Conservation Tour to South Africa – Cape Town’s Water Crisis

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

Our International Studies Abroad (ISA) Resident Director will meet us at the airport to escort us to our hotel and will be available to the group throughout the tour. We will have use of a private coach and driver for the duration of our tour.

A port city on South Africa's southwest coast, on a peninsula beneath the imposing Table Mountain. Slowly rotating cable cars climb to the mountain's flat top, from which there are sweeping views of the city, the busy harbor and boats heading for Robben Island, the notorious prison that once held Nelson Mandela, which is now a living museum. We will have an orientation meeting to provide tour participants with relevant information and useful tools to familiarize them with their host country and the program ahead.

Today, lunch is included.

We will take an introductory walking tour of Cape Town to familiarize ourselves with the city before our full tour begins tomorrow. Highlights include walking up St. Georges Mall to the flea market on Green Market Square, then past the Houses of Parliament through the Company Gardens.

We will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

This is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. Table Mountain is home to a large array of fauna and flora, most of which is endemic. We will spend the afternoon hiking to the top of the mountain. After our hike, we will take the cable car back down to enjoy the view of the Cape.

We will participate in a cooking class where we will learn how to make a typical South African dish.

We will continue our walking tour to pass by Cape Town City Hall, where Nelson Mandela delivered his first speech as a free man; past the We Are Still Here memorial; the Slave Lodge; St. George's Cathedral; and the Cape Town High Court to view the 'Apartheid benches', plus more iconic sights to familiarize ourselves with the city and its history. Afterwards, we will make our way up the slopes of Signal Hill to the vibrant neighborhood of Bo-Kaap. The neighborhood is also known as The Malay Quarter, as this was where both Muslims and freed slaves settled once slavery was abolished, and is home to the oldest mosque in South Africa. We will stroll the cobblestoned streets that are lined with brightly colored row houses as we learn about Bo-Kaap's storied history.

Discover the Castle of Good Hope with a conducted tour of this oldest building in the country.

Located on Table Bay shore, its red sector covers Robben Island.

We will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

Situated in a valley on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, Hout Bay is historically known to be a fishing village, and was originally established by the Dutch.

From Hout Bay, we will take a boat ride out to Duiker Island. Duiker Island or Duikereiland, also known as Seal Island, is renowned for its marine wildlife such as birds and fur seals.

Today, lunch is included.

It may not be the southernmost point of Africa, but Cape Point certainly makes you feel as if you are standing at the edge of the world. The Cape of Good Hope trail will take us along a well-maintained and marked boardwalk towards the famous Cape of Good Hope sign, located on the rocky shoreline far below. The trail is popular for the unsurpassed views over the pristine Diaz Beach and rugged western shoreline. Make your way all the way to the very end of the trail, and you'll have reached the most southern point of the Cape Peninsula - a perfect photo opportunity to prove that you've visited the most South Western corner of Africa.

The beautiful Boulders Beach is home to a population of 2,000 to 3,000 African Penguins and is the only place in the world where you get close to African Penguins. Sadly the African Penguin has been classified as an endangered species, due to things like over-fishing, habitat destruction, pollution, and irresponsible tourism activities. We will spend time exploring Boulders Beach and learning more about the beaches' famous inhabitants.

We will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

Today will begin with an orientation on the Cape Town Water Crisis. We will learn how the country is dealing with the effects of a drought both short term and long term. A special guest lecturer who has been performing extensive research on the drought will be there to lead us in discussion. John Yeld, who is a academic in Environmental Studies and now a journalist, has been requested.

Today, lunch is included.

Our day continues with a visit to the City Reservoir and Natural Spring Refill Stations. Here, we will see the current water table and learn more about the water supply for Cape Town.

We will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

The day will be spent working alongside a city project site where they are working to combat the current water crisis.

Today, lunch is included.

We will continue with our service project.

We will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

Today will be spent at a local school where we can visit classes and spend time with local South African students. While here, we can exchange ideas and discuss the differences between school in America and in South Africa.

Today, lunch is included.

We will continue with our classes.

We will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

The morning will be spent at a local government office to learn what is being done to help possibly alleviate the Cape Town water crisis.

Today, lunch is included.

We will continue our service-learning activity.

We will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

We will spend the day at the Aquila Safari Private Game Reserve, where we will discuss the drought crisis in South Africa and how it is affecting the animals. We will see how the reserve is helping the animals to adjust to life in a drought and how they are protecting the animals.

After our discussion we will have the opportunity to participate in a safari tour!

Today, lunch is included.

Tonight, we will enjoy a special farewell dinner as a group to bring closure to our experience.

Our rewarding and enjoyable tour comes to an end as our Tour Director accompanies us to the airport on our final day.