Saturday – Port Elizabeth … observations
We stood up very early on Saturday to go to Port Elizabeth for the weekend. I think it’s been about 4 hours drive to get there. We’ve just walked around in the city and had a great time.
There are very nice and historic houses in the center of the city but it’s a pitty that a lot of them look run down. Seems those houses are not maintained very well.
The harbour looks really impressive. There is also a great view point (Fort Frederick) to oversee the harbour and the city.
My impression is that there are more black people in the city as there are in East London.
The beach and the boardwalk is probably the most exciting and worthwhile place to be in PE. We had a very nice time there.
The boardwalk is an entertainment place to do some fun stuff, to shop (there are beautiful shops) and to eat (we’ve been dining at the China restaurant).
The best thing of the day was that big baloon which you get into and then you can try to „walk on the water“. It looks easy but it is damned difficult to stand up. You’ll quickly fall again. It’s soooo much fun and laughter. You have to try it as well.
We slept in a youth hostel in PE. For some of us this was the first time in life. I had good luck and got a room just for myself… anyone else shared a 6 bed room.
Sunday – Addo Elephant Park and Port Alfred
We’ve been at the Addo Elephant park and Port Alfred. I’ll let the pictures speak for itself.
We’ve also been at the „Born Free“ park where rescued animals have a shelter. There was a lion called „Aslan“ (which we didn’t see). He was rescued from Greece. The story about him is quite sad but he and his „girl-friend“ are now well taken care off. I got a stuffed „Aslan“ for my younger daughter Ann-Sophie.
Another great day is over. On our way back to East London/Gonubie I was thinking about how can I best summarize my experiences after the first two weeks here in South Africa? What did I learn or what will I take away from this amazing time. So here are my „learnings“:
1. Step back, think and then make a plan which is aggressiv. When executing it then try to reduce to what’s really needed.
2. Go the extra mile if needed but alway enjoy and have fun.
3. Friendliness is very contagious. Everyone is so friendly here. As long as it’s not for to hide something friendliness is a wonderful thing.
4. Seeing the poverty it makes me feel that all my problems are super small. How lucky am I? I better appreciate what I have.
5. The teaming here is great. Everyone is trying to accomodate but also to bring in themselves as much as possible. Those are probably the two key factors for a great teaming.
