always say has to be on your bucket list. After much planning, I finally went the day after my 21st birthday. That wasn’t the best idea because the night of my birthday I went out and had a considerable amount to drink (as one does when one celebrates a birthday at Rhodes). The morning of the jump, I felt sick. No prizes for guessing why. We set off at 6am and after having no sleep at all I felt like death. I wasn’t at all scared of jumping off Bloukrans, despite the fact that it is the largest bridge in Africa and the highest commercial bridge bungee in the world. My biggest fear was that while soaring through the air I would rather spectacularly throw up (yes, you really needed to imagine that).

We arrived an hour early and were given the option to jump immediately. What the hell, I thought, we may as well. To get to the middle of the bridge to jump, we had to walk the length of half the bridge on a walkway that allowed you to see below. At this point I started feeling dizzy and had to keep telling myself to not look down. But I never listen to anything, not even myself, and so I continuously looked down as I walked and proceeded to scare the shit out of myself.

After what felt like the longest, most torturous walk, we reached the middle of the bridge where we were briefed on the jump. Out of the group of six, I was the second person to jump. Despite the huge smile on my face, I was at this point rather nervous. While being strapped to the harness I asked a million questions, all of which were rather embarrassingly caught on video. “Are you sure this is safe? Can this rope be broken? What happens if the part tied around my ankle slips off?” Of course I knew this wouldn’t be allowed if it wasn’t safe, but I had watched many videos of failed bungee jumps beforehand to get the excitement flowing and now they were coming back to me.

Finally, I was taken to the edge of the bridge to jump and I finally got a glimpse of the view down. Holy mother of beans, it was the scariest sight. I kept saying no, I can't do this, but at that point it was too late to back out.

Before I knew it they had counted down and I jumped. For the first few seconds I completely let go and screamed. With my long black hair trailing behind me and my screams echoing in the distance, I must have resembled a banshee.

I cannot describe the thrill and the complete ecstasy of that jump. I felt incredibly free. It was so good to let go and know that despite the fear and the appearance of danger I was still safe. And the best part of it all? I didn’t throw up.

"Fear is temporary. Regret is forever"

Most moments with Darsha are crazy but this has to be the best of them all.

Knysna

When a long weekend arrives, one cannot simply waste it working. And so with this in my mind I took a trip to Knysna this past weekend with two of my friends from university. I can now tick off 'go on a road trip' from my anti-bucket list.

Knysna is a stunning town in South Africa and it is conveniently close to where I study. The weekend began with a surprise party for Shivani's 21st at Tapas, and ended with a trip to the Garden Route Wolf Sanctuary where actual wolves roamed (this made me very happy!) In between, we squeezed in as much of the pretty sights of Knysna as we could, most of which involved water, whether it was the Knysna Heads, two cliffs facing each other at the entrance to the lagoon (seen in the photo above) or Leisure Isle or Thesen Island or the Red Bridge overlooking the Knysna River.

The beautiful birthday girl

Kelina and Shivani after a few cocktails

Birthday shots!

Shiv and I at the Knysna Heads viewpoint

Overlooking Leisure Isle

Missioning to find the prettiest shells

The Knysna Waterfront

Some of the boats lined up

Adding popcorn to my coffee ice-cream was a genius idea

The Red Bridge, an out of use iron bridge overlooking the Knysna river

They're actually quite normal, I promise

Admiring the sunset at the Red Bridge

One of the wolves at the sanctuary

The Anti-Bucket List

While procrastinating, I like to write lists; shopping lists, to do lists, hot guys at uni lists, DIY idea lists, bucket lists... See, even this sentence turned into a list!

I think that a bucket list is the biggest deal though. It’s like saying ‘I cannot possibly die without doing this first’ and so it can range from the extremely batshit crazy like swimming with sharks to the more heartfelt  like helping starving kids in Africa. Ok that last bit was a joke, who actually says that?

Don’t say Americans.  

My problem with writing a bucket list is that I make it so unrealistic that I never do anything. Run a marathon? Ha! I can’t even walk across the road without being out of breath. I’m also impatient.  If I want to do something, I want to have a plan and I want to do it now. I studied French for six years and would like to be able to go to France and put it to good use, but writing that down and not being able to do that any time soon is discouraging.

So my solution to my bucket list dilemma? Don’t have one! Instead, I’m going to list things I’d like to do/achieve specifically in the next six months or so. It’s purposeful, immediate and more of a reality than an idea. And then after that time has passed, I’ll make a new list for more things I want to do. I also won’t call it a bucket list because if I’m going to kick the bucket it better not be in the next six months.

So here it is, my anti-bucket list of things I’d like to do (so far). I’ve already started planning for some and as for the others, I'll get there.

1. Read Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting 

2. Register myself as an organ donor. Not that I think anyone wants my liver but I’m sure the rest is useable.

3. Go bungee jumping.

4. Wear a bikini to the beach (and in doing so, get over my body issues)

5. Travel out of South Africa

6. Go on a road trip: I’ve done this many times before but one cannot go on too many road trips. If you watch a lot of movies you will know that the solution to everything is to go on a road trip where romance will occur, unforgettable experiences will be had, and eternal bonds of friendship will be formed.

7. Do something good for someone in the Grahamstown community outside Rhodes.

8. Go to a music festival

9. Cook an entire meal for someone special: This someone will obviously be my mother and I’ll make her curry and prove I'm a good Indian daughter. Also, here's what I would look like as a good Indian daughter.

10. Learn how to make decent coffee: A beginner’s barista course is offered by The Factory Cafe in Durban, but comes at a price of R4500. So I’ll start hinting to my mother after I cook that curry.

11. Have my writing published

12. Get fit: note, I did not say lose loads of weight and look like a stick.

13. Learn how to drive

14. Watch the sunrise at the Monument in Grahamstown

15. Camp outdoors

Any other ideas of doable things to do? 

Quick travels in the Eastern Cape

After finishing exams last week > insert HUGE sigh of relief< I was finally able to take a break. In between finally watching The Great Gatsby and Spud 2, I went to some of the touristy places nearby (anything to get away from the place I associate with studying). First stop: Hogsback.

These are the three waterfalls that we saw. The top left one was the smallest, but possibly the most beautiful to me. I liked that it didn't need to be large, loud and fierce to display its beauty. That's kinda how I feel about people too. The waterfall on the right is named the Madonna and Child waterfall for its resemblance to the painting (which needs a lot of imagination as I didn't see it). Hogsback is famed for its mountains, forests, hiking trails and being the inspiration for the setting of Tolkien's The Hobbit.

A labyrinth that drove me a little crazy after all that walking around in circles

The sun shining through the tangled tree branches above us; and the leaves that have fallen below.

The variety of trees alongside the pathway to the forest; and the forest itself.

The pathway through the forest was a bit scary at times, especially when the decks like the one above had boards broken or were slanted steeply to one side. I ignored the comfortable walking shoes rule and wore boots instead, because being sensible is just not something I do. 

Cath and her sister Tam were my fellow Hogsbackers for the day. 

While I enjoyed going away for the day and exploring the hiking trails, I think that Hogsback has so much more to offer, from the many craft stores to the fairy meander and quaint restaurants. This can only be fully experienced by spending more than a day there. Hopefully I can do this soon!

And then we went to the beach...

Three days after Hogsback, I set off on a rather spontaneous beach trip with Dave and Laura. We went to Port Alfred which is roughly 60km away and one of the closest beach towns. Content was the word Laura used to describe how she felt and I couldn't agree more after walking along the beach, lying in the sun and having delicious pizza for lunch.

I love polka dots and yes I know it's just a Coke can but it is so pretty!
Also, behold, Laura's content face, which is also quite pretty.

And in keeping with the prettiness for the day, here is some festive bunting that adorned the entrances to many of the shops in Bathurst, which is where we stopped at after Port Alfred. Bathurst is tiny and so I'm going to say it's more like a village than a town. It has the oldest pub in South Africa, as well as many craft stores, nurseries and vintage stores (which is my idea of heaven). I've decided to make many of the things that I liked instead of buying them, which is probably cheaper and more satisfying to create. First on the list is making my own bunting of course, as it is so so simple. Will post photos when I do!

Happy birthday Cath!

This weekend we journeyed out of Grahamstown and into the seaside town of Port Alfred. Cath turned 21 and it was lovely being able to celebrate the birthday of such a dear friend at the beach. It was the perfect opportunity to procrastinate (I wrote an exam the following day), pop open a bottle of champagne, enjoy the company of friends and take many many photos.

The weather was quite fickle at times but worked to our advantage - blue skies and sunshine at the beach followed by light drizzle coming in when we arrived back to Julia's cosy holiday home for tea and the best ever chocolate cake.

Driving back home we stopped at Bathurst to see the almost 17m tall man-made pineapple, one of the many out of the ordinary tourist attractions in the Eastern Cape. Yes, I felt like SpongeBob.

Simone says that it is tradition in her home to decorate the plate of the person celebrating their birthday with flowers, so she headed off to the garden to pick flowers for Cath. Is that not just the sweetest thing?

Marshmallows over the fire

There’s something I have to say and it’s not something I’m very proud of. Here goes... I’ve never been camping. Ever. Really. I’ve never properly slept in a tent, cooked meals over a fire, done whatever people who go camping do when they need the loo, all that jazz.

Don’t get me wrong, I have tried. My very first attempt was when my little sister and I hung bed sheets over the tables and chairs in our lounge to make a tent. Everything was going well until it was time to switch the lights off and go to sleep. Let’s just say that suddenly the dark became VERY dark and very scary and we eventually retreated back to our room.

Attempt number two was when my primary school hosted a fundraising camp. It was my first time in a proper tent. It wasn't so bad, until it began to rain and the rather flimsy tent collapsed on me. I woke up soaking wet, wearing a tent. Needless to say, I was not impressed and didn't stay the whole camp.

Third time lucky is what I thought when some friends and I decided to spend the Easter weekend of our first year of university at a backpackers in Jeffreys Bay. I won’t lie, this was possibly one of the best holidays of my life and yes, it did involve a tent. But alas, this doesn't count because we spent more time drunk on Black Label, talking shit and sleeping on a deck overlooking the beach. When I did crawl into the tent in an attempt to actually sleep in it, I got fined. That was one shot for trying to sleep in a tent when camping. How silly of me. I mean who actually does that?

Since then, I have not made another attempt at camping. Sure, I've been on many weekends away with friends but those were in comfy dorms or cottages that did not provide the ‘real’ camping experience. One of my goals for this year is to go camping. I want to braai marshmallows over a fire and sing silly songs with people I like. I want to go hiking and get 10 shades darker. I want to spend time in the outdoors admiring the beauty around me. And more than anything, I want to properly sleep inside a (sturdy) tent, preferably with a guy to snuggle up against when it gets cold and dark (if that’s not asking for too much).

Last week I went to Assegaai Trails in the Eastern Cape for the weekend. Not quite the camping experience as I stayed in a dorm, had proper showers and electricity, but I did braai marshmallows over the fire until the marshmallows were burnt and we smelled like smoke. The venue is usually used for weddings so it was all pretty and shit (note to self. stop saying "and shit" so much) so we just chilled and absorbed the prettiness. There was even a quaint chapel on the premises as well as an outdoor church on a deck overlooking a valley. Be-you-tee-ful! Most importantly, I was surrounded by some pretty amazing people - some of them were old friends and some I had just met. It was great!. Here are some photos of that weekend...