My experience at Cape Point Nature Reserve

I did not know what to expect when I arrived at the Cape Point Nature Reserve. The bus ride was not that interesting because we received a practical worksheet. I was not impressed because I thought the excursion would be work free. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the ride because the company was pretty good. When we arrived at the nature reserve, I saw all these trees and plants as well as lizards. The weather was not the best due to the rain and the wind being very strong.

The first stop we made was Buffelsbay Information centre. I was surprised and excited because I saw the bones of different aquatic animals for example whales. I enjoyed the different facts that I read on the scripture pillars that were there. It was surprising to see how many peoples bladders were very small LOL. Luckily the woman's bathrooms had a disabled section and could hold about 3 girls at a time. Thankfully, this helped the line go much faster and quickly silenced the complaining. There was a beautiful view of a dam from where the bus was parked. The pathway that lead to the dam was surrounded by beautiful fynbos and blooming flowers. Unfortunately , it started raining before i could get to the dam but at least i got to see the dam and how beautiful the buffelsbay information centre is. I hurried to the bus and we were off to the lighthouse tower.

The trip to the lighthouse tower was very interesting. Hunger striked and I had just the right food to fill my tummy!!!!! When we arrived at the lighthouse, all I could think about was how high that tower was and how old it looked. The most mind boggling thought was how am i gonna get up there???!!! The path was so steep and the it was so high. My biggest fears came to life which are falling from cliff and heights. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to use the cable cars to reach the tower. So, we had to walk!!!!!! Due to my experience in walking long distances from one house (my boyfriends) to mine, I was able to quickly reach the top of the lighthouse tower. Obviously, i had to stop and rest a few times. Unfortunately, i did not have a camera with me, but my cellphone worked well enough. The journey to the top of the lighthouse was really long and interesting too. I saw Chacma baboons sitting on the benches and eating plants. I was surprised because I did not think that baboons would eat the leaves. I thought baboons ate meat or fruit or vegetables, not plant leaves. I took many pictures of the baboons and continued to the top of the lighthouse. When I reached the top, the wind blew uncontrollably. I thought I would lose my balance and fly off the edge of the lighthouse. The view was amazing. The ocean and the sounds of the clashing waves and the smell of the water had a really calming effect on me. I felt like I was part of nature. after taking many photos with my class and my friends, I returned back to the bus.

On our way to the Cape of Good Hope, we drove past an Ostrich. According to my research, that ostrich is the only ostrich in the nature reserve and is a male ostrich. We arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. Because everyone was tired of walking and climbing the lighthouse tower, not many students wanted to walk to the top of the mountain. But my friends encouraged me to walk with them to the top of the mountain. The wind was so strong. It felt like i was being pushed continuously. Luckily, because of my great willing power, I reached the top of the mountain. I took many pictures with my friends but couldn't stand for too long because the wind would have gotten the best of me. It was quite disappointing to see that some of my fellow students were eating even though they were told not to eat outside the bus because it would attract the baboons. Many of the other students didn't want to leave the bus because food was apparently more important than the trip to the Cape Point Nature Reserve.

It was my first time at the Cape Point Nature Reserve and I enjoyed every minute of it. From the lighthouse tower, to the pictures of the ostrich, to the climbing of the mountain and conquering a few of my fears. The experience is something that I will never forget.  Thanks to the Life Science Faculty and others who contributed to making this experience worthwhile. I would never have experienced the trip if it wasn't for them.

My experiences in the ECP program

Life science has been a fun experience especially because I have learnt new things about life science, gained new friendships in my practical group as well as in my lectures classes. Life science in university is much more advanced than the work I learnt in high school. The amount of work in life science has also been a new experience for me. The essays and assignments that I had to do in life science has taught me many valuable skills such as time management and being a diligent student at all times. I have also learnt a valuable lesson that hard work gives me great results. This valuable lesson has caused me to always pay attention during classes and read ahead before lectures so that I am able to understand the work that is being discussed in lectures.

 In Introduction to Science 153, I have gained a bountiful of knowledge. Not just knowledge to use in class but also knowledge that I can apply in my future workplace. ISC was not always a fun class to be in due to always having activities to do during classes and constantly being reminded of things we need to learn and how important ISC is for our future and ourselves as people. The one part of ISC I really do enjoy is Life skills also known as living and learning. During this class, my class is comfortable and at ease. We are at ease because our lecturer is very open and curious about developing us as first year students. I enjoy this class because I can let my guard down and talk freely about what a first year student experiences and how that makes us feel. The other part of ISC I also enjoy is Quantitative literacy. In this class, I learnt new skills about the nature of mathematics and science and that those two components have a relationship. Due to this, I have come to notice the various links between the art of mathematics and the art of science.

 In Mathematics, I also achieved allot more than I could have imagined. In high school I was unable to understand mathematics as a subject and I always got really low marks. My aggregate was below average and I knew that I had much more potential than I was showing. Now that I am at university I have been achieving an A aggregate in Mathematics and I finally feel like I am showing my full potential in lectures as well as in tests and examinations. University has taught me many valuable lessons and experiences that I never thought I would develop this early in university. Thanks to my lecturers and the consultation times that I am able to attend at any time, I have been able to achieve my maximum potential. I feel that I made the right choice of coming to this university because I have become a well-rounded person not just in academics but personally too.