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2008 Miss World candidates |
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 Miss World candidates hang up their heels for South African safari. Trading their stilettos for sneakers and cocktail gowns for khakis, Miss World contestants broke from their pageant preparations to trek into the South African bush... just for a short safari.
"I never thought I'd be close to nature, living in a mud hut or tent, playing with the animals, lions and cheetahs. It's better than a five-star hotel!" gushed Miss India, Parvathy Omanakuttan.
Wearing an apron and a white chef's hat, the 21-year-old helped whip up a traditional Zulu dish, and then cut the rug with some impromptu dance steps along with the other beauties in a scene more holiday resort than competition.
In the stunning Entabeni reserve, in the northwestern province of Limpopo, the 112 candidates left behind their on-stage personas to play enthusiastically on the djembe and plant a tree that bears their name.
As they shoveled compost teeming with earthworms, they seemed a long way from the stage where one will be crowned the world's most beautiful woman in Johannesburg on December 13.
Aged 17 to 25, most jumped right into a lesson on "gumboots dance," created by South African miners. Dressed in knee-high black rubber boots, they burst into laughter at their outfits, looking more like farmers than fantasies.
"In Venezuela, it's impossible to do this. A beauty contestant must always appear impeccable, like a queen. Heels all the time, very made up and well-poised," said Hannelly Quintero, batting her long fake lashes.
"The pageants in my country are very superficial, here we're learning so much about nature and the life of the people, how they live and eat," she said, happy to leave their hotels to see zebras and giraffes. Via AFP
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Miss World 
