Monkeygrrl: The Trip of a Lifetime: South Africa

I know that many of you have been asking (or will ask) for the the videos and pictures, so here they are! :)

Me winning: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2507601n

Me learning about Apartheid: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2523537n

Me on Safari: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2523884n

Pictures from South Africa: http://travelmonkeysouthafrica.shutterfly.com/action/?a=8QaM2TFqxcsZU

And to answer THE BIG QUESTION question: How was it?

One word: Amazing.

Before the Show
There were so many things running through my mind the days leading up to the show. I had a dream I went to Greece and thought for sure I would win. The next night I had a dream that I didn't win. I was devastated. I almost didn't pack my suitcase. I thought, "Seriously, how can I win? I'm Ariel, I don't win things like this. I'm not one of those people." But I did pack and I started to get really excited and really nervous.

The morning of the show I was shaking and nauseous. I was interviewed by Ed Curran, our very own CBS 2 news weatherman and he asked where I wanted to go. If you watched the news, he only caught me saying Morocco and Egypt. I guess he turned when I said "African Safari." He also said "You're CheekeyMonkey?"

Later, as we were standing outside Dave Price walked by and saw our signs and introduced himself to me. I said, I was indeed CheekeyMonkey, but I had a real name. His face was PRICELESS. As my friend Wendy said, "He looked like he was thinking, 'Great, I have to spend the next 48 hours with this freak.’" Truer words were never spoken.

The Big Win
As I was standing up there, I saw a guy off to my right holding the wine. I thought, "Oh, how nice. Someone is going to Italy. Lucky them! I hope they have fun on the vineyard tour." I thought it would be Melissa (pink sweater), on my left.

Then when they brought out the popcorn buckets, I was a little confused. They had mine and Melissa's together and the other girl, Lola (black sweater) alone. Then I thought that Lola would be the one going. We even congratulated each other before we were live.

When Dave told us to pick up the buckets of popcorn I got really nervous. Mine was so stinking heavy! Then he mentioned consolation prize and I was like, "Shoot. I woke up at 4am to go home with a bucket of Garret's?"

As soon as he said to look for a figurine I thought I was the winner, my bucket was the heaviest, I had to have it right? Then I started digging. I saw the Melissa turn her bucket over and I did the same. I kept checking their piles of popcorn. I didn't have anything. They didn't have anything. Was this a cruel joke!? Then I started sifting like mad. Then I saw it. I SAW IT! It was there in my caramel popcorn...The Giraffe.

My mind was going a million miles a minute. Dave Price was touching me, the Zulu dancers were dancing, people were screaming, I saw a small black cat of some kind, people were talking to me...I was in a daze. Full of emotion and had no idea what to say. Obviously, I was only able to say "Thank you" and "I'm sticky".

Day 1: Johannesburg (Jo'Burg)
We landed after 20+ hours in the air in Jo'Burg. We flew first class ALL THE WAY. It was amazing. There is no way I would have made it if we didn’t. I was able to sleep most of the way there. We flew from Chicago to New York where we caught our next plane to Jo’Burg. We had a one hour lay over in Dakar where we refueled and changed up some passengers. T hen we were off again! We landed in Jo’Burg sometime mid-afternoon. We were then picked up by our driver Joe, and went straight to the Melrose Arch Hotel.

The hotel was gorgeous. It's Jo'Burg's hippest hotel. It reminds me of a W with trendy music, lit up floors, and smelly goods all over the place. I was tired, but excited! I had no idea what was in store for me.

We went to dinner at Moyo, a restaurant across the street from the hotel. Moyo was awesome. It is a blend of African cuisines and culture. We sat downstairs, below ground, where the restaurant was literally built into the earth. There is a living rock that you walk by down the spiral stairs. I didn't bring my camera. I'm kicking myself for this. The place was amazing.

We tried several dishes from all around Africa. Egyptian, Moroccan, Ethiopian and more! It was soooo good. I had the tuna over couscous. Can you say drool? I had my face painted, we were entertained by dancers, musicians and singers. And yes, I got to play the drums. It's not as easy as it looks, it has to sound somewhat good. We did about 4-5 takes on that one. I screwed up my line once or twice. I said, son bonanne, America (hello, America!) I have no idea how to spell it.

As you saw in the video when I won, Dr. Felicia Suttle, the President for South African Tourism was our guide. We also met Moeketsi Mosola, CEO of South African Tourism. We went to dinner with Felicia and Moeketsi. We discussed the recent changes in and the economic advancement of South Africa. I was in awe the whole time. At one point Dave turns to me and said, “Can you believe this? You are sitting at a table, discussing South African politics and economy with two prominent South Africans.” I just shook my head. Unbelievable.

Dave in the Car on the way to the hotel

My Hotel Room

The Giraffe, Chillin'

Me with my face painted

Day 2: Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg
The next morning we set out for the Apartheid Museum. I was a little nervous. I didn’t know what they expected of me. I knew that Dave was going to want me to ask questions to the Deputy Director, Wadey Davie and our Tour Guide, Allegra. I didn’t know much about apartheid and said as much. I was embarrassed to not know. Yeah, I felt like the biggest idiot.

You saw in the segment only a fraction of what we saw in the museum. I started to get a little misty but was able to keep it in. Dave pulled me aside and said, “You have to loosen up a bit. Ask questions. If there is anything you want to know about apartheid and this country now is the time to do so.” I told him I didn’t want to cry on camera and look like a fool. He told me to be honest and do my best. He said if I didn’t loosen up I wasn’t going to enjoy the piece. So, I tried.

Allegra walked us around the museum. She told us about her life during apartheid. She is 32 years old and lived through unimaginable times. Her country was in civil unrest; her people were fighting for basic human rights. Then she told us about the first election. She stood online for 11 hours to vote. 11 hours!! Can you imagine that? People lined up all day to make their voice heard. Here in the United States, we take that privilege for granted. It’s our BASIC RIGHT AS A CITIZEN to vote and we treat it like it’s a chore. I remember the first time I was allowed to vote, it was the 1992 elections. I was the youngest person in the room. People were actually surprised to see me. Now when I go to the polls, I’m still the youngest one there and the place is always empty. That’s very disheartening.

At the end of the tour, Allegra showed us the African flag and told us what it meant. It stood in an area that held many rocks. As you walk through the room, over a bridge you take a rock from the pile on your right and put it in the pile on your left. This signifies your commitment to reconciliation and forgiveness. Both Wadey and Allegra both said that it is important not to forget the past. That we must forgive and not repeat. This idea of forgiveness, especially coming from those who were oppressed is truly amazing. I can’t imagine what life was like for them and to be so peaceful and forgiving is inspiring. I did cry during the taping of that segment. It was very moving. Allegra also told me her personal story; of course we were off camera for all that.

Apartheid Museum

New Constitution

Day 2: Soweto

After the Apartheid Museum, we went to a little town called Soweto. There is so much information on Soweto, that I’ll let you read about. Essentially, it started as a very poor area. From what I understand, the blacks who came to work in the mines were dumped on this land. It had no housing, no electricity, no running water…people had to build their homes out of the materials they could find. Today, the houses that were built still stand today. There are many small dwellings having one to, at most, four rooms. We went in one house that had four rooms where seven people lived. It had a kitchen, dining room and two bedrooms. When families grow too large to live in the house, they often build and extension in back. The back of the house we were in had another tin house behind it. That is also where their outhouse was. Joe, our driver, and Soweto resident, took us around the town and told us all about it. We had children following us throughout the taping. They love having their picture taken and hammed it up for us. The people of Soweto were very welcoming and kind. Even though Soweto looks like a very poor community, it’s not completely. Some people that grew up on Soweto still live there today. Doctors, lawyers, professionals, all living side-by-side with those without any means. They help each other. It’s a wonderful community.

Boys in Soweto

Dave dancing with boys

"Take my picture, lady."

Day 2: Tinga
From Soweto we went to a small airport in Jo’Burg to fly out to Tinga, a Private Game Lodge in Kruger National Park. The place is UN-BE-LIEV-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-BLE. Did I mention we took a charter plane?

Tinga is fantastic. It’s first class luxury all the way. The rooms were beautiful. They call them suites, but it’s like a little house all your own (minus a kitchen, of course). Each suite looks out onto the park where lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos and more just walk around in your own private back yard. They treat you like a king and queen while there. The food is delicious and the people are wonderful. We had such a good time with our Tour Guide Bretton and our Tracker, Mischka. We also had one of the persons who runs the place out with us.

When we landed in Tinga, it was raining. Much to our chagrin, it carried out for most of our evening safari. When I left my room to go on our night safari, there were a ton of monkeys hanging out on the walkway. Yes, monkeys were just waiting for me in Africa! Thank goodness I wore my monkey shirt so they could recognize me!

In the segment you saw that we saw Impala. That’s most of what we saw. Impala. Lots and lots of Impala. We called it the “Starbucks of Africa”. Every time we turned a corner, there was another Impala. We did see a pregnant chameleon, a snake, a Marshall Eagle (that’s being trained to eat anchormen) and finally a giraffe. We were on our way back home and we literally almost ran right into it. He was standing on the side of the road, just hanging out. He stopped suddenly and Dave went, “Holy sh*t! A zebra.” Don’t think he lived that one down.

Then it was back to the Lodge for dinner. I had Kudu. It was gamey and a bit tough. But it was good. They have an amazing chef on site. Her breakfast the next morning was mouth watering. Sure, it was only bacon Jegg and tomato sandwiches, but oh, they were soooo good.

Off to Tinga

See how small our plane is?

The CBS Crew in their Safari car

Dave on Safari

Bretton, our guide

My room...be jealous, it's ok

Our Tracker, Mischka

Greg, the Cameraman

Dave, the weatherman

"Oh shit! A zebra!" -- Dave Price

Day 3: Tinga
The next morning I woke up to a beeping sound. Turns out the power kept going out. I thought it was the phone, I searched for a clock, but there was none. I had no idea what time it was. It was dark so I went back to bed.

10 minutes later the phone rings for my wake-up call. 4:45 am. I get up, go to brush my teeth and what do I see? GIANT KILLER SPIDER! GIANT KILLER SPIDER! GIANT KILLER SPIDER! Now, you know how I feel about bugs. *run for the hills!* I grab my camera, take a picture, then douse it with the bug spray they showed me the day before then I drowned it with super hot water. I went to turn on the lights in the bedroom and then the power goes out. Shit.

Thank goodness I still had my camera with me. I had to use the flash to find my way around. Then I started noticing something. Every time I used my flash, there was a chirping sound. Flash – Chirp. Flash - Chirp. It was very odd. Then I remembered that I was in the wild. And what happens in the wild? Animals can climb into your room and kill you. I stopped using the flash and the chirping stopped. Then it turned into some kind of cry. Yeah, I thought I was going to be killed. I couldn’t use the phone because it was cordless. The flashlight was missing from the room. I seriously thought I was going to be kidnapped by wild monkeys.

I was so relieved when security came to pick me up to walk back to the lodge. You cannot walk around after dark without security. THANK GOODNESS FOR SECURITY! She helped me get my power back on and I had to hurry up and get ready for our morning safari. When I got back to the bathroom, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. For when I went to grab my towel I had GIANT KILLER GRASSHOPPER! GIANT KILLER GRASSHOPPER! GIANT KILLER GRASSHOPPER! GIANT KILLER GRASSHOPPER! That was the damn chirping that I heard. HOLY CRAP!! GIANT KILLER GRASSHOPPER! So, I brushed my teeth, got dressed and high-tailed it out of there. The one thing to remember about safari: It’s outside. There are lots of bugs. In Africa, the bugs are big. Like as big as a Buick. I’m telling you now; don’t be surprised if a giant ass bug is calling your name in the middle of the night.

Our morning safari was much more productive than our evening one. We saw more elephant dung, but this time it was fresh!! We tried to track it. We ran into hyenas (they stink, by the way) and wild African dogs. The wild dogs are very rare and hardly seen. They are an endangered species and very unique. Each dog has prints on it that are as unique as a finger print. They are very cool. We also saw a hippo head in the water, a crocodile, carrion birds that poop on themselves to keep cool, and plenty of baboons. Oh, and more impala. We finally saw the buffalo (one of the big five) and the butt of an elephant (also, one of the big five). GO TEAM!

Seeing these animals in their natural habit was beautiful. Our guide and tracker were very informative and amusing. We had a great time at Tinga and wished we could have stayed longer. Unfortunately, we were off and running again to get back to Jo’Burg to catch or flight to Cape Town.

Giant Killer Spider

Hyena

Impala

Birds who poop on themselves to keep cool

African Dogs

Kudu (a.k.a. dinner)

Look! Paige spotted tourists!

Erika, Dave and Paige

Wildebeast

BABOONS!!!

Yes, Dave, that's a Giraffe.

Plane out of Tinga

Giraffe says goodbye

Leaving Tinga

Day 3:
Robben IslandEarly morning safari, morning flight back to Jo’Burg, afternoon flight to Cape Town and then…the moment. I find from Dave that we are going to Robben Island, where the infamous Apartheid Jail is. The only way we are going to make it there is by PRIVATE HELICOPTER. Again I say, *faint*.

We pull up to the helipad and we are getting ready for our trip across the bay to Robben Island. I see Felicia talking with an older gentleman who turns out to be Ahmed Kathrada, or Kathy, as his friends call him. In a gift bag that she initially gave me on Friday when I won, was Kathy’s book “Letters from Robben Island.” I was just in shock. Utter shock. I got very emotional all over again.

The Helicopter took us to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela, and our host Ahmed Kathrada were held for 18+ years. Kathy talked about his crime, what it was like in prison and how, even in prison, they had to negotiate and bribe, even in prison, to get what they needed. Kathy told us that even in the non-white prison, there was still a segregation of colors. Kathy, being Indian, was afforded more rights that Mr. Mandela because he was of lighter skin. I kept shaking my head in amazement that this all went on. I had no idea to what extent this was like. He told us what it was really like in jail, how the military and government used propaganda to make the outside world believe that things were ok in prison. The military said, “Mandela does light prison work” and the press came and took pictures of Mr. Mandela mending clothing. As soon as the press left, their mending was taken away and they were handed back their axes to break rock into gravel.

We went into the prison where Kathy and Mr. Mandela were kept. As you saw, I was given the key to open the cell where Nelson Mandela spent about 18 years of his life. Standing there, looking around at the pittance that was given to them to sleep on. The bucket they used for a toilet, the cramped quarters…I was overcome with sadness. Knowing that Nelson Mandela and others, like Kathy, were kept in a cell because of their beliefs and their fight for equal human rights was unfathomable. The African National Council just wanted equality for its people, but instead they were beaten, tortured, hung, shot and imprisoned.

What you didn’t see in the segment, was after Kathy led me out of the cell, Paul Linga, the Director of the Robben Island Museum, and prisoner of 14 years, grabbed me and hugged me. The fact that these two men, standing before me, came out of that prison, that era of apartheid, with forgiveness and reconciliation in their hearts was just awe-inspiring. To live through that and still be able to forgive…I have no words. I felt truly blessed and honored to meet them.

Dave and I getting ready for our Chopper flight!

Paige in the ChopperDave prepping us for the ride

Cape Town and Table Mountain from the Chopper

Robben Island from chopper

Lime Quarry where Nelson Mandela worked in prison to make gravel

Me holding the key to Nelson Mandela's cell

Ahmed "Kathy" Kathrada and Dr. Felicia Suttle

Paul Linga, Director of Robben Island Museum and former prisoner

Dave and Ahmed Kathrada

Day 3: Cape Town
After Robben Island, we drove around Cape Town. Cape Town is like the Miami Beach of South Africa. Right along the coast, Cape Town faces out towards the Atlantic Ocean. High above it sits Table Mountain.

That day, my CBS family left. I was very sad to see them go. Erika and Paige, the producers, were awesome. Kenny, my audio man, Greg my camera man, both from South Africa, were fantastic to work with. Dave Price, what can I say. His parents raised a good egg. I was initially worried that Dave might be an asshole. You know when you meet a celebrity and they are a total dick and it just ruins it for you? Yeah, totally not what happened. I was so happy. I heart Dave Price and the whole team!! They were just wonderful and I am totally going to miss them. I wish they could have stayed, but they had to get to London to edit the footage for Wednesday’s show and fly back to New York for Thursday. Dave is off this afternoon for Washington DC where he will pick another lucky winner to go on a whirl-wind trip of a lifetime. And before you ask, no, I have no idea where, they can’t tell me. I know because I asked.

But worry not, I was not left alone. Felicia Suttle stayed with me and we had dinner together at the hotel. I was also able to meet her wonderful daughters, who are just stunning and totally down to earth.

We watched an interview of Felicia’s on a local channel and then watched the Oscar’s about a day after you all. Some of you would be proud at my fashion critiques. Then I passed out at midnight thirty.

Day 4: Cape Town
My last day in South Africa. I was finally able to sleep in. I got up around 9:30, had a leisurely breakfast and I went to Table Mountain with Zani, one of Felicia’s daughters and her friend Vanessa. Table Mountain is high above Cape Town. It’s just gorgeous from up there. You can look down all over Cape Town, there are paths you can walk, you can hike along Table Mountain or even climb it. It was just gorgeous.

We only spent about an hour there because it was time for me to go back to the hotel, shower one last time and say my good-byes. I was very sad to leave South Africa. I had a wonderful time with everyone. You have to understand, this trip was more than what I expected. I really didn’t know what to expect, but this was not it. I mean, think about the images and news we hear out of Africa, in general. Then how much do we really know about South Africa? Can you define apartheid? Do you know why it started? How? What went on? How long it lasted? Do you know when black people in South Africa were finally able to vote?!

We traveled a lot on this trip. We were barely in one spot for more than a few hours. I was living emotion to emotion on this whole trip. I was very moved by the people of South Africa and their struggle. I mean, the Safari was all fun, but it was really the people and their history that moved me and is the most memorable. This truly was a trip of a lifetime.

Me on Table Mountain