Trip to Kirstenbosch

We picked up the Hope Scholars from the settlements and brought them to their local botanical garden - the illustrious and beautiful Kirstenbosch. Miraculously, the day defied local meteorologists and it did not rain. We had the most beautiful weather.

Unfortunately, three of the kids could not make it because their mothers had cleaned their clothes the day before and the garments had not dried out in time.

For the rest, we gave them a scavenger hunt in small teams. Each group was given four plants' scientific names, one map of the gardens, pencils, and booklets. Their goal was to find the plants, make sketches of them, and write detailed observations a la a naturalist. The team that found the most of the plants in 70 minutes won a prize, as did the student with the most detailed drawings and observations. Then, we ate our fill of the delicious polony and cheese sandwiches we made yesterday followed by gigantic oranges.

Afterwards, the boys slide tackled and wrestled on the greenest lawn they'd ever seen while the girls sang songs and worked on choreographed dances until it was time to get back to Philippi. We left some divots in the grass, and we weren't the quietest bunch, but the kids wrote the most heart-warming thank-yous to Kirstenbosch that I don't think we can be denied again.

My favorite part was one of their observations, which read (in reference to Streptocarpus modestus or the Cape Primrose), "The leaf is shaped like a banana and smells like a wet tea bag. Five Roses brand."