Packing a trailer is a skill

Good morning from a 31°C (and it's only Spring!!) South Africa.

This week has been quite hectic and seems to have lasted week's. Since we had Monday off, me and Scott went into Sedgefield and stocked up on all the essential food items we might need over the next few weeks. Still working out if 32 rand for a bag of apples was a good buy. After some incredible waffles and downloading videos over the free wifi, we started the the walk back to base in the sun where a cold shower was the top priority when we got back.

Talitha finally got here on Tuesday which was brilliant. It's good to see her again and finally have a roommate! Although our room is being redecorated along with all the other staff accommodation. So currently, with our furniture upside down and all over the place, we no longer have a carpet, the hole in the wall has been sealed up, there's a new coat of paint on the walls and our door has been replaced meaning there isn't a gap at the bottom any more!

The week has been filled with safety checks on all the equipment, more rock and abseil set ups, some very brief first aid and then packing for the courses which are talking place. However, there's no course here at Willow Point. Scott, Talitha and most of the other instructors are already up in the Potchefstroom base (about a 13 hour drive or so away) and tomorrow I'll be leaving with three instructors to head to Grabouw for the course happening there. It's only a 4 hour drive away so we've packed everything from food to tents and life jackets into the canoe trailer and we're all set to go. The course is a school group and we'll be camping all week while they do raft building, abseiling and climbing.

The war against mosquitos has well and truly begun. The past three days has seen mosquito numbers multiply and my 'bug bite free' state is no longer. It seems that Scottish blood is rather tasty as my left leg hosts an impressive 13 bites so far. I've not had the chance to take any interesting pictures and I don't think showing you all my bug bites is the most exciting thing so luckily a tortoise walked (faster than I was expecting) into base. It's also much more friendlier than the snakes and spiders seen around here lately.

Rachel