Sunday, August 12, 2012
Brian Kelly
I love the Surfshack it it the best surf school ever! What they are doing with the kids is great and I believe that some of them will go pro one day. Dave, Fiona and everyone else have been very helpful with teaching us the surfing lifestyle. I've had a great time in SA and will defiantly keep surfing for as long as I can. Hope to one day return. Thanks again to the surfshack good luck with everything you do.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Sea stars, anemones, and penguins
We were all very excited for the arrival of the day when we could finally make it out to Simon's Town. The kids were overjoyed at the prospect of seeing penguins and the adults were beyond overjoyed to see the kids so happy and excited. The day began at 10:00am. It was gloomy and chilly, but nonetheless, everyone was excited to head out. With bacon and egg rolls in their stomachs and muesli bars, sports drinks, and oranges in their knapsacks, the kids couldn't wait to jump in the car.
After a twenty minute ride of laughter, wide curious eyes, and pointing at just about everything, we arrived at Boulders Beach. Our explorations began with a small beach where we found sea stars and anemones. It was a lot of fun to see the kids get excited when they saw an anemones tentacle move or felt the sea star slowly close it's tentacles on their hand. I was overjoyed to see how gentle and careful the kids were with the animals. Sea stars were observed swiftly but gently, and placed back in the same area where they were found and with much care. It was heartwarming to see that everyone understood that animals must be treated with respect and love. (these are Rudy's words :) ).
We then made our way down the beach and collected any rubbish that was seen laying around. Together, as a team, we threw the rubbish into trash bins with smiles on our faces.
Following the path, we headed towards the main attraction: penguins! It seems that we may have come during breeding season because many adult penguins were missing and substituted by extremely fluffy and cute baby ones. They are very curious creatures and not at all shy of people and were very close to the fence. We were all warned that if we like our fingers, not to touch the penguins because they will bite them right off! Hard to imagine such cute animals viciously biting off fingers, but none of us were going to test the theory. We enjoy our fingers...they come in handy quite often. The kids were able to identify nests very quickly and would look into every hole and look for penguins. Most of the time they found exactly what they were looking for. I myself was overwhelmed by the cuteness of the fluffy baby penguins and fought hard not to pet one. Rationality screamed "No Jenn, No!!!" every time I would get the urge. Luckily, the path soon ended and we found ourselves on a lovely little beach. By this time the gloomy weather had turned into sunshine and it was a beautiful warm day. So what don you do on a warm sunny day? Go for a swim in freezing water of course! The four brave souls, Rudi, Jaylee, Dan, and Bronwyn decided to climb some rocks and take a dip. As tempted as I was, someone had to take the great photos :)
After a twenty minute ride of laughter, wide curious eyes, and pointing at just about everything, we arrived at Boulders Beach. Our explorations began with a small beach where we found sea stars and anemones. It was a lot of fun to see the kids get excited when they saw an anemones tentacle move or felt the sea star slowly close it's tentacles on their hand. I was overjoyed to see how gentle and careful the kids were with the animals. Sea stars were observed swiftly but gently, and placed back in the same area where they were found and with much care. It was heartwarming to see that everyone understood that animals must be treated with respect and love. (these are Rudy's words :) ).
We then made our way down the beach and collected any rubbish that was seen laying around. Together, as a team, we threw the rubbish into trash bins with smiles on our faces.
Following the path, we headed towards the main attraction: penguins! It seems that we may have come during breeding season because many adult penguins were missing and substituted by extremely fluffy and cute baby ones. They are very curious creatures and not at all shy of people and were very close to the fence. We were all warned that if we like our fingers, not to touch the penguins because they will bite them right off! Hard to imagine such cute animals viciously biting off fingers, but none of us were going to test the theory. We enjoy our fingers...they come in handy quite often. The kids were able to identify nests very quickly and would look into every hole and look for penguins. Most of the time they found exactly what they were looking for. I myself was overwhelmed by the cuteness of the fluffy baby penguins and fought hard not to pet one. Rationality screamed "No Jenn, No!!!" every time I would get the urge. Luckily, the path soon ended and we found ourselves on a lovely little beach. By this time the gloomy weather had turned into sunshine and it was a beautiful warm day. So what don you do on a warm sunny day? Go for a swim in freezing water of course! The four brave souls, Rudi, Jaylee, Dan, and Bronwyn decided to climb some rocks and take a dip. As tempted as I was, someone had to take the great photos :)
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Saturday outing to Kalk Bay harbour and Fish Braai.
On Saturday we took the surf outreach children for a walk to Kalk Bay harbour with a few of the volunteers.On the way the children had the opportunity to explore the beaches and rock pools,to talk to the volunteers,explore the area and share the experience with them. When we got to Kalk Bay we went to the harbour for lunch at Kalkies. It was great to share a laugh and a meal of fish and chips,thank-you Kalkies for the generous discount.
After lunch we watched the seals, the seals entertained and delighted the children. I am sure this was an experience that the children would not forget anytime soon. A fisherman allowed the children to come aboard his fishing boat and happily answered their questions. Then it was time to buy some fresh fish for our braai at surfshack. In the afternoon we settled at surfshack for a nice fish braai with the children enthusiastically learnt the best ways to braai fish.Then it was time to play some ball games outside. It was an experience that everyone enjoyed and will remember for some time to come. Bronwyn, Surfshack surf outreach social co-ordinator.
After lunch we watched the seals, the seals entertained and delighted the children. I am sure this was an experience that the children would not forget anytime soon. A fisherman allowed the children to come aboard his fishing boat and happily answered their questions. Then it was time to buy some fresh fish for our braai at surfshack. In the afternoon we settled at surfshack for a nice fish braai with the children enthusiastically learnt the best ways to braai fish.Then it was time to play some ball games outside. It was an experience that everyone enjoyed and will remember for some time to come. Bronwyn, Surfshack surf outreach social co-ordinator.
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