Take A Leap: South Africa Trailer

Thank you all for your support. We had a great time in South Africa and would go back again in a "heart beat".

 Would you consider traveling to another country to volunteer for over a month period of time?

Travel Tuesday: Totsiens "Goodbye" South Africa

Take A Leap South Africa

We had a great time filming and taking photos of our experience in South Africa. Until we finish the 2 webisodes: Take A Leap South Africa and Take A Leap SurfShack Surf School enjoy the beautiful pics below.

Saturday, October 4-Sunday, October 5, 2014 - Life on the plane

Map of our flight to Johannesburg, SA.

Vegetarian meal on South African Airways.

Monday, October 6, 2014 - Cape Town City Tour

Milnerton Beach.

A cable car going up Table Mountain.

Take A Leap Interviewee Rob Crawford.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 - Muizenberg & SurfShack Surfing School

Surf time.

Waiting on the waves.

Volunteer Linda getting surfing lessons.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 - Cape Town Townships and Robben Island Tours

A single family unit in the Langa Township.

One of four High Schools in the Langa Township.

The hallway outside Nelson Mandela's former prison cell.

Thursday, October 9-Saturday, October 11, 2014 - Entabeni Safari

Momma and Baby Giraffe.

Aboard the safari jeep.

The finale dinner was outdoors.

You can also view more of our pics at our Take A Leap Facebook Page.

Are you willing to Take A Leap to South Africa?

Rhonda W. & Sharee W.

Travel Tuesdays: Take A Leap S. Africa & Ancestry DNA Results

We're less than a week away from our trip to S. Africa.  The trip is two-fold in that it was a personal trip that Rhonda desired to go on after she found out she was cancer free September a year ago. It was also enthusiastically the location of the next installment of our Take A Leap Webshow.  The segment will highlight Rob Crawford, a Black American, who has spent more than a decade in S. Africa, and a few of his friends and associates. It will highlight their motivation to move to S. Africa and their perspective of Africans views of them being Black Americans.  We'll also share the sights and sounds of Cape Town and it's colorful neighborhoods, and a safari outside of Johannesburg where we expect to see the Big 5. 

A few weeks ago, we have found some interesting news about our ancestral background based on an Ancestry DNA test previously taken.  Here are the results:


Africa                                                                              93%
Cameroon/Congo  31%
Ivory Coast/Ghana  29%
Senegal  16%
Nigeria  7%
Benin/Togo 6%
Africa South-Central Hunter-Gatherers  3%
Mali  <1%

America                                                                             1%
Native American   1%

Europe                                                                               6%
Ireland   5%
Iberian Peninsula    < 1%

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© 2014 Nokia© 2014 Microsoft Corporation

Interesting enough, most Black Americans who take the test are less than 80% African.  However, because of our strong family connection to the South where the slaves were known to have journeyed from the West Coast of Africa, our 93% African heritage is quite impressive and denotes only a recent occurrence of the other ancestral backgrounds.  I thought we were more Native American (1%) because of our great-grandmother's features, but apparently we're more European (5% Irish) than American. A visit to Dublin maybe on the horizon, along with Ghana (29%) which has also been on our bucket-list of African destinations to travel to!!  

Knowing our background makes the trip even more intriguing considering the very first stop-over will be in Senegal (16%) for a one hour break and refuel before heading on to Cape Town via Johannesburg.  Senegal's Goree Island is home of the monument known as the "Door of No Return" which is a doorway high above the Atlantic Ocean and symbolic of slaves final step from Africa on-board the slave ships to America.

What do you know about your family history? Any surprises?

What Is My Passion Thursdays: Genealogy and Ancestry

Photo Credit via Vectorstock.com

Over the last few days I've been obsessed with discovering my family's genealogy and ancestry backgrounds.  My family is unique in so many ways because of the dynamics of relationships.  How can my mom and her sister marry a "Washington" and they not be related?  How about the fact that so many children on both sides of my family took on their mother's last name and not their father's? And why are there so many different spellings of last names in the same family?  Furthermore, the census reports stated that many of my relatives were farmers and laborers.  Was this their passionate career? Did they ever think of doing something different? Maybe a musician or writer?  Where did I get my need for artistic expression from? 

As the trip to S. Africa in October looms, the curiosity has increased.  More often than not, I've been told that I have very "Afrocentric" features that resonates from someone of African descent. More so, I'm often asked if I'm from there.  Yes...but not so direct.  I've been told I could be from any number of countries in Africa but specifically, being from South Carolina, that the likely area would be from the Ivory Coast or Ghana region.  I'm so curious, and for the life of me, I can not find a family tree from a previous family reunion from my mother's side of the family completed almost 20 years ago.  A good thing that has come out of it has been that I've gotten rid of a lot of paper clutter around the house...any way....

So if it's not all about your family's surname, then how do you really know who you are and where you come from?  In the discovery phase we found out about Ancestry DNA.  It's a new option for someone who's looking to get the details about their ethnic origin.  By finding what's unique about your DNA, you are able to discover your true roots.  Love this concept!!  So in a few weeks I plan to take the test, and should get my results back just before Rhonda and I head off to S. Africa.  And because Rhonda and I are identical, there is no need for us both to take the test.  As excited as I am about finding out my African roots, I'm also curious if there are other parts of me yet to be discovered.  For example, my mother's maiden name is of English-French origin. Could be coincidental considering many slaves took on their master's last name.  But what will my DNA tell me?  Hmm....will this discovery take us to our next travel destination?

Are you passionate about finding your family history or ethnic ancestral background, if unknown?  Have you found out anything interesting?

Sharee W.

Travel Tuesday: Take A Leap South Africa Seed&Spark Campaign

Photo Credit:  seedandspark.com

Over the last week and half we have been promoting in social media about our Seed&Spark campaign in support of Take A Leap: South Africa.  Well, the time is here, and it officially launched on Mon, July 14.  We have 45 days to raise at least 80% of $4155 (approx. $3324) for the project to be "green light" and for us to received any contributed money. We have incentives and wishlist items you can choose to place your donations to.  We also have a vacant Editor position (travel editing experience preferred) that you can apply to via the campaign site.  Click the link below to see our vision, our passion, and your commitment in supporting, viewing, and sharing the Take A Leap webseries.

Take A Leap: South Africa

Rhonda W. & Sharee W.

Travel Tuesdays: Johannesburg Through Pictures

As Sharee and I prepare for our Take A Leap South Africa webshow, we thought we will share pictures of the second of two locations we will be filming from. Pictures from the first location can be viewed here.

Although we will be going on 4 game drives at Entabeni Private Conservancy, we will take one day to visit nearby Johannesburg.

A Lioness in Entabeni.
Photo Credit: FriendlyPlanet.com

A White Rhinoceros in Entabeni.
Photo Credit: FriendlyPlanet.com

Downtown Johannesburg Photo Credit: Dreamstime.com

Johannesburg at night. Photo Credit: Aroundaboutcars.com

Shopping in Johannesburg. Photo Credit: Gloholiday.com

South African food. Photo Credit: http://www.pommietravels.com

Have you traveled to Johannesburg? What are some places you would recommend us to visit while in Johannesburg?

Rhonda W.