7/12/2015 - Malolotja

At 8:30 AM we set out with Wawa to Sibebe Rock.  It was a 1/2 hour drive to see and take pictures in front of the second largest rock in the world.  It was like a small mountain:

We traveled on another half hour or so to Malolotja, the place where we would go on our zip line tour.  We arrived around 10, but we were to meet at 10:30 so some of us went off for a walk in the meadows.  It ended up being past 11 when the tour guides were ready for us, and the Europeans joining us had finished their breakfast.  We got a safety talk, suited up, and climbed in the tour vehicle for the ride out to our starting point.  25 minutes of driving and 10 minutes of walking later, we were at our trial zip lines.  There were three baby distances to get us used to the sensation, then onto the big lines!  

 

  

Everything was beautiful and every view spectacular.  Jumping off was the hardest part (for me), and I once didn't quite make the clearance for not hitting the platform (whoops!).  The suspension bridge was really scary for me, less so for Miles:

    

We hiked back up the mountain afterwards, which was not trivial (though far more so than the highest peak at Bulembu, I'm told), where our vehicles were ready to pick us up and bring us back for lunch.  

We got back in the SUV with Wawa, and moved on to hike up the small mountain where we could see the oldest known cave in the world (about 42,000 years old!). We stopped at Ngwenya glass and the shops again to go to the bathroom and grab a couple purchases, including some delightfulness from the chocolate shop.

         

When we returned, it was time to eat dinner and regroup quickly as we needed to finish packing and reorganize how we would be performing science demos tomorrow at Lobamba National High School.  We have to leave after the morning lessons so we can get back and handle last minute business before taking off for our flight to Cape Town!  It will be a busy day to say the least.