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General Information

Kenton-on-Sea is located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa and situated between two gorgeous rivers called the Bushmans River and the Kariega River. But next to the absolutely stunning beaches there is more to do in the environment of Kenton. Think of horse riding, snorkling, river sports, game viewing and so on. Browse to the Kenton-on-Sea page to read my reviews about various activities I have done in the environment of Kenton or go to the Kenton Website for information about accommodations and other stuff. But besides of all the fun activities to do here in Kenton there is also a lot of help needed by improving the conditions of the communties in the townships. Luckely there are already some fantastic organisations which are working on this goal. One of those organisations is called Kariega Project.

Kariega Project is a non profit organisation which focuses on creating an ecosystem in which the communities can use their available resources like talent, willpower, passion and people. The Kariega Credit System is a result of this focus. The Kariega Credit System is a virtual marketplace where communities can sponsor projects or social services by doing community service. One hour of community service is equal to 1 Kariega Credit which is equal to 20 South African Rand. Through this system an opportunity is given to the community to help improving their own environment. Read more about Kariega Project on their website but go to my Kariega Project page to read all about my view on the projects, for reviews of volunteers, to see what is happening and more.

Kenton-on-Sea

Kenton Beach Party

Last Saturday Loose Change Events organised a summer beach party in Kenton at main beach to raise money for SPCA and Grahamstown Feeding Association (GFA). The ideology was: “Partying for the people and the pets.” Visitors were stimulated to give donations in the form of cans of pet food or cans of beans, lentils, chickpeas and similar food by receiving a discount on their tickets.

There was also a lot of attention for the natural conservation by doing as much as possible to not harm the dunes. While the visitors were asked to clean up after themselves, wherefore there were 40 trash bins around, there were also 10 cleaners around to make sure that there wasn’t any litter left behind on the beach.

But that wasn’t the only thing Loose Change Events took care of. There were like 6 lifeguards watching the party people who went for a swim and 20 security guards who made sure that everything went as it should. Transport was also organised so there was no need to worry about who needed to be the designated driver.

After some little troubles with setting up the music the party really started about 2PM. There were people dancing in a big tent which was set up on the beach, there were people chilling with their friends on the beach and there were people eating pizza and getting drinks at Jeremiah’s. In the evening you could even watch rugby on a big screen. So literally something for everyone.

In total there is an amount of 500 cans raised for the charities. A great success which is also due to the fine tunes and the great atmosphere. Let’s see if Loose Change Events can hit that number with their next event: the Winter Warmer Festival on the 1st and 2nd of May.


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Addo Elephant Park

First things first, Addo Elephant Park couldn’t have had any better name ever. In the following paragraphs you will find out why.

Last Saturday I suffered from a huge hangover but I arranged a trip to go to Addo that day so who am I to not to go. Even though I slept the whole ride to and from the park (I even sometimes dozed in the park) I enjoyed Addo very much.

This were my first elephants in the wild and I am now totally fascinated by this huge animals. The best experience in Addo was when we arrived at a little pool where there were at least 50 elephants at the same time. I counted until 50 but there were probably more because they were all standing behind each other. Among this big family of elephants there was this little one which was really noisy. He was making all kind of sounds like he was the big leader of the group. Suddenly he just turned around and started running directly towards a car.

Luckily for the people in the car he didn’t ran them over because even though this was a ‘little’ and young elephant, he could’ve easily destroyed the car. Later on it became clear that the little elephant was running towards his mother who just showed up from behind the bushes. This was when I realized that this little guy had been calling for his mother all the time and when he noticed her he got so enthusiastic that he started running to greet her. After they were reunited they hugged with their trunks. It was amazing and heart-warming to see.

I think that elephants are the special animals they are because they really have families like humans. Every mother elephant has two other female elephants who helps her with raising the child. For example, they are always nearby to keep an eye on the child. There is also a leader of the group which you can compare to your grumpy but loving grandfather.

Next to all the elephants I also saw a lot of zebra’s (they never get boring) and Pumba’s with their families. For you who don’t know what I mean by Pumba, you have to start watching The Lion King right now. But for now with Pumba I mean a wild hog. Anyway it was very sweet to see the little wild hogs waddling behind their mom and dad.

Long story short: Addo is the perfect place to enjoy the greatness of the elephant.



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The Goat Shed

Good food, shots, a fun movie night and adorable kittens and puppies

That’s an example of what you can get once you go to go The Goat Shed but I'll start by the beginning.

The entrance of The Goat Shed is like entering a total different world. You walk through some bushes and on your way you see a sign which says: stress free zone. And the beauty about this is that once you enter the Goat Shed itself you truly feel like entering a stress free zone. It’s colourful, full of nature, simple but relaxing, friendly and inviting.

Because we arrived very early for South African terms we were the first ones at the restaurant. But however our table was already ready for us. When we sat down I decided that I would go for my first South African steak with veggies. And I am very pleased to say that the Goat Shed meets all the rumours I heard about the great South Africa steaks.

While we were eating we were asked if we were open for some shots from the house and as the young students we are we couldn’t say anything but yes. We decided to take the shots after our dinner at exactly 7 pm to honour the funeral of a friend of one of my roommates which took place at that time.



After that we just hang at the bar chatting while we were enjoying the sunset, our drinks and the cute little kittens and puppies which are wandering around at the place. This is when we were told about the upcoming movie night. They were going to put up a big screen and we needed to bring blankets so that we could chill in the grass while watching Mamma Mia. Roomie Paige and I immediately loved that idea so we decided to go.

Besides that I absolutely love the movie Mamma Mia I enjoyed the movie night at the Goat Shed very much. After eating a (delicious) burger at the bar we laid down on our blankets with some Savanna Dry and a bag of chips.


Long story short, when you happen to be in the surroundings of Kenton The Goat Shed is certainly worth a visit. If you want to check out other activities to do at The Goat Shed like quiz, music or movie nights or something else fun like a Sunday lunch special follow them on Facebook!  


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My trip to Sibuya Game Reserve

BEST DAY EVER.

There are literally no other words to describe my trip to Sibuya.

My supervisor at the tourism office and my ‘landlady’ Jenny arranged this trip for me. The deal was: I could go to Sibuya if I would write a newspaper article about my trip. Like is there anybody ever who says no that?

I think a big part of the reason that I wanted to go to South Africa was about seeing lions. If I had to choose a favourite animal I would say lions without doubting. I’m a little bit ashamed to say that seeing my first lions was probably better than receiving my first kiss. I think this photo right explains my mood for the rest of the trip after I saw the lions very well.

Besides the wonderful experience of seeing lions I was very impressed by the whole Sibuya trip. For example, I love the fact that you can only enter Sibuya by boat. So logically the trip always starts with a boat trip on the Kariega River. This is why a trip to Sibuya always starts good because who doesn’t like a boat trip on one of the most beautiful rivers in the world while you’re seeing all kind of beautiful birds and nature.

Once we arrived at the reserve (we arrived at Forest Camp) there was this luxury lunch buffet waiting for us and the drinks were included as well. So of course I had some delicious South Africa house wines. After the lunch we left for the game drive. And surprise surprise everything was stunning, the nature, the views and of course the animals. I think the photos explains more than everything I can write so:  





My article will be in Talk of the Town at the end of this month. You can find it under the Kenton Kaleidscope section. 

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Beachcomber Horse Trails

One of the first things Jenny ever asked me was: ‘Do you like horse riding?’ So when I told her I did Jenny immediately started talking about Beachcomber Horse Trails and about the beautiful beach trails. Because I always wanted to go on a beach trail but it just never happened for some reason I decided that I definitely would get in contact with Jono from Beachcomber Horse Trails.

So last Tuesday I sent a text message to Jono about when I could join him for a trail. I received a message back after only two minutes (well done Jono) that I could join a trail the next day. I then decided to go with my roommate Paige. While I actually was expecting a kind of riding school as we have them in The Netherlands I arrived at a meadow. This wasn’t a bad thing though, I was just surprised. It was going to be a slow ride because there was a family joining with little kids. But I actually didn’t mind that because it has been a while since the last time I went horse riding.

After everybody climbed on their horses we were ready to go. A little while after we left we saw impalas in the bushes behind the fences from the reserve of Addo. Awesome. Just before we entered the beach we had a stunning view of the beach and the sea.





I can’t say anything else than that I enjoyed the beach trail very much. The beaches here are just so stunning that you actually can’t do anything but enjoying them. The only thing that was a pity was the fact that my horse wanted to be as last while Paige’s horse wanted to be in the front so we couldn’t really chat. I would love to go again but next time I’m going for that fast gallop ;).


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The real beauty of Kariega Game Reserve

At the 10th of February I had a real privilege to see some of the stunning landscape and animals of Kariega Game Reserve. Two of my roommates are doing their internship at Kariega, they are landscape designer to be. Anyway, that Thursday I went with hem to get a little taste and feel of how Kariega looks like. First I arrived at the restaurant of the main lodge and by then it all started with an absolutely breath taking view:



When the boys had to make some pictures of a house in the valley I was allowed to go with them. Lucky me! This unexpected but secretly wanted ride through the reserve was truly amazing. A really nice volunteer from the U.S. drove us around and showed us some of the amazing animals. She also told us some fun facts about the animals like how to recognize a male or female. So while our guide told us all about the animals we were enjoying the beautiful animals and the environment. We were very lucky that day because there was a lot of game out like giraffes, impalas, zebras, waterbucks, buffalos, bush bucks, wildebeest, baboons, vervet monkeys, nyalas, some beautiful birds and even a rhino.


But I think that the real beauty of Kariega is hidden in something else than the stunning views and fantastic animals. Kariega is namely a little piece of the South African East Cape that we don’t see that often anymore. This is because of the fact that a lot of volunteers and employees are working every day to keep the indigenous plants out of the reserve so that Kariegas nature goes back to how it used to be.


In short, I think Kariega Game Reserve is the perfect combination of seeing all kind of wild animals in their natural habitat while you’re experiencing the real beauty of the East Cape.


  
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School Visit in Ekuphumleni

On the fifth of February I visited a school in the township called Ekuphumleni. Ekuphumleni is one of the townships nearby Kenton on Sea. I attended a class in the afternoon given to the fourth grade. This class had three teachers. One teacher only speaks English while the other two also speak Xhosa. This is the mother language of the children. 

When I woke up in the morning and went to the kitchen for some breakfast there was a friend of my 'landlady' sitting at the dinner table. This friend told me that she volunteers at a school in Ekuphumleni and that she had lots of work to do for that afternoon. She had to make about 40 sandwiches and she had to prepare a creative work for the kids. Because she actually couldn’t finish everything in time I decided to help her out.

So after a morning of cutting and preparing the creative work for the kids I also went along to go the school. The school in Ekuphumleni is a pretty big school with many children in one class. That thursday there were 31 children present while there supposed to be 40. The English teacher told me that sometimes some children don't come back after lunch time because the school is too far away or because they just don't want to go anymore. That is one of the crazy differences between The Netherlands en South Africa. While children in The Netherlands are obligated to go to school everyday the children in South Africa just decide for themselves if they are going or not.


Anyway, I really liked the lessons which were given. Most of the lessons were about teaching the children English. This is very important because the children need to speak English to go to the university or to get jobs. The kids were taught English through songs, games and stories. It was nice to see that the kids were very enthusiastic. They really wanted to give the right answers and when the teachers asked a question almost every kid raised their hand. You could also see how proud they were when they had given the right answer.

But besides all of this I still got a little sad while I attented this class because of various reasons. So is there not much to work with for the teachers. There is a shortage of all kind of teaching equipment like books, stories, games and so on. I was also told that there is a shortage of qualified and concerned teachers. A lot of the teachers just don't care about the children as long as they are getting paid. Luckely this wasn't the deal with the teachers I met. I also noticed that the children aren't on the level as the children in The Netherlands would have been at the same age. There were even two kids who were already 12 years old.


All in all there is a lot to improve for the education system in South Africa. This is why I am glad to see that there are different organisations working togheter with volunteers and teachers to do the best they can to improve the education of all these children in the townships.


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