Face to face with my fears

Good morning from a warm but cloudy South Africa!

Most of the full time instructors are on leave this week so it's been very quiet around base but with no course running it meant that me and Scott could finally start training so we can gain our LOC'S (level of competencies) and be able to assist instructors.

This week has been filled with rock climbing and abseil set ups which not only have to be exactly perfect but also have to be set up in under twenty minutes along with a few other rules we have to follow too. With a lot of rope and a lot of knots it's quite a challenge but I've managed to get my rock climbing set up around twenty minutes so I'm quite happy with that.

We've also been in the water each day practicing kayaking. Now, I love kayaking and it's such a cool sport but what I didn't expect to find was when I'm capsized, I habe a fear of being stuck under the water. One of the things we have to learn is kayak rolls, starting with a 180° roll (YouTube it!). For those of you who are not familiar with this, it basically means spending time capsized then pushing yourself back upright with the power from the paddle and your hips against the inside of the kayak while underwater. It sounds more confusing than it actually is. So as I started to practice this, every time I went underwater I panicked making me rush to get the roll done which in turn, doesn't work because I've rushed it and forgotten what I'm meant to be doing ending up with me panicking even more. I've wet exited and been rolled back by the trainees helping us so many times. Charmoné and Sicelo have been absolutely amazing at helping me and Scott with our kayaking. Scott gets a shout out here because he absolutely nailed the whole kayak roll situation the first day we did it! An OB achievement as it's taken people months to learn it! On Thursday Sicelo made me spend some time capsized getting comfortable with being underwater for long periods of time (just picture me in the kayak underwater admiring the view of plants and water for twenty seconds). I'm very glad he did that because afterwards I finally managed to stay calm enough to do a 180° roll! I've never felt so happy to be able to finally to do something!! The smile on not only my face but the other trainees too after I did it successfully twice was absolutely brilliant. I'm very relieved that I can move on with my kayak training and I'm not nervous about being capsized any more which is a major bonus. It just shows what you can achieve if you put in the determination and self belief.

We've also been swimming everyday to not only improve our fitness but also as it's another thing that we'll be assessed on before we can act as water support for instructors and their groups. I've loved swimming here each day as it's not only fun but it can also be quite challenging. We've done distance swimming, we've done sprints, we've done circuits and then for a bit of fun on Thursday we had a race where we had to swim the triangle of the boy, boat and then back to shore all while bringing along a wooden pole for the first lap then swapping it for a large plastic barrel for the last lap. We also went in pairs for a race to the boat where we had to take a barrel between us then get it and us onto the boat. Nothing beats a bit of friendly competition! I've attached a photo of us during swimming training on Wednesday. The water was absolutely freezing, it was chucking it down with rain and the wind made for some rather impressive waves the further out we swam. But as you can see we're smiling anyway - maybe because we know that a warm shower is in sight.

Another fear I've come face to face with this week is snakes. I'm taking it as a good sign that it's taken over two weeks in South Africa to see one. When Dion (the man in charge of OB here in SA) came running into the dining hall telling us to come see a snake my brain went wild, epecially as we all crowded round and he pushed me right to the front of everyone! But the snake wasn't what I was expecting. While I was thinking massive python it actually turn out to be a tiny black/brown snake maybe not longer than 40cm just sitting in the sun. But we were soon informed that it was only a baby boomslang, or commonly know as a tree snake. It's very poisonous, can grow to over a meter and loves nothing more than sitting in a tree and dropping out as you walk underneath. To say my eyes have been glued to the trees for the rest of the week is an understatement.

In other news, we've been off since Friday so we have just been chilling around base as we're down for DP for the weekend. I've found a very good reading spot on the hammock outside the A frame so I've spent quite a lot of time reading and enjoying the view. Sunday has now become laundry day for me so I did that this morning before me and Scott went a walk up to the top of the hill overlooking the base (it's been a productive Sunday so far!). Monday is a bank holiday here in SA as it's Hertiage day and also Braai day - South Africans take braaiing very seriously - so we're off till Tuesday which is nice. Oh, and crocs are now my favourite type of shoe... two weeks at OB changes people, what can I say.