My trip to South Africa was super long but as a traveler, I am lucky that I can sleep anywhere! Nine hours to Frankfurt, ten hours in the airport, and another ten hours on the flight to South Africa until I finally landed Friday morning – two full days of travel. I was exhausted and as soon as I landed I just wanted breakfast and a warm bed. Instead Mike Argento, from GI Sports, and I had to jump right onto another flight and head to Port Elizabeth for the first clinic of the week. After a very successful clinic in PE, we head to the airport the next day to catch our last flight back to Johannesburg where I stayed for the remainder of the time.
During the week we had a ton planned out and we were all running on little sleep from going to Nikki beach Sunday night, a really fun club we visited. We visited a different paintball store each day of the week where we would hang out for a couple of hours and sign posters. The best part of the trip was going to see all of the animals that Africa had to offer. Their “zoos” are not like our zoos in the US. Sure some of the animals are in enclosures, but for the most part the animals are running around on 100s of acres of land. I was able to pet tons of animals like tigers, cheetahs and giraffes. We all piled in this jeep/buggy and drove around the land to see all the animals. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the male lions up close but I was able to see the White Lions from a far and they are MUCH bigger in person. We were able to see a White Lion from a far. On of the lions was bigger than a small car – it was astonishing to see how big these creatures really are in real life.
Paintball City, which is owned and operated by the Birch family, is first class and very well kept and beautiful paintball park. The clinic that was held there on Saturday went very well and I had 35 people attend. The guys and gals in the clinic were great and were very eager to learn and better themselves as players. It’s awesome traveling to other countries and seeing just how hungry some people are to better themselves in the sport that I love so much. The best clinic you can run is one where everyone has a great time and enjoys themselves, but most importantly is leaving there knowing they learned something from myself that will help them in the long run to better themselves as a paintball player. Sunday rolls around and this might have been the highlight of my trip because I was able to play with each team 1 game apiece. I was able to meet each team and play a single game with them, as well as against them. The RPL was very organized and impressive with their scheduling and ability to get things done on time. I had an amazing time at the tournament and during my entire time there. I want to thank everyone that was involved in my trip: Nick Birch, Chris Birch, Mike Argento, Jax Klopper, Paul Grobler, and all of the stores that I visited. You all showed me a time that I will not forget!
