The Holidays in Africa

Cape Town - Table Mountain in Distance

Sorry that is has been so long since we have posted.  It's crazy how time can fly by no matter where you are.  So the post that I really want to write is about the opportunity I got to go back into the field to witness a number of village savings groups.  It was incredible to see how people with so little can take so much joy from doing something on their own.  But before I write that post, Dawn suggested that I write about our Christmas experience and vacation to Cape Town.  So keep checking back to hear about the savings groups, probably later this week.

Our Christmas Tree

Dawn and I were blessed to be able to spend our first Christmas in Malawi with our house-mates the Gallahers, their 2 1/2 year-old son Lincoln, and Laura Gallaher's parents from the US.  I was able to buy a large fake Christmas tree, so we were able to enjoy that tradition.  The tree decorations were 100% Malawi though.  Most of the decorations consisted of Lincoln's toys tied with string and hung on the tree.  At one point we had two plastic horses, one with only three legs, a little red wagon with three wheels, a "The Simpsons" character, a wooden hippo, a bunch of handmade ornaments, popcorn garland, and Lincoln's blanket.  It was quite the eclectic tree, but it just felt right!  Waking up Christmas morning to the joy of a 2 1/2 year-old was also quite special.  It is always fantastic to see the day through the eyes of a child.  We will remember this Christmas for years to come.

Ryan Ingram - Mt. Mulanje

Reality hit a couple days later as Dawn had to work at the hospital again with a 72-hour call shift.  So being the loving husband that I am, I decided the best thing I could do was take a friend and go on a backpacking trip for 5 days.  It sounded like a good idea at the time.  But it turned out that there were a couple days that Dawn was all by herself in our compound after the Gallahers had taken off on a vacation to Cape Town, and she did not feel comfortable.  So Dawn had a little slumber party with Kelly, Mattea, and Camrie Ingram (wife and two daughters of Ryan, the friend who I had taken with me on the backpacking trip).  We truly have been blessed with some great friends here in Malawi, and I was so thankful that Dawn was able to hang out with the Ingrams instead of being scared and alone while her big tough husband was playing mountain man.

Mr. Penguin

Dawn greeting the natives

On the 2nd of January Dawn and I boarded a plane and flew to Cape Town South Africa.  For those of you who have been there, you know how beautiful it is.  For those of you who have not, you definitely need to put it on your bucket list.  It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  The city itself is breathtaking with Table Mountain, Lion's Head, Signal Hill and the water front all visible by standing in one spot and doing a 360 degree turn.  One day we drove from the city down one coast line to the Cape of Good Hope.  Along the way we got to play with a bunch of penguins, probably Dawn's favorite animal, walk out to one of the Southern most points of the continent, drive back along the other coast line, and get back to town with just enough time to hike to the top of Table Mountain.  We were then able to enjoy a bottle of amazing South African wine (which is not only very tasty, but incredibly cheap) before taking the gondola back down the mountain.  It was truly a wonderful day!

Southern Tip of Cape

Train Car Hotel

After a couple more days enjoying the city of Cape Town we spent 4 days and three nights driving on the Garden Route.  Again, if you have not been here, it should be on the short list.  Our first night was spent in a train car that had been remodeled into a luxury hotel room.  It was sitting on a section of train track that is no longer used.  But the track 10 feet away from it is, so we did have to dodge a train on our way to dinner.  The abandoned track sits just off the beach overlooking the Indian Ocean.  It was a spectacular place, and I was able to take advantage of both an evening and morning swim!

Bloukrans Bridge - Bungee

Dawn on ostrich

After a long negotiations process, Dawn conceded to allow me to jump off of the world's tallest bungee bridge.  I know it sounds complicated, but in 2007 they held the Guinness Book of World Records for the worlds tallest bungee jump, but there is now has a taller one.  However; it is still the tallest bridge bungee, so the slogan had to change.  If you want you can check it out at:  http://www.faceadrenalin.com.  It was quite the rush with a drop of 709 feet, and the scenery could not have been better.  After the adrenalin subsided, we continued our journey to the ostrich capital of the world, Oudtshoorn South Africa, where we had an amazing cave exploring trip and got to ride an ostrich.  Ok, Dawn got to ride an ostrich, but due to my weight I was only able to sit on one.  But it was a pretty cool experience none the less.

We then started our journey back to Cape Town on what we were told is the longest wine route in the world, route 62.  We stopped at one winery for lunch, did a wine tasting, had an amazing lunch, bought a couple bottles of wine, and spent roughly $30.  For dinner that night we ate at an amazing steak house in the middle of the Stellenbosch wine region.  We shared a starter, both had incredible steaks, shared a bottle of wine, I may have also had an IPA, and the grand total was $50.  It is incredible how inexpensive South Africa is.

One of the many beautiful Wineries 

We spent our last two nights in Cape Town.  We were able to have a perfect last day before we had to wake up at 4am to catch our 6:30 am flight back to Malawi.  Seriously, for those of you who have been to Cape Town, you know that I have not even scratched the surface of how amazing this place is.  We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to visit, and hope that our future holds another trip.

Though this holiday season was tough being away from friends and family, we felt so blessed to be able to spend it with new friends, and have an amazing adventure that we will treasure.  Thank you for each of you reading this for being our friends and family, and know that you were missed, thought about, and prayed for during this Christmas Season!  God Bless you and Happy New Year!

Love,

The Kopps