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Robben Island

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It was an early start after the boys first night of billeting and they all arrived at school for 7.30am with stories of the previous evening. We headed into Cape Town to the V&A waterfront where we caught the boat for the 30 minute ride out to Robben Island. The morning was stunning again with clear blue skies and the warmth of the sun beating down on us. On arrival at Robben Island we boarded a bus and met our tour guide for the first part of the excursion. Our guide took us around the island pointing out the various aspects of interest such as the Lepers graveyard explaining that people with leperacy were banished to the island. The tour continued highlighting areas of solitary confinement for the various political prisoners and how the island was used by the military during the Second World War to protect Cape Town.  The next part of the tour was a tour of the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela was held as a political prisoner #46664. Our guide was a former prisone...

Aquila & Camps Bay

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It was an early morning get-up for the touring party as we went our for a sunrise game drive to see the animals as they awake from their slumber. The boys were there in body but perhaps not in spirit until the bumpy journey jolted everyone wide awake. It was a phenomenal sight seeing the sun come up over the mountain ridge as we watched the rhino, lions and elephants go about their morning routines. Once back at the lodge we tucked into another great feed for breakfast before loading the coach for departure. Disappointingly we received news on our journey that Table Mountain was closed due to high winds, so a quick change to the itinerary was required. We decided that the boys would enjoy some beach time and allowed us to get a few pictures of the touring party with Table Mountain and Lions Head as the backdrop. This was the first evening for the boys to be billeted and the nerves started to build as to who they would be placed with. We were met by the very hospitable families of Wynbe...

Aquila Safari Lodge

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We arrived after a 2 hour drive through some stunning scenery as we travelled in the shadows of mountains. As we pulled into Aquila Game Reserve the boys were excited as to what was ahead of them as the setting was fantastic with superb lodges. Our arrival timed nicely with lunch and the buffet style lunch made sure that everyone got a good feed before a quick dip in the freezing pool. We set off on our game drive at 3.30pm in 3 vehicles and were excited to see what animals were out and about. It didn’t take long for us to spot 3 hippos lazily enjoying the late afternoon sun before they headed off under the cover of darkness to find some food. Next on our drive were a couple of male African elephants that were taking in some food surrounded by ostrich. The driver informed us that elephants have over 60,000 muscles in their trunks and have the ability to pick up a needle with the end of it. The boys were enjoying the sights and found it really informative as the driver was obviously inc...