Day 1: March 12th

Our group started off their warm, sunny morning with an early breakfast before heading out to participate in some tourist attractions. Our first stop was the Ann Van Dyke Cheetah Center where we got to see an assortment of animals, not just cheetah. This variety of animals, which included endangered species, consisted of African wild dog, hyena, blue crane, meerkats, African wild cat, wildebeest, caracal, and zebra. The Ann Van Dyke Cheetah Center is known for rehabilitation and breeding of cheetah to release back into the wild along with some of the other endangered species that reside in the center.

We spent most of our morning at the Cheetah Center where we got to be part of different wildlife activities. One of the first activities was watching a cheetah spring after a toy connected to a zip line; they are much faster than you would think! After meeting a handful of the cheetahs and viewing the cheetah on their run we loaded up into a large jeep and set out to view more animals. It is truly amazing watching the Ann Van Dyke Cheetah Center staff work with the animals at each stop, feeding them, and maintaining their respect even when some of the animals push their limits. We were within feet of a handful of different cheetahs with only the jeep side rails between us.

On our second stop at Cradle of Humankind, we got a tour of the museum where we learned about the stages of evolution of humans over time. We walked through the museum and saw some of the different skeletons that they had on display and where they were excavated. After walking through the museum, we went on a boat ride through the 4 essentials to human life: water, air, fire, and earth. When the boat ride was finished, we went through the interactive part of the museum. The interactive part of the museum had so many different activities, including activities matching the evolution of different species of animals and looking at a DNA structure. Some of the group then hiked up to the top of the building to see the surrounding landscape that was around the Cradle of Humankind. We enjoyed lunch and walking through small shops while at our stop before we headed off to our third and final stop.

Our last stop was the Lesedi Cultural Village. When we first arrived, it was raining and we were greeted at the gate by the Lesedi staff. We went to a building that had a bunch of seating and traditional drums. We had to wait the rain out as it was so loud. We could barely hear ourselves talk; at one point it was even hailing! After the rain slowed down, they taught us how to play the drums. They taught us different beats first by showing us how to play the drum and then having us repeat what they taught. After we got the beats down, we learned different rhythms. After learning the drums, we learned about five major tribes here in South Africa. We then toured how their tribes were set up and some of their traditions. Each different tribe had their own small “village” for us to tour. We learned how they spent their time, what their buildings looked like, and what foods they ate. During this time the rain came back on a mission to drench everything in its way! We finished up our tour by even taking shelter in one of the tribes’ houses before returning to the dance hall to witness dancing.

During the Lesedi Cultural Village tour we witnessed many interesting things. One of our favorites was the dancing that occurred in the dance hall. This incorporated singing, drums banging, and many different beads and stomping to the beat. We enjoyed dancing with a hot cup of coffee to warm up after being subjected to the pouring rain. After the dancing was over, we went to the dining hall to enjoy a nice supper the staff had prepared for us. In this buffet were some different foods such as boerewors, which is a type of sausage, and bread pudding. We arrived back to our hotel at 9 p.m. where we were all excited to change into some dry clothes and relax after a very eventful and fun day!

Prairie Retzer and Emilee Schuetz