OUDSHOORN, SOUTH AFRICA

About two weeks ago, Erik, Amanda (two other staff members) and I took the weekend and drove to a small town about 5 hours away from where we live. It was here that we visited an ostrich farm. The highlights were...
*witnessing baby ostriches cracking out of the thick shells
*seeing an ostrich "kiss" Erik (meaning pick food pellets out of the corners of his mouth)
*going on a wild ostrich ride (they covered the birds head with a sack to keep it calm and once I got on they took it off and it went wild!)

On this weekend get-away we also took an "adventure tour" at the amazing Cango Caves. These caves have over 20 chambers that extend deep into a mountain. One of the first chambers is big enough to hold 2,000 people! (they used to have concerts in there because the acoustics are so good!) The tour was 2 hours of climbing, crawling, squeezing, and squirming to get through all of the small chambers at the back of the cave. One man on our tour actually got stuck and had to be pulled out by his feet as he exhaled! I am glad to report that everyone made it out alive and with minimal scratches and bruises!

The true highlight of the whole weekend was getting to know my fellow staff members better. Erik, Amanda, and I were able to talk about our lives, ask each other lots of questions, and really become better acquainted. Overall it was a great time and I feel so blessed to have gotten to see another part of this beautiful country.