Hello there, if you're just tuning in this is the place where I, Thomas Michael Ryan Hennessey, have elected to store a large portion of the photo's taken during the Experiential Learning term in South Africa. More photos may be found here, at Webshots.

To view them in some semi-ordered state, please start at the bottom, the captions are on the top of the picture. Cheers!

Edit: Checking this after a few months, updated webshots link, and edited useless comments. Go me!

And that's us about to land in Atlanta.  

We left that night. 

A happy reunion in Joburg. There was another reunion to, but I didn't get any pictures of it... 

And that's that 

huh. 

hmmm 

hmm 

Uh huh. 

wait a second. 

And then this, ok, fair enough. 

Of all the pictures where I don't know what's going on, these that follow are ones where I know the least. I asked Ashley to take a photo outside the plane as we were leaving on the first leg of the international flight. This is what followed.  

This was called the Rainbow Nation. My was it tasty. 

The band again. 

The band 

After dinner we went here for some more music. Good stuff, kind of a rhythm and opera. 

Rumors that I can tie a cherry stem into a knot are simply untrue. The very notion is preposterous. Harumph.

I don't know what's going on here. 

This on the other hand is architecture. 

I think this is dancing. 

A good time was had by all at the last meal in SA. 

Jesse and John, who claims he is not to be photographed while eating or something. 

Katy, Ally, Megan, Ashley preparing to take their meals home or, more likely, give them away. 

Nearly last dinner with Jesse and Ally at a really good Portugese place. 

More Robbin Island. A community of people live there and maintain the museum now, including both former guards and prisoners. 

One of the cells. One of the many cells. 

When Mandela and others returned to the island after the end of Apartheid, he left a stone at the bottom of that pile to signify something or other. Freedom I think...maybe... 

Lavatory/Lecture carved out of the limestone cliff. 

This was our busdriver and fellow guide. Both of them earned degrees while imprisoned by the way. 

We went to Robin Island next, and went on a tour given by a few of the political prisnors who had once been imprisoned there. 

Here I stand dramatically a few minutes before forgetting my backpack. 

Anyway, we rode the cable car up Table mountain and walked around in a freaking cloud for about an hour. Matt, Dave, and Tom were my companions in this endevour. 

Capetown was, if I haven't mentioned this before, an immensly pretty city. 

Look out for the African Cloud Ticks. 

Andrea Katy Lindsay and John getting a sense of the colonial life. 

Table Mountain, shrowded in clouds. From down here it was pretty. From up there it was cold. 

The View from the window of the Tudor Hotel. I liked the place, it had monagramed pillow covers. If they claim one is missing, it wasn't me. 

A couple South African Sodas will do a body good. 

This one brought me a martini! 

SA destroyer, there was a naval base not far from the penguins. 

This was the only shot I could get of a baboon. Could be worse though, there were attacks last year. 

We generally looked at warning signs, fences and whatnots as suggestions rather then hard and fast rules of where we should or should not go. 

Pretty pretty that was. 

In case one is looking for directions. 

On our way to the Cape of Good Hope. On the left is the Atlantic. On the right the Indian. 

It was a good trip, I don't know if I've really mentioned that. 

Oh forgot to mention, this was called the post office tree because some several hundred years ago when capetown was just a gleam in a city planner's eye, a ship captain left a message to a friend of his in a bottle on this tree. It was also fun to climb. 

Lindsay is part spider monkey. Usually the first to climb anything. 

The Ringleaders. That's Deborah Dickey on the right and YWV Heuchert on the left. 

A beutiful morning to go to a rock outcropping in a bay. Really it was. 

Our Group left a trail of destruction wherever we passed. 

A whimsical contraption in Capetown. 

I didn't eat there, but I like the name. 

Drove through a few mountains. Well a great many mountains. Anyway, these in particular had a fire raging about it for a while. 

And then a brief interlude at the beach. That's the Indian Ocean there, and she is a tempestuous one. 

I got to ride one two, but the camera died before a picture could be taken :(. Just imagine that I did it as awesome as these fellows. 

Went to an Ostrich farm afterwards, which was a pretty weird place. That's me standing on some eggs there. 

Look out Matt, Jesse can control lighting now! 

The incredible singing tour guide! He did a bit of percusion as well... 

The lights come on deeper in the cave. I was told that satan was in the back right hand side, but I didn't see him. 

Painting on a Stenkfortein cave wall. Pretty old and probably better then I could manage 

We got into port elizabeth pretty late and made straight for the hotel. 

The flight out of Durban. 

Hannes our guide stays with us. And Hilda, a guide being reviewed, we meet one more time surprisingly. 

WE leave our bus and our driver Johan in Durban. Ces't la vie. 

More university grounds. 

The campus was lovely, and reminded me of Ann Arbor. There are fewer banana trees there though. 

WE flew into Durban to the univeristy of KwazZulu-Natal, to meet some former and future Allegheny Students. Sihle is doing well, I need to remember to Email him.  

And then we made like a monkey and groomed groomed groomed! 

A delightful 45 minutes on Tick mountain! 

Song and dance. 

Caitlin, trying the Zulu beer. It was a bit...grainy. 

I got to find out. 

The Zulu Chieftain, with a pipe. We all wondered if it was tobacco. 

The Shaman and Medicine man. 

At the Zulu cultural village, getting the lay of the land. 

A marketplace in Zululand, a real one actually where people who live in the area actually go to buy things. 

Into another country we go. Through imporbable mishaps, Prof. Dickey somehow is crowned a Queen of this land. 

The difference between a black and white Rhino is actually in the mouth not the skin.  

Ah! The black Rhino! after such a wait it was a relief to finally see one. 

A monkey. A...female monkey I think. 

Burnt out Veldt. I wonder if it's the type of ecosystem that works better with the occasional fire. 

Widdle baby hippo! 

A pair of lions coming to join the party at a watering hole. With so many different species all clustered around I was hoping something might happen. But...it didn't. 

They tell me Hippos are related to dolphins of all things. What a world. 

Why hello there. 

We not once saw an elephant fly.  

Vultures getting the lay of the land. 

More Cape Buffalo, closer this time. 

Sun always seems to set early. Or maybe it's just more noticable when there aren't any buildings about. 

Camera shy buffalo. 

If I were a hippo I would move for no one. 

Its hard to explain but seeing a Giraffe run is just plain funny. 

So big... 

African Wild Dogs are among the most dangerous and endangered of African predators. 

A pack of African Wild Dogs. 

They can't really stretch their muscels so the captive cheetahs spend a lot of time laying around. 

This is a King Cheetah, identical except for the strip along the back and darker spots. 

A cheetah, built like a greyhound and apparently available as a pet. 

The Vulture restaurant. 

A mumblemumble kind of bird, seen here in a cheetah reserve 

I would come to identify many animals from their hindquarters. 

The Acacia bush to a lesser extent. 

This tree has the bad fortune of being delicious to a Giraffe. 

It might be tough to make out but there are three porcupines right in the middle of this picture. 

A sunset on the road to a game reserve. 

And Dave as well. 

Or climb it as Matt has. 

And here we gather around it. 

The Baobab tree. Its big and also fun to climb. 

In case you're curious, a Rondable is a circular roofed hut. The three mountain tops in the center of this photo resemble such things and thus were colelctivly named after them. They also have individual names after the sons of a Zulu king I think.

Coke a cola is very populat in SA. But it shouldn't be! And Pepsi tastes better! 

Pretty pretty. 

There's me! 

The busy life of an Allegheny Professor. 

The Three Rondables, maybe the most beautiful spot on our trip. Also much nicer then the Two Rondables. 

The name's John. I'm a lone wolf babe, and don't you forget it. 

After careful examination it seems one actually could go beyond that point. 

Unknown troublemakers. 

And more clearly here. 

You can see some here. 

The Potholes, cool circular formations in the rock. 

It's about even odds who falls asleep on who's shoulder most days. 

Me and Angela, 'enjoying' the sun. 

More views of the area. 

The hanging out gang, looking around God's Window. 

It took forever to put these together. Me thinks a tripod would have helped. 

These were really good pancakes. Oh man. 

Pilgrims is a fairly typical tourist trap kind of place. 

Woman doing beadwork at the Pilgrims rest. 

Got the camera back, and took this from the bus on the way out. Hope these kids make a good run of it all. 

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schoolkids 

The next group of pictures the kids took themselves, they don't all look that great but I was curious what they'd do with a camera. 

Right here they ask to see my camera. 

hanging around 

At which point the sweaters, shoes and whatnot was announced. 

Right before a speach by the headmaster. 

Lunchtime! 

A step up from the grey government building.  

Enjoying some new sporting equipment. 

which we were happy to accomadate. 

Everyone wants they're photo taken whenever they can. 

I try to lend a hand. 

Entertainment was typically to be found in a large circle of laughter and lewd dances. 

After work, some play. 

2 out the 3 educators at this school for 100 odd students. 

Back at the farm school painting. 

I can't comment on what might be happening here. 

The house had great food, and intriguing table decorations. 

Waiting for a meal at the family farm. 

Sitting around the homestead 

An oil refinery seen driving by on the way to the Heuchert farm. 

A jackal, I think. 

Hannes does not like to be photgraphed. 

handsome devils. 

awww 

Much cuter in the Lion King. 

That tounge is much larger then you would ever suspect. 

Mostly cute though. 

This was cute and a bit frightening. They already had claws you see. 

Ally getting her scratch on. 

Cubs are darn cute no doubt about it. Still quite a bit of muscle there though. 

Aaaaaaaaw! 

awwww 

Totally cool albino lion, shortly before he peed right in front of the bus. 

I wonder how much this lion wants to kill and eat us.  

Young albino loin, looking for a leg up. 

A lady on the prowl 

Hey a movie EDIT: Drat, can't get it to play just yet.

Chow time. 

Lion's being watched and watching the watchers. 

Ostrich, orchestrating something no doubt. 

Totally wildabests 

Oooh the national antelope of SA. Love the horns. 

Grounds of the lion reserve