Weekend Class Retreat Part I: Arriving at Kwa Maritane National Park

The cast of PBPL 85 piled into the springbok van following another luxurious breakfast at our Johannesburg hotel. Fluctuating between world weary fatigue and kindergartener excitement, we embarked for our weekend safari retreat.

I suppressed all my "are we there yet" inquiries for the 3 hour drive to Kwa Maritane National Park. Instead, I drifted off in between eavesdropping on conversations examining the ethics of campaign donations and an 'essence' guessing game.

Our trip has been full of contradictions: experts advancing opposing views of the future of South Africa, looking over the wealthiest square mile in all of Africa from the fields of the Alexandra township soccer nonprofit, and leaving cosmopolitan Johannesburg for miles of grassland and rolling hills. After 24 hours of travel followed by two and a half days of saturated itineraries, we were all so excited for some R and R, some PTO.

On this particularly hot Saturday, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief climbing out of our stuffy van to see the hotel pool just beside the lobby. Before running over, we sat down for another fantastic lunch with a view of the Park we would be driving through later on safari. Between bites, we marveled at how the amenities we've been lucky enough to enjoy have far surpassed anything we imagined when the application for PBPL 85 warned about how we would need to be willing to 'rough it' during our travels.

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Fiona and Claire arriving at lunch

After checking into our rooms, our class did the only thing we know how: investigate and explore. We hit the bouncy castle, flew off the trampoline and scaled a rock climbing wall. Adelia, Hayden, and Kyle bravely accepted Professor Wheelan's challenge of a 3 vs 1 mini golf game and emerged victorious! We also examined the pool from a multidimensional perspective: diving in headfirst, wading in, and sitting beside it.

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Sportsmanship!

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We can't say enough about this trampoline

Jokes aside, the opportunity to bask in South Africa's lush scenery has been so demonstrative of why it is so deeply beloved and contested, even amongst countrymen. Check back tomorrow for a recap on our exceptionally successful safari!

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