by Hannah Coombs | Jul 19, 2015 | South Africa 2015
We were all packed and ready to go, but that didn’t mean we wanted to leave. It was our last day and it was going to be spent shopping in a local mall and craft fair before heading to the airport of our over night flight. The craft fair was great with loads of stalls filled with perfect souvenirs and gifts for friends and family. And all for the right price, if you know how to haggle. I think I saw almost all of AFO there and we definitely confused some of the stall vendors a bit walking around with our matching polo shirts on. They might have thought the same people just kept walking by all the time, not know just how many of us there were. We then hunted for lunch, no Zebra today unfortunately, just a Subway for me. We then went for a walk around the mall and my small group found a few members in a sport shop buying some rugby jerseys. Myself, Scott, Ronan and Kirsten then went to the arcade to see what we could find. We ended up spending the rest of our time playing mini golf. But not just any mini golf. It was lit up by neon painted statues and if you were afraid of clowns this was not the game for you, but we all had a great time. Then it was back to the buses for one last time in South Africa.We checked into the airport, in possibly the quickest time we have ever done and had some free time to shop around. Some people even stopped for...
by Hannah Coombs | Jul 19, 2015 | South Africa 2015
After a few showers to get rid of the Elephant smell and some free time we all got dressed and ready for Tour Awards. As one of the senior members of the orchestra it was part of my duty to help organise the tour awards, which I can happily say went off without a hitch. The events coordinator at the Hotel Lee-Ann was amazing and got everything we asked for together in no time and the hall looked beautiful. After blowing up some balloons and laying out our certificates and sashes the place was ready. As people started to arrive they were greeted with cheese and crackers on the balcony and a photo station with our banners maned by the wonderful Douglas Clark and his camera to take group photos of everyone from our tour families to section and friend groups. The meal provided by the venue was amazing, a scrumptious starter with a buffet style main and a chocolate mousse desert. After desert the venue staff took to the floor to show off their moves before inviting us to join in. We all thoroughly enjoyed learning an African style dance. After we had all settled down the awards portion of the evening began. Our hilarious host Douglas Veitch kicked off the evening with an introduction that practically had us rolling on the floor with laughter, as did most of his jokes throughout the night. Some of which were his own rendition of Mr G’s jokes that we have all heard a thousand times before. But somehow this time they were actually funny. Our senior players then took it...
by Hannah Coombs | Jul 15, 2015 | South Africa 2015
For our last full day before we head home we spent the morning with some Elephants. It was a 40-minute drive to the Elephant Sanctuary and as we stepped off the bus we could already hear and smell the elephants. After a short introduction form the guides and handlers – during which we were provided with a drink, crisps and a muffin each – we walked through a small enclosure of monkeys to reach the elephants. We were split into two groups; one had some people that wanted to ride an elephant (for an additional charge) and some extra people to even out the numbers. My group first went to get up close and personal and touch the elephants. The guides and handlers were very organised, friendly and professional in dealing with such a large number of people and they were constantly concerned with the animal’s safety and well being. We went in pairs and the handlers would explain different parts of the elephant as you touched them. It was interesting to hear and feel the different skin types on the elephant. We then posed for a picture while holding the tusks. Some lucky people even got an elephant kiss. After everyone had a turn we walked the short distance to another elephant that was pretty hungry. After a demonstration we all had a few turns of feeding the elephant. To finish off the visit the guides gave a short presentation on the anatomy of elephant, we were all thoroughly impressed with all our new knowledge of elephants. We then walked back through the...
by Hannah Coombs | Jul 15, 2015 | South Africa 2015
Dinner after the theme park was a new experience for all. We were in a carnivore restaurant surrounded by pictures of animals and sitting on seats patterned in zebra print. The serving staff would bring round huge – what I could only describe as swords – with different varieties of meat on them. I tried them all. We had Pork, Beef, Impala, Zebra, Crocodile, Antelope and Veal. My favourite was Zebra with crocodile coming in last. During the meal the kitchen and serving staff gave a small performance of music and dancing, it was very entertaining and made the meal even more enjoyable. It was a great experience unlike anything I have had before and I much as I loved seeing animals out in Kariega Game Reserve, I hope to eat some more Zebra again some day. ...
by Hannah Coombs | Jul 15, 2015 | South Africa 2015
About a year and a half ago I had an email from our Tour Manager Euan Terras, with a link to a theme park in Johannesburg, asking for my stamp of approval, as he knows how much on an enthusiast I am. It looked good and I have been looking forward to it ever since. We had 5 hours in the park before it closed, which was plenty of time as it isn’t the largest theme park. Once inside we set off in our groups to try out the rides. The first one I went on was a version of the Tower of Terror; with no queue it was the perfect ride to kick off the day. We all wore our AFO branded t-shirts while in the theme park, so it was easy to spot each other and in a place like that you were always less than 50 meters from someone from AFO. We then proceeded to go on every ride we could, while stopping for a bite to eat on the way. We saved the best for last, Anaconda. By the end of the day I had been on it 4 times and if I had more time it would have been a lot more. Others and myself brought home mementos from the day in the form of pictures of our windswept faces during the rides; none of these pictures are particularly flattering. My most memorable ride has to be the water rapids; this will stick in my brain for a while. It was a circular boat travelling down a river and it...
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