After 30 hours of travel, we finally arrived in Toronto last Saturday. We were exhausted, but so excited to see everyone. Our African Adventure was truly a trip of a lifetime, but it's always nice to come home!

Here's a 6 minute slide show of our travels. TIA (This Is Africa)

Signing off...xo

Jane & Kale

Agashya/Stellenbosch

Ok, Here is a video of Agashya, the head "Silverback" of the troop (I have to admit it was a bit scary getting this close to him, knowing full well that this dude could easily rip my arm off if he chose to):

After Rwanda we headed back to Cape Town, rented a car (a TINY Kia Picanto) and we have headed along the "Garden Coast" towards Durban. In Cape Town we spent the day at the Robben Island, which is where Nelson Mandela and many other black political prisoners spent many years of their life. Needless to say it was a very interesting, sad, and enlightening day. After learning more about what Nelson Mandela, and the rest of the liberation movement went through, it is hard not to wonder in amazement how they were able to persevere the way that they did (especially living in prison cells the size of a bathroom!). We will update you on the details of the museum another time. To get over to the island, they take you over in a huge, high-powered ferry (if you can even call it that!!) Not for those who are queasy on the sea, that is for sure!

After Cape Town, we made our way to Stellenbosch, which is where we are message, and even though we were supposed to be on our way today, we opted to stay another night since we are having such a great time! Stellenbosch is the epicentre of the wineland area in South Africa, so we are both enjoying all it has to offer. The town is absolutely beautiful, and is filled with many chic bars and restaurants in front of a mountainous backdrop. All of the buildings are painted white, and are all in the "Dutch Cape" style (apparently it is blasphemy to paint these buildings anything but white) We visited 3 wineries today (L'Avitage, Rustenberg, and Kanonkop) and had a great time tasting all of the great Cab Sauv's, Rose's, and Pinotage's (which is a variety of red that is only found in South Africa!) Here is Rustenberg:

We are going to have dinner at a famous restaurant on the main strip tonight, and do a bit of bar-hopping as well...looking forward to it! Tomorrow we are on our way to Plattsburgh, which is about 200km away, and in the heart of the route. i've gotta say, we both LOVE HAVING A CAR after weeks stuck on a truck at the mercy of bus drivers and tour guides! We will be sure to update when we have more to share!

Much Love...JANE & KALE

Here's a little sample of what we found in Rwanda! The gorillas were unbelievable! We were lucky enough to see the Agashya group, the second largest family in the Virunga volcanoes, after only trekking for 10 minutes! Definitely an experience of a lifetime!

The first photo is of the silver back - the head of the clan - his name is Agashya, meaning 'special one'. This group used to be called 'Group 13', until it was taken over by Agashya, who after fighting the previous silver back did not kill his offspring, which is extremely unusual and warrants the name ' special one'. The second photo is of one of his females with her 2 week old baby and the third is of one of the younger males in the group.

We were supposed to maintain a 7 meter distance at all times, but in some cases were just a few feet away...I can totally understand Dian Fossey's (and Peggy Sokoloff's) fascination with the gorillas after only spending 1 hour with them!

We are writing you in Johannesburg and our second “planned” tour is now over, which is encouraging because we are ready for the next phase! After Botswana, we toured through Zimbabwe, which was quite an experience! If you’re bored at work or at home, read up on the current party in power, ZANU-PF, or the current President, Robert Mugabe. This country was thriving in the 80’s and part of the 90’s, but is in a DESPARATE state at this point. I guess that is what happens when you kick all of the experienced farmers out of the country, and start printing money at your leisure to pay your exorbitant depts, resulting in hyper-inflation. Their currency is so diluted that they only accept USD and PULA (Botswana currency).

On a high note, we spent a couple of days at Victoria Falls, one of the 8 (or is it 7!?!?) wonders of the world. It definitely gives Niagara Falls a run for its money! It is simply breathtaking! We spent the two days going on a Zip Line over the Batoka Gorge, going on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi river (drinking wine while watching Crocs and Hippos) and going on a Helicopter ride over the Falls (well, only one of us did that- see Jane’s “movie”). After Zimbabwe, we made our way back to South Africa, and ended the tour in Jo’Burg, as we both drink wine in a swanky hotel because our flight to Rwanda got cancelled! We are leaving for Kigali tonight at Midnight, and will be hanging out with Gorillas soon! Pictures and videos to come! (Alison, we have planned to have lunch with your aunt, at the very least!) We are tryingour best to upload pics and videos, but we can’t promise anything, since, let’s be honest…THIS IS AFRICA!

Hope everyone is well at home!

Love K&J

Here are some photos from Botswana....

The plane that Kale flew in over the delta...

A picture of the "mokoros" at sunrise....

And, the Drifter's truck - our home away from home for 24 days!