Day 9: Boulders Beach

Our African Adventure is coming to an end. With our final day here in South Africa, we decided to spend some well deserved time relaxing on the beach. So, my friends and I grabbed our bikinis and tanning lotion and went to soak up the sun.



As soon as we got there, I got out my towel and parked my butt on the beach. I was looking around when all of a sudden, a penguin came over to me! Penguins are one of my favourite animals so you can`t imagine how excited I was when this happened. It was so cute!



These little guys were all over the beach!



This was one of the highlights of my trip.
My friends and I spent the rest of our time swimming, tanning and just hanging out with the penguins.
Now for our long plane ride back to Canada. My African Adventure was such a blast. I didn`t expect this country to be this engaging and exciting. One of the best vacations I have taken!

Day 8: Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens

No relaxing just yet but at least today wasn`t too tiring. We went to the Botanical Gardens adn got to check out some really pretty flowers.




There were also some really interesting looking ponds and birds.



Half way through our walk through the gardens, we decided to hitch a ride on a golf cart and tour around for a bit. It was much more fun then walking, espeically since our driver decided to do doughnuts (don`t worry, there was no one else around).
Finally, after 8 days of exhausting adventures, we get to relax on the beach tomorrow. Here`s a twist, there are also going to be penguins... Can`t wait!

Day 7: Arrive In Cape Town South Africa

Wow it`s beautiful here! My friends and I never imagined that anywhere in Africa could be this amazing. Sadly, we didn`t get to relax today, instead we went hiking on Table Mountain.




We took the Platteklip Gorge trail (since we aren`t that experienced). It was breathtaking. The trails were easy to walk up and the weather was good. Since we didn`t feel like walking all the way up the mountainm we decided to hitch a ride on the cableway.


When we reached the top, the view was awesome. You could see far across Cape Town and the Atlantic seaboard.



We decended down on the cableway and then headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we are going to check out some cool gardens.

Day 6: Serengeti National Park

Well, another early morning for my friends and I...We're going to need a vacation from this vacation! Oh well, after out safari yesterday we are even more excited to see what kinds of animals await us today. We decided to check out the Serengeti National Park. We met up with our guide and jumped in our tour jeep.




Our tour guide hit the gas and we were off! It was a rough journey the whole way. The terrain was bumpy and uneven but it made it fun.We saw some more elephants and buffalo but we were on the hunt for something different. After driving around for about 15 minutes, we spotted some giraffes.




Right after, we continued our adventure for exotic animals. We came across some hyenas and a jackle.




We were getting ready to leave the park and my friends and I were getting disapointed because we still hadn`t seen a cheetah. When we came close to the exit one ran across the terain. Luckily, I had my camera out and got a quick shot of it.




Tanzania has really exhausted us. Tomorrow, we are moving on to South Africa! Finally, some relaxation...yeah right.

Day 5: Tarangire National Park

Today, my friends and I got up nice and early and headed out for our safari adventure. Tarangire National Park is located near the base of Mount Kilimangaro so luckily we knew where we were going. We decided to take a walking safari to really connect with what was around us.



When we first walked into the park and met up with our tour guide, we spent about 20 minutes walking around and didn't see anything. But then we came across a huge herd of elephants. Not even 2 minutes later, we saw 2 zebras and some buffalo.





After walking through the park for some time, as we were leaving the park we caught a glimpse of a herd of gazelles and some antelopes.



It was such a cool experience but my friends and I are so tired after our day! Tomorrow, we are going to go on another sarafi but this time we are going to be in a jeep. Looking forward to hopefully seeing a cheetah!

Day 4: Arrive in Kilimanjaro Tanzania

After a tiring plane ride, we finally landed in Tanzania! Now, when you hear the word Tanzania, don’t you immediately think of Mount Kilimanjaro?! Well my friends and I decided to go and check it out.




It takes a week or two to climb it so just decided to go and look from the base. Climbing it would be way too much work! The mountain is huge though! Its quite a site. You look up and it seems as though the peek is all the way in the clouds. Around the mountain at the base is a cute little town. The buildings all look so ancient and like they are made of clay.




Tomorrow, we are going to go on a safari! Better get lots of rest, who knows what kinds of animals we are going to encounter tomorrow!

Day 3: Cairo Tower

For our last night in Egypt, we decided to go to Cairo Tower. At night, the lotus shaped tower eliminates into all different colours.

                                              


When we got to the top, you could look out and see all the Pyramids of Giza (including the Sphinx!) We took in the beauty of the city and the beautiful weather that we had. We had supper at the 360 revolving restaurant. It was a little expensive but totally worth it. Luckily there is an elevator so you don’t have to walk up a million stairs.

                                         


This is the awesome main course that I had!

                                             


When we left the tower, we walked around the city and did some shopping. I got some awesome jewellery at a pretty good price. When your in Egypt you have to get some gold jewellery right? Here are the cute earrings I got!
                                                        


Sadly, we only had 3 days in Egypt but my friends and I are really looking forward to our next few days in Tanzania!

Day 2: The Egyptian Museum

After our 40 min bus ride to Cairo, we checked into our hotel and got ready to go to the Egyptian Museum.

As soon as we walked into this huge building, my friends and I were astonished. It was huge and monuments and artefacts everywhere you look. In total, there are seven sections to the museum and we checked out every one of them. Here is what is in each section:
1^st- Tutankhamun’s treasures
2^nd- Old Kingdom monuments
3^rd- Middle Kingdom monuments
4^th- Modern Kingdom monuments
5^th- Greek and Roman periods
6^th- Coins and papyrus
7^th- Sarcophagi and scrabs

My favourite section was the 1^st. There was King Tutankhamun’s tomb! There were 4 parts to it and you could see each one. Inside the last part was a stone sarcophagus. Inside the last coffin was a 110 kilograms of solid gold and held the body of the famous King Tut.

There was also a lot of his jewellery and clothes. It took us all day to get through this museum because there was just so much to look at! We took a ton of pictures and enjoyed our day but were definitely ready for a good sleep.

                                         

Day 1: Arrive in Giza Egypt

After landing in the mystical country of Egypt, my friends and I found our hotel and had a long and well deserved sleep. The next morning, we woke up, excited to explore this country. Ever since I was in grade 4 and learned about the ancient Egyptians I have always wanted to go to Egypt and check out the Sphinx. Today, I got to live that dream. My friends and I boarded the tour bus at 8 am this morning and set off for the Sphinx. It was about a 25 min bus ride before we got there. Our tour guide took us to go and see the Great Pyramid of Khufu first.

Out of the three pyramids on site, it is the oldest and largest. Standing beside it made you feel like an ant! It stood about 480 feet high. Next, the tour guide led us to the Great Pyramid of Khafre.

This is the second largest pyramid but it looks pretty much the same as the first pyramid. Lastly, we finally got to see the Sphinx and it was worth the wait! Its made of limestone and has the body of a lion and the head of a human. My first impression was how old it looked. It seemed that if someone were to touch it that it would just crumble.

As we boarded the bus to go back to the hotel we glanced one last time at the gigantic sphinx. Tomorrow we are heading out to the Egyptian Museum!