Student blog (part 2): Exploring our ‘home away from home’

By Aaron Riding and Sophie Van Hooven

UCM students, Aaron (BSC Hons Finance and Accounting) and Sophie (BS Hons Event Management and Marketing) are currently on an unforgettable internship at Pine Lake Marina, situated in the heart of the Garden Route National Reserve, one of South Africa’s glittering gems. This is their blog.

Day 2:

We woke up early to be greeted by all the Pine Lake Marina staff. Franco introduced us to everyone and spoke how they hoped to give us the best possible time by enabling us to experience the South African culture and activities, as well as providing valuable work experience.

Later on, Alan, the Events Manager, took us on a tour of the resort, showing us all of the areas that we needed to know for our work and leisure. I am happy to report that the resort offers everything we could possibly need for the next three months: a gym, shop and also a bar! Lucky us!

Pine Lake Marina is located in a beautiful area. In the afternoon, we explored the surroundings by kayaking on Swartvlei Lake. There is a lot of wildlife around here, such as guinea fowl and monkeys… certainly a change from the animals around Port St. Mary.

Day 3:

Our first Saturday was spent visiting the local market. Here we stocked up on locally produced goods such as cheese, yoghurt and vegetables. The stalls offered a swath of products and sold lots of ready to eat food. My breakfast today consisted of a German chilli-dog, which went down rather well.

The time spent around the stalls ended up with an early morning beer tasting (as you do…), and of course we also purchased some local beer. Here’s an interesting find to share – it turns out that Sedgefield produces a rather nice IPA!

Seeing the variety of goods on offer at the stalls was incredible. One stall in particular that caught our attention, sold figurines of local animals out of wood, stone, beads and even Coke cans. Clearly, the area has talented craftsmen.