Posting #5 - Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula

We finished up our tour with 3 nights in Cape Town for a grand finale. The first photo is the Bo Kaap district, the very colorful Malaysian quarter. We spent the evening at the Cape Town Waterfront and Ruth tried her hand at the vuvuzela, much to the delight of the locals! The next day we took the spectacular Chapman Peak Drive toward the cape and then visited the penguins at Boulder's Beach. Yes, there really are penguins in Africa.
The Cape of Good Hope area is wind-blown, but spectacular. Rick and Denise were ready to take off on another adventure on little 3-wheeler motorcycles! I got a perfect shot of a mother baboon and her baby, with the Cape in the background. I also managed to catch a shot of a rust-winged blackbird in flight! Four of the group hiked down from Cape Point to the Cape of Good Hope. Back in the city we had to try sushi for dinner at a beach restaurant. Yum!
Friday morning we spent a couple hours in Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, which features all African plants and trees. Particularly the Protea Garden was fascinating and we were thrilled to get to see the national flower - the King Protea!
We continued out to Stellenbosch to the famous wine region and had a tour, a wine-tasting, and a Boerebraai (farm barbecue) at Middelvlai Wine Estate. It was just plain wonderful. Ben, the owner, gave us a private tour and let us taste different wines right out of the barrels. Then they served up the most amazing lunch, including liver pate which Ben had made himself. We didn't need much dinner after that so once it got dark we just drove up on Signal Hill and ate some leftovers and fruit and gazed at the magnificent night lights of Cape Town. A nice "dot on the i" to end our trip.
People flew out at various times Saturday, but we found time to walk through the Company Gardens in downtown Cape Town and also to see the cathedral where Bishop Tutu was based and where the big peace movement was centered. It was moving to see the displays.
Great trip! Wonderful country! Amazing sights! Outstanding Food! Let's go again!!

Posting #4 - The Garden Route, Port Elizabeth to Cape Town

The Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town is one of the most diverse and delightful routes in the world. We flew from Johannesburg down to the south coast, to Port Elizabeth on the Indian Ocean. We spent a night in Addo Elephant Park and saw more elephants than we could have imagined! Everywhere you looked over the savannah there were animals. We also saw tortoises, eland, warthogs, zebras, kudus and lots of birds. LaVerne celebrated her 80th birthday there and after we sang Happy Birthday, the staff sang it in Is-xhosa with moving parts and all. Memorable!
There are many beautiful beaches and rocky areas along the Garden Route. We enjoyed a hike to the suspension bridges in Tsitsikamma National Park and views from the Knysna Heads, down over the lagoon and ocean.
Oudtshoorn claims 80% of the ostriches in the world and we had an interesting visit to an ostrich farm. A couple of our group even rode them. We were also treated to a male ostrich doing a rare mating dance, which was fascinating to watch.
Our last day before Cape Town took us over Route 62, a take-off of America's Route 66, but here it's famous for being the longest wine route in Africa. Scenery changed dramatically as we approached Cape Town.

Posting #3 - Edeni to Pretoria

Our whole time at Edeni (Chisomo) was amazing. On the second day we took a drive into town to do some local African shopping and got pictures of school children and of some local women out for a day excursion. The women were very friendly and pleased as punch to pose for and with us. Our last night at Edeni, Louie the chef served a most amazing 5-course dinner and topped it off with 7 (seven!) desserts. Wow! Another photo here shows the tents we lived in. When we first arrived, the women in the group were wondering how far their tent was going to be from the restrooms, but they were relieved to find full, modern facilities in each tent!
Upon leaving Edeni we toured the Blyde River Canyon area again, with the Three Rondavels (hills that look like Zulu Huts) and God's Window. It was beautiful up on top, but the Lowfeld below us was completely hidden in fog. It was interesting to see the fog creep right to the edge of the Escarpment but not come beyond it. A short hike at God's Window took us up into a beautiful rain forest.
We drove on to Pretoria and saw the Union Buildings - South Africa's capitol - and got to see a South African Wedding party as well.

Posting #2 - Panorama Route to Edeni Safari Lodge

We have been seeing sooooo many animals and sights! When we finally get to our beds in the evening we just fall in and go to sleep right away. Also, I've only had wifi access in the room a few times so have neglected the blog a bit.
This posting goes from Hazyview, through the Panorama Route on a foggy day to our safari Lodge, Edeni (Chisomo). On the way we visited Bourke's Luck Potholes, Lisbon Falls, and Berlin Falls. Then our safari began with marvelous animals - elephants, lions, cheetahs, hippos, giraffes, zebras, and many others. One of our group, KC (from Kalispell) is a birder so we have been taking extra note of all the magnificent birds in Africa!
It is springtime here and one of the highlights is seeing the baby animals. Seeing 4 lion cubs playing was amazing!