Moving Day

Day #21

So today is moving day! I have loved every minute of my time staying with Bruce, Louise and Grace. They're such an amazing family who are really kind, welcoming and caring so I'm going to miss them. But I have my next South African Chapter ahead and I'm very excited to start it! 

So after saying goodbye to the Tazz (don't worry we will be reunited in 4 weeks time) and saying goodbye to the house it was time to leave as the driver for Save picked me up. 

The driver was also the volunteer coordinator who will be organising us and keeping things running. Had a great chat with him as we drove into town to pick up 3 other volunteers. 

I was talking to him about my time in Dunoon and the football work we did there. SAVE also work in Dunoon and he was really excited about the idea of doing something similar with the volunteers. So after talking to him we are going to try and arrange a football project for a number of the townships out here and bring them all together for a football tournament. 

We picked up the other volunteers. One from Brazil, one from Norway and one from Germany! 

We arrived. Save uses two main sites. Saltycrax, which is a backpackers lodge which is almost a mini headquarters for SAVE and the two work closely together. And the Volunteers houses. There's four houses in total and we're all in number 4. 

At the moment save have 21 volunteers from all around the world. That has been the crazy thing so far how many different nationalities there are here! And there is more arriving tomorrow! 

For my 4 weeks here I'll be sharing a room with two Germans, Christopher and Moritz. Next door are the two girls from Brazil and Norway. 

Next we had a little briefing about what we're going to be up during our time here. 

So let me give you a quick run down to how it's going to work...

Breakfast at 7.30. Leave for morning projects at 8.15. In the morning we change each day as there is a schedule of different projects for us to go along to. There's a few projects based in Dunoon which is great because I have a strong connection now with Dunoon. Tomorrow I think I'm going to help out with some very little kids but not too certain. Then we come back for lunch. In the afternoon we do the surfing. As there's 19 surf volunteers we split into 2 groups, one half go surfing with the kids, the other half teach kids to swim in the pool here. Tomorrow I'm on swimming. Then we have an evening meal. 

We work Monday-Thursday and have Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to do some mad things and travel a bit which is going to be exciting to plan things to do. 

So after briefing went for a walk to the beach with the three other 'newbies'. It was an amazing view, very excited to be working here for the next 4 weeks! 

Evening meal. Around the table there was one Englishman (myself), two from Germany, one from Brazil, one from Norway, one from Canada and three from Germany. All the others had gone out for the evening. 

This is where we have meals together...

Had some amazing conversations with people hearing about they're travels and adventures. Can't wait to have some more of my own. 

God bless.

Great White Shark Cage Diving

Day #20

19 today!! Today is my birthday and I have now reached the 19 year milestone and I had a good day ahead to celebrate it! 

Just like a little kid I was awake extra early with the excitement of my birthday. I woke up at 7am and got to open my birthday cards and present. With my birthday T Shirt on I headed outside for my 8am pick up. 

Today I was going Great White Shark Cage Diving and I was very excited! We first headed into the city centre topick up two fellow divers. An American father and daughter from San Franscisco joined the mini bus, the daughter was same age as me and on a gap year as well and her mum and dad had flew out to pay a visit. 

It was about a two and a half hour drive around the coastline to a small fisherman's town called Gansbaai. This is the number 1 place to go shark cage diving with a huge seal population which attracts these might beasts. 

We arrived around 11 for a 12 o'clock departure time. Before that there was a breakfast waiting and chance to change into swimmies before we set out. 

The boat was waiting and before long we were all aboard and ready to set sail. The boat was rapid and we flew out of the harbour and raced towards our anchor spot. 

After letting the anchor down the crew started to attract the sharks by jumping in the water dressed as seals... Only joking, they used something called chum, a mixture of blood and guts used to get these sharks interested. It took about 15mins until the first shark came and not long after another joined him. At this point the first group of divers were called. 

How it works; 8 divers get wet suited up and then climb into the cage, once all 8 are in the close the top and you then wait with anticipation usually not that long, there is a yellow handle to hold and foot holdings at the bottom, when the guy who is in charge of the bait who was called the "Master Baitor" (which sounded very funny in a South African accent) saw a shark approaching he would shout "DOWN DOWN DOWN!" At which point to get a big breath and go under looking for this Great White to charge right at you!

I was the fourth group in and at this point I was not feeling very good. The strong travel sickness tablets weren't helping much instead they just made me feel very very drowsy but I had it under control, for now. I got wet suited up and then got my weight belt put on (this is a belt of heavy weights to make it easier to go under the water quickly). As he tightened the belt it triggered the sickly feeling and immediately I ran to the side of the boat to produce the goods. Not the best feeling. But after letting it all out and a quick sip of water I got my goggles on and climbed into the cage. 

The water was freezing! But you didn't think about it much as you eagerly anticipated a shark attack! "DOWN!" Under I went to see this huge great white come face to face with me, it's crazy how close you are, I'm glad I was this side of the cage. Cage diving gives you an amazing experience to see these predators of the sea in great detail, every tooth and gill you can clearly see once they get up close. What made it more interesting is that the visibility under water is only about 2m so they come out of nowhere which keeps you on your toes. 

Out I climbed and with my freshly provided towel I took my seat. Seconds later I got a pat on the back, they needed 1 more diver in the cage and I was the only single rider so being on my bill worked to my advantage. Still wet and cold from the last dipped I climbed in again, this time closer to one of the ends which offered a much better experience. This round was sooo much better. Two times a shark bit the cage right in front of me and then one big mummy came out of the water and began to attack the top of the cage it was incredible!!! Really exciting! It's hard to describe. These are just huge beasts, most of them around 4m long. 

I got out and began to get changed back into my warm clothes. Sadly I did produce the goods again over the side of the deck but this time I didn't have any money left in the bank after my earlier deposit. (If anyone is confused; I threw up again). 

I got changed and took a seat. I wasn't feeling great at all, sea sick, extremely drowsy and shaking so much with the cold some guy offered me his jacket. But I manned up and moved into the sun and before long I was just about OK. I was happy to finally reach land I'm not going to lie. 

After buying a DVD of videos of today's adventure we set off again in the mini bus. On the way down we stopped off to see at least 6 whales right close in breaching. It was amazing to see. At the moment it's breeding season and we did see a group of whales all together, who knows what they were up to. 

It was good to be home after the long drive and even better to see lots of food left over from Bruce and Louise's Braai earlier today. A birthday feast

And even a little birthday cake as well...

What a way to celebrate my 19th birthday! Blessed to be here!!

God Bless. 

Robben Island

Day #19

Today was my trip to Robben Island, probably the most famous land mark in South Africa!

First off I went back to the Old Biscuit Mill, again! The food is so good there I thought Id get some lunch there on my way in to the waterfront. 

And the food didn't disappoint! This time

I decided to get myself a freshly cooked steak sandwich then got myself a HUGE Belgium waffle covered in ice cream, banana and chocolate sauce... Wow. It was incredible!! 

Then I headed to the waterfront to meet Chris before we headed to Robben Island. We did have a bit of excitement before hand as we were very close to missing the boat, long story, but we made it! Before long we had set sail...

When we arrived we headed straight for the buses and we had a tour around the island. I didn't realise how big it really is and how people still live there today. It was really interesting and we heard some amazing stories about life on the island and the islands history. 

Also, Penguins live on the island and they just wander round the island as they please, it was quite weird watching a group of penguins casually walk down the road. 

Learnt a lot. Saw a lot. Also had one of the funniest moments yet; me and chris were chatting to the tour guide when we stopped off to take a break and I asked him "If you had to swim now which direction would you swim?" (As from

Robben Island there's two ways you can choose to swim to land), his response still makes me smile; "Arghhhh I'm a Black Man, I don't swim!" Hysterical! 

After the bus tour we were dropped off at the high security prison itself and our new tour guide took over. 

Our Tour guide was an ex-prisoner on the island. He was in prison here for five years so it made the experience much more real as we heard about life on the island through a prisoners experience. Great to hear all the stories about his time in the prison and understand how poor the conditions really were! 

We made our way through the prison before arriving in block B. This area is where Nelson Mandela was kept in his single cell. Got the chance to reflect about the experience so far whilst outside Mandela's cell... (Warning; Cheesy Photo)

Seeing what Mandela lived in for all those years, what he endured, put into perspective the tough history of South Africa. 

The boat trip back to the mainland was freezing with very stormy winds headed straight for us! It was difficult to stand up with the gail force winds trying to knock you flat on your back. But it offered great views (even with the cloud) back over Cape Town. 

Had a great day out with Chris to Robben Island! Chris is a legend and good fun to be with...

Another Great day in Cape Town.

God Bless. 

Dunoon World Cup #5 Finale!

Day #18

Start the day with the usual cereal mix of Cornflakes, Muesli and rice crispies (mixing cereals, another trick I have learnt from the Smith family). It is the most important meal of the day so it requires an ultimate breakfast! 

Today was the last day of our week in Dunoon running football outreach tournaments for the local kids. There was a lot to play for so excitement levels were high! 

Also, today followed the trend of the week as the number of kids increased again, today to over 150 young people! Crazy! What made it more interesting is that most of them spoke little to no English. Not a problem, we'll work something out. 

So once again we split little kids (juniors) from bigger kids (seniors) and then split the juniors into two leagues. So three leagues going on and thankfully today our local leader Richard (thats his english name, he has an Afrikaans name but wouldn't want to attempt to spell it) was back to help us out. 

Competition was fierce but with introduced sportsmanship points the attitude of players was good. 

It was close. In the seniors league there was only 5 points between 1st and last. But after a well fought final which came down to penalties South Africa were victorious. And out of the junior leagues Italy won their final on pens also. 

As it was the last day lots of prizes were given out! We had prizes from Liverpool and lots of sweets! 

Our two winning teams...

Our three captains of the week...

(Captains had a huge responsibility to lead, organise and instruct their teams, helping us out a lot!!)

Our player of the week...

(This little girl was such a good footballer, she was a battler against the bigger tougher boys and had the best respect and attitude, she was incredible and well deserved the prize!) 

Vice Captain of the week...

 Loved my time in Dunoon, the kids have been amazing and I have really enjoyed the challenge! This is a special place and I have a big heart for Dunoon, I hope to come back one day! Lots of potential here, I pray that God will work in this township! 

God Bless. 

Dunoon World Cup #4

Day #17 

It's quite hard today to make an interesting blog post as today was fairly similar to yesterday so apologies if I bore you, more exciting things are to come!! 

Also apologies for the lack of photos, I couldn't find my phone for most of the day so couldn't take any...

After a chilled morning it was time for another afternoon in Dunoon. Today we tried to mix the teams up again and create three leagues. Two junior leagues and a senior league. 

I ran the senior league arranging fixtures, refereeing matches and tallying points. Felt a bit more responsibility today and really enjoy my time reaching out to these young people through the international language of football. 

I increased the size of the pitch and balanced teams so competition was close and quality of games had raised from previous days. I enjoyed my time leading and organising. I got a real feel for the time, commitment and energy which goes into out reaches like these. 

Again, Portugal won!

Tomorrow is the big finale with all the big prizes. It's all to play for!! 

After finishing up in Dunoon it was a race against the clock to pack up and get on the road as CCC had another league match this evening and I was playing. 

Made it just in time. There was a bit of confusion when I got there as the pitch had been double booked with one of the ladies football leagues so we had to go to the adjacent field where the only light came from the floodlights from the next field. So it was a bit dark but didn't ruin the game. 

What did ruin the game is that the team we were playing only had 10 men. Which is surprising as the team we were playing was Hillsong church so from a church of 5000 people funny they could only get 10 players! 

Ended up beating last years champions 8-0. CCC have now won the league!!! Mathematically it would take the other team in the running to win all there remaining games (one of them is still against us) by over 10 goals each to make up the goal difference! 

Another great day and finished off with a delicious Spaghetti Bolognese :) 

God Bless.   

Dunoon World Cup #3

Just a quick update...

Officially passed the 1500 views on the blog which is really exciting and surprising! (1562 right now as I look). I'll do my best to keep you as up to date as possible so keep checking it out and keep the comments coming as it would be really good and encouraging to hear from some of you guys back home. 

Also shout out to Kez Taylor, miss you sis...

Day #16

Before heading to Dunoon I again had the morning to myself. So; wake up, bible study, breakfast (most important meal of the day) then out the door! 

Headed for the Waterfront this morning, they have a massive shopping centre down there with lots of restaurants and shops so went down to pick up a few things which I needed before getting some lunch.

World Cup Number Three!

Let me just run you through what we actually do in Dunoon...

Get there 2ish (well we aim for 2 but normally a bit after) then we begin to set up the pitches. This takes a lot of time for a few reasons;

Firstly, as you can see from the photos the ground isn't the best quality so finding areas suitable for playing is tricky, then you have to remove all the rubbish and things which can be quite dangerous to the kids as a lot of then play bare footed or just one shoe (as they might share a pair of shoes to play in so they wear one each) so we have to clear the sharp rocks, tiles and lots off glass. 

Secondly, we mark the pitches out with rope as the kids then have a clearer idea about when the ball is out. This though is a nightmare as the rope is always tangled up and is a pain to sort out. 

And finally, there is always a crowd of kids who get there early and they tend to get in the way as they follow our every move (and I mean EVERY move) but we love them!

Then we just set up a couple of games for the kids who get there early and then more join the games as they arrive between 3 and 4. At this time it's great to join in and play with the kids and they love the competition. 

At 4 most of the kids had arrived but after an initial count of 80 kids more kept joining and it got a bit mad! But after a lot of organising and sorting teams out we were finally ready to play. 

We had two groups, a junior and senior league of 4 teams each and then we ran a small tournament with a final at the end for each group. 

 

To keep the kids disciplined with have forfeits for those who miss behave normally in the form of push-ups, star jumps or burpies. All in a light hearted way don't worry! 

Today's winners were Portugal! 

As today went on a lot longer we finished at 6.15 so the sun was just beginning to set which made the township look that little bit more special in the setting sunlight. 

On the way home I stopped off at the beach to watch the sun's final moments. 

What a view!! God knows how to paint an amazing sunset! 

God bless. 

Dunoon World Cup #2

Day #15

The hot weather, blue skies and sun has decided now to stay, hopefully for good as the summer gets closer and closer! 

As the kids go back to school today we are now doing our football outreach tournaments after school hours so 3-5. Therefore I had the morning off to go on another run up to Rhodes memorial, again the long climb up almost killed me especially in the heat but felt good to get to the top!

So after the run I headed to Dunoon with Chris. First stop was to check out the local high school and see if there is an interest for football development in the school. Again, there was a lot of interest, they're always looking for guys like us to deliver life skills through sport development projects. However the problem is facilities, especially in Dunoon there is a lack of field space for people to train on and there's a lot of politics involved with which land belongs to who so it looks promising for the future, there is certainly a lot of potential however just lack of facilities and resources. 

Before long the kids arrived in their masses! Seemed like more than yesterday so possibly closer to 100 than the 80 of yesterday. So after rearranging some of the teams we were off!

Equipped with a whistle today made refereeing the matches a lot easier and today's competition ran a lot more smoothly with the standard of football increased, enthusiasm raised and discipline respected. Team spirit was clear to be seen by all the teams!

There was lots of close games and total white washes. The kids were really getting stuck in making every game count! 

It came down to a final. England vs Portugal. Before the final could commence we had the South African national anthem sung by all the young people... It was amazing to watch and listen to them sing with pride for their country! 

 

Kick off. The rest of the kids had split themselves up to support for either team in the final. The chanting was loud and the players were loving the big occasion. 

Portugal got an early goal and before long were 2-0 up. However the English fighting spirit was evident as the white bibbed team fought back to bring it to 2-1 but it wasn't good enough (again quite like English international football) and Portugal were victorious. The kids went mad as they swarmed round the winning team! Prizes again were awarded and sweets for the most disciplined team of the day... Germany. 

Another fantastic day!! Tired but loving my time here!! Think it's egg and chips for tea so better get going...

God Bless.