Rugby Union

Today saw a very early start with the coach departing Stellenbosch at 09:00 heading straight into the mountains for the very long but beautiful drive to the East Coast of South Africa and the Indian Ocean. This roadside region is dominated by ever-present quartzite and Sandstone Mountains and hill ranges. No stretch of the road is without some high ground constantly in view. The mountain ranges of the Cape Folded Belt lie in an east to west series of arcs that dip slightly to the south and are characterised by great folds in the rock strata. As the journey wonders from town to town the scenery becomes more vast and varied with steep mountain faces followed by deep plunging valleys with Ostrich and Springbok minding their own business as we sped ever closer to our final destination.

The journey was broken up with a lunch stop in Ladismith followed by Oudtshoorn were to boys enjoyed a couple of hours in the company of large cats, crocodile pigmy hippo’s and much more at The Cango Wildlife Park. The final leg seemed to fly by as the whole coach was absorbed by the 1997 Lions Tour to South Africa that was showed on the DVD system. On arrival at the Wilderness Hotel the boys quickly dropped put their bags into their rooms, changed into swim shorts and then made the foolish decision of going swimming. As the pool was freezing it didn’t tale long before they all retreated to the steam room in an attempt to warm up. Dinner was enjoyed at the hotel followed by an early night after a long days drive.