The Trip of our Lives – South Africa
SchülerInnenaustausch Südafrika, 6L/M/N,
4.-14. Feb. 2020
Student Exchange South Africa

Inspiring and welcoming people, amazing wildlife, an incredible history and delicious food – that’s South Africa and we had the honour of going there!

Our partner school in South Africa, Brackenfell High School, hosted us 20 LISA 10th graders from 4th to 13th of February 2020.

Our trip started on Tuesday early in the morning. We met in front of school at 4 a.m. After the bus ride to Vienna we sorted out our documents and were ready to fly to Cape Town. Luckily this year our school managed to get a direct flight, so we didn’t have to worry about changing flights etc. Our flight was 11.5 hours long and we got to see an amazing sunset.

The arrival in Cape Town was truly amazing! Our tiredness vanished as soon as we saw the people who were waiting for us and waving enthusiastically, even though we were still separated by a wall of glass. At around midnight we finally got to go through the gate to the patient South Africans who welcomed us warmly and happily – exactly what we needed after our journey. After settling in at our host family’s we went to sleep to be ready for our first full day in South Africa.

On Wednesday, 5th of February, our first day, we experienced the administration class in school and the day’s first lesson. The admin class took 15 minutes and during this time the homeroom teachers handed out forms, checked the attendance and prayed with their students. After these lessons we went on our first excursion to World of Birds, a big park where we got to see a variety of different birds but also little monkeys, lamas and turtles. One of the monkeys even decided to jump onto our teacher’s head! After this little excursion we all had adjusted to the African heat and were ready to come home and get to know our host families properly. Everybody spent the afternoon differently; we, for example, enjoyed our first deliciously tasting food and had a nice chat with the family.

On our second day we drove into the city to get onto a so-called hop-on hop-off bus. Our first hop-off was at Imizamo Yethu, a township in Hout Bay with about 33.600 people. With mixed feelings we started the guided tour and were speechless. Never have we ever had the opportunity to walk into a townships‘ house and receive first-hand information! It was super interesting to see the school and hear how rough the living conditions actually are. Our guide was an inhabitant of Imizamo Yethu, so we got very detailed insights and descriptions of first-hand experience. After hopping onto the bus again we drove to Houtbaai Mariner’s Wharf where we ate the original South African Fish and Chips – I can definitely recommend trying it! After finishing our meal we went to Camps Bay and finally had the opportunity to swim in the sea!! Even though it was extremely windy no one could stop us from running into the „icy“ Atlantic Ocean. We enjoyed the beach a lot.

On Friday, 7th of February, we got up veeeery early in the morning because this day’s plan was to climb up Table Mountain, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. So we, 20 very motivated Austrian students, started the tough hike at around 7 a.m. Some of us were at the flat top after an hour and a half, others decided not to rush things. The view was absolutely breath-taking and we enjoyed it a lot considering that we deserved it after the climb. Our next stop was at the Victoria & Albert Waterfront, a huge shopping mall where we had some time to shop and eat. Absolutely amazing was the Jolly Roger boat tour (a pirate ship) where we got to see wild dolphins and seals swimming next to us. Luckily we managed to convince the African teachers and also our teachers to go to the beach again that day. This time we went to Clifton Beach. The most beautiful beach I have ever seen!

Time was flying and the weekend came faster than we had expected. Each family had their own plans for Saturday and Sunday. Some of us had the chance to go to the beach and try surfing, had a Braai (barbecue) with family and friends or went to Robben Island to learn about Nelson Mandela, who spent 18 of his 27 prison years there. On Sunday most of us went to church and experienced a church service in Afrikaans.

On Monday, on the way to the Cheetah Outreach, we then had a lot of exciting stories to share. At the Cheetah Outreach we got to stroke real cheetahs, saw jackals and, from a platform, a wild springbok. After the cheetah encounter we drove to the vineyards where we went on an adventurous Segway tour. This tour was a lot of fun because many of us didn’t manage to stay on their Segway for the whole ride, so the ones who did had a nice time laughing. The rest of the day we spent in a mall again.

Tuesday started with a guided tour through the Castle of Good Hope, which was built in the 17th century in Cape Town, South Africa. Originally located on the coastline of Table Bay, following land reclamation the castle is now located inland. In 1936 the castle was declared a historical monument. The castle itself was very impressive, in- and outside, but we also found its history very interesting. The day’s second highlight was The Heart of Cape Town Museum where we got to see where the world’s first human heart transplant, led by Professor Christiaan Neethling Barnard, played out. It was within the walls of the Charles Saint Theatre, at Groote Schuur Hospital on the 3rd December 1967. The museum offered an insightful look into the day the first heart transplant took place. After the museum we successfully managed to convince our teachers to take us to the beach another time. Clifton beach was our last destination for the day and also our last chance to go swimming in the sea.

On our last full day, Wednesday 12th, we had a tightly-knit programme again. At first we went to Simonstad (Simonstown) to view the penguins at Boulders Beach. It was very interesting to hear that by 1982 there were only two breeding pairs remaining. Incredible conservation efforts have grown the Boulders colony to over 3.000 birds in recent years. The Cape Point Ostrich Farm was our next destination. At the farm we could see baby ostriches, snakes, and crocodiles, feed the parent ostriches and buy a lot of cool souvenirs. Close by the ostrich farm was Cape Point, where we walked up to the light house. On our way we saw many wild baboons, who were cheeky enough to steel our school representative’s food and even dared to run off with it.

Time went by too fast and unfortunately our last day had arrived. However, that didn’t stop us from taking another last trip to an impressive park – the Big Cats Park. There we saw two white Bengal tiger kitties, white lions and leopards. We even got to see them being fed with ostrich meat. When returning to school there was a big farewell between our host students, us and the teachers. All of us were quite emotional about leaving our beloved host families. So, after ten days of summer we had no choice but to go back to winter. 😊

All in all, it was an amazing, well-organised and interesting exchange programme and I can definitely recommend making this trip to beautiful South Africa. At this point, I want to thank our two teachers, Ms. Wimmer and Mr. Hartl, who have organised everything flawlessly and accompanied us on this unforgettable trip. Furthermore, baie dankie to all of the South Africans for making this a memorable journey!

Elisa Sihorsch, 6M