Third Day of Wine Tasting

This morning we left Aan de Vliet and headed south towards Somerset West, then up the mountain to the cloudy side and the Elgin Valley. Our first stop was a repeat visit to Paul Culver where of course we found some very nice wines including a Gewurztraminer which we purchased and enjoyed with dinner this evening, and a riesling noble late harvest which we bought for later.

Next we headed to the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley above Hermanus. Rather than routing us down the main road to Hermanus and up the valley, our GPS took us over the mountain on a gravel road, so that was a minor adventure. Once we got back to pavement it was a short drive up the hill for a repeat visit to Newton Johnson. It's a striking setting high in the hills with views of the distant bay (see photo). Newton Johnson has produced multiple 5-star wines. The pinot noir was particularly good, and they had a nice syrah blend which I purchased.

We headed just a few kilometers down the hill to Bouchard Finlayson. Again, some nice wines including award-winning pinot noirs, but we managed not to buy any. The next stop was just down the hill at Hamilton Russell.

Hamilton Russell was busy when we arrived, with all of the tables on the patio occupied and crowds of people going in and out of the small, casual tasting room. The two staff members seemed overwhelmed, but eventually thing settled down and we joined a couple from England for a very nice "private" tasting. We learned a lot about the wines and the history of the farm, which was apparently the first in the area. They only produce 7 wines, but they are fantastic. They have a chardonnay which we actually liked, and the best pinot noir yet - so we bought it.

The final wine stop was Whalehaven, which is actually in Hermanus. It's not a scenic setting, but it's a nice tasting room and I was able to get a tasting of wine and chocolate pairings which was very nice. We asked our server there to recommend a nice spot where we might enjoy a picnic, so she sent us to a breezy beach with no tables or shade (see photo). We stuck it out, though, and had our picnic on a bench. We had one of our Fairview cheeses, bread, meat, grapes, and chocolate.

It was a late lunch, so as soon as we were finished we jumped back in the car for the two-hour drive to Simonstown. It was a pretty drive back over the mountain to Somerset West and then along the beach past Khayelitsha and through Muizenberg, St. James, Kalk Bay, and Fish Hoek to Boulders Beach. (The beach traffic in St. James and Kalk Bay was terrible!)

At Boulders Beach we got checked in and moved all the bags into our oceanside suite before a parking spot opened up. But not long after the car was parked we changed and braved the wind to walk down to the beach. We had an amazing time watching and photographing the penguins and rock dassies as we climbed the granite rocks, strolled through the sand, and waded in the water. I'm sure we took way too many penguin photos... actually, can you ever have too many penguin photos?

We had a nice dinner right here at the lodge - kingklip, chicken curry, and seafood curry. We sat inside with the ocean view, because the relentless wind made the terrace impossible. In fact, it's still insanely blustery as we prepare for bed. We're hoping it we be a little calmer in the morning when we head out to see the penguins again.

A Beautiful Day of Wine Tasting

After blogging this morning on the balcony and eating a quick breakfast in our suite, we headed toward Paarl and our first wine farm of the day: Fairview. We had been there before, so we knew we would enjoy it. Home of the Goats Do Roam brand, the very large winery features a couple of goats and a goat tower for climbing. We arrived just before they opened, so we watched the goats eat a while before going in for the tasting. The wines were fine; the most noteworthy was the reserve Beacon Shiraz. The highlight at Fairview, for us, is the cheese which they distribute nationally. The tasting included 7 types of cheese, all of which were delicious except for the boring brie. We bought a baguette and a couple kinds of cheese to enjoy later. After the tasting, we took a walk through the large garden and watched the male goat climb the tower.

Fairview

Next we headed back toward Stellenbosch, to the Simonsberg Mountain area, where yesterday we enjoyed Kanonkop and Knorhoek. In fact, we turned up Knorhoek road to get to our next two stops, Muratie and Delheim. The Muratie wine estate was stunning and dates back to 1685. The drive was

Table Mountain view from Muratie.

lined with flowering plants, and the property is situated at the right elevation to offer excellent views of Table Mountain in Cape Town, just over 30 miles to the west. The walk from the parking area to the tasting room led past a nice old Cape Dutch home through a lush, somewhat tropical, informal garden. The tasting room and restaurant were in an ancient, rambling old farm building shaded by huge oak trees. We wound our way through several rooms until we found the tasting room, and there we started sampling the best wines we've had on this trip. We don't really like Chardonnay, and they had one that was ok. Everything else was wonderful, including a nice white blend, a Pinot Noir, two port-style wines, and an amazing desert wine called Amber Forever. When I tasted it, I told Barry I was never leaving that spot. (Of course I eventually left, but I wish that moment lasted forever.) We bought the Pinot Noir and the Ben Prins port-style wine. During the tasting the power went out. Our room had windows, but they had to take candles into the rooms where people were seated for tastings. The lack of electricity seemed to add to the charm.

Muratie.

Muratie tasting room.

Simonsberg

Our next stop was through the Muratie estate, just a few hundred meters up the hill at Delheim. It's drive was lined with large flowering flame trees in multiple colors. The parking area offered equally stunning views of Table Mountain and the much closer Simonsberg. The farm is home to multiple Jack Russel Terriers and a couple of cats. We had a nice tasting outside served by "Junior," during which a couple of guys set up some xylophones to play live music. The Delheim wines were also very nice and included a delicious Gewurztraminer and a desert wine that Barry actually liked better than Amber Forever. We had lunch reservations at Delheim and were seated on the patio next to the garden with a west-facing view toward Table Mountain. For lunch we had a bottle of the Gewurztraminer and an amazing ostrich bobotie.

When we finally pulled ourselves away from Delheim, we stopped at nearby Le Bonheur which was advertised as being open until 4:00 but which was actually closed. We moved down the road to Warwick and realized that we have also been there before. Unlike our visit in 2010, this time the place was very busy with people tasting inside and out, picnicking on the grounds, and children swimming in the fountain. Barry and I sat inside for a tasting while Gywen explored outside. The wines were fine; nothing that stands out.

Lunch at Delheim.

By this point we were worn out, so we returned to our lodging for some rest. After a nap, Barry and I walked the grounds and enjoyed watching and petting the two German Short-haired pointers, the vizsla, and the schnauzer. The Jack Russel didn't have much to do with us. For dinner we went back into town to Wijnhuis. Barry had some nice ostrich medallions, Gywen had a nice veal, and I had some yummy fish and calamari. We will have to go to bed soon, because we have a third full day of winery visits planned for tomorrow. We will be leaving Stellenbosch and heading toward Hermanus for the day. Tomorrow night we will be in Simonstown with the penguins! 

Stellenbosch

Yesterday began with breakfast on the veranda overlooking the formal garden at Boone Esperance. The weather seemed just about perfect and the red eyed doves were persistent with their calling. By the time we checked out and loaded the car, we were about 1/2 hour "behind schedule," but it didn't take long to get to the first of five wineries for the day.

We started at Kanonkop just north of town. The entrance is down a rose-lined driveway next to a a vineyard with a beautiful mountain for a backdrop. the mountains, particularly those a little more to the south, were made especially more dramatic by a large imposing cloud ban which they seemed to be holding back from the valley. Those clouds sat there most of the day while we we enjoyed warm, mostly sunny weather.

Kanonkop had nice wines, a beautiful large tasting room, and a lovely art gallery. It was one of the most beautiful wineries we visited all day, and probably gets our vote for the best overall setting. We bought a lovely ten-year-old "vintage" Pinotage there. From Kanonkop we went to nearby Beyerskloof. It sits on a small farm just off the highway and has a contemporary tasting room with an outdoor patio. We enjoyed some nice wines there including a side-by-side tastings of different styles of Pinotage.

Kanonkop

 We had received a call from our B&B asking us to check in between 11 and 3, so after Beyerskloof we headed back into town to find it, stopping on the way to buy water and mail the key to Zulu-Nyala. Our new lodging, Aan de Vliet, is on a large property in a secluded setting. The names means "by the river," and since we are in a tree-lined valley we don't have any mountain views here but we have a nice jacaranda tree out the window near the balcony. We haven't walked around yet, but when we do we hope to meet the dogs, one of which is a German Short-hair Pointer. The rooms are large, contemporary suites, so it's very pleasant here. After moving our bags in, settling the bill, and making dinner reservations, we headed back out to the wine farms.

For lunch, we headed to Mooiplaas, which had been recommended to us by our friends Reagan and Willem, as the owners are related to Willem. It was off the beaten path, in the hills west of Stellenbosch. Mooiplaas, which means beautiful farm, was an old farmstead with a beautiful manor house. The tasting room was in a rustic old building which had been uniquely converted. We had arranged to have a picnic lunch there, so with our glasses of wine we sat outside under a tree and enjoyed baguettes with a lovely pesto spread, prosciutto, white cheese, brie, olives, tzatziki, and jams.

Mooiplaas Manor House

From Mooiplaas we headed to L'Avenir where we sat on a patio overlooking a pond for our tasting. It was nice, but not the most scenic setting of the day. Fortunately, they had some very nice wines - overall, probably the best of the day. We bought a a bottle of sparkling wine there (Blanc de Blanc) which we might enjoy for New Year's, and Gywen bought a Chenin Blanc to drink with dinner.

The fifth winery Barry had selected closed at 3:00, so unfortunately we missed it. But L'Avenir recommended a place nearby that stayed open until 5:00 and we headed up the road to Knorhoek. It's actually close to where we started the day at Kanonkop, so it had the same lovely mountain as a backdrop. We had our tasting on the patio so we could enjoy the view of the mountain and the woods around the farm. Since we were late arriving, we only got to sample three wines, but they were very nice and we bought a bottle of Pinotage to have with our dinner.

Back in town we did a little shopping in the historic downtown area, then went back to Aan de Vliet for about an hour before returning downtown for dinner at the award-winning steakhouse Hussar Grill. We weren't disappointed. Gywen had a very nice filet while Barry and I enjoyed terrific thick cuts of ostrich. We hardly needed desert, but ordered some malva pudding to share. It was passable, but as we were eating it the manager sent over three complimentary chocolate vodka drinks. Well, Gywen was done and Barry doesn't like chocolate, so the responsibility to drink them fell to me. We went home and more or less went straight to bed.

Holidays

Christmas Eve started out with coffee on the terrace while we enjoyed the beautiful grounds and the calls of many birds including most notably hadeda and red eyed doves. We also walked around the grounds to look at the trees and flowers. We got ready and made the short drive back to Marty and Peter's house for breakfast and to start our day-long laundry extravaganza. After breakfast, Barry, Gywen and I went to the nearby mall to see the Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies in 3D. Barry really enjoyed it. I was impressed by the low cost of both the movie tickets (about $4.50) and the popcorn ($2 for a medium!). After the movie, we decided to look around the mall for a little while. We went in several clothing stores and noticed that the prices are just as expensive as in the US, contrary to our first visit here in 2000. We ended up at Woolworth's where we bought a couple of things, and where we were impressed by the very inexpensive prices on quality wines. As we left the mall, I was impressed that the parking for the whole time we were in the movie and shopping was only R11, or just under $1. Gywen thought it was crazy that we had to pay anything.

We were very confused trying to exit the mall and get back to the road we wanted, but we eventually found our way and headed to the Spar where we wanted to send a package through the mail. The postal workers advised us that it would be quicker, cheaper, and more reliable to send it through "Postnet," so we headed there, only to arrive 8 minutes after they closed for the holidays. Still haven't mailed the package.

That evening, Marty hosted a wonderful dinner party for us, Peter's mother Lyn, his brother David and his wife Barbie, and their son Alan and his family. We feasted on smoked salmon, salads, asparagus, and homemade (American) pumpkin and pecan pies while we tracked Santa's progress through NORAD. I understand Santa finally made it to the Johannesburg area just before Al, Vanessa, and the boys got home.

Opening gifts at Marty and Peter's.

Christmas day started with blogging and coffee on the terrace with the sun shining, birds calling, and a lizard or two scampering about by our feet. We went to Marty and Peter's for a lovely breakfast on their front patio before opening our gifts. Around Noon we headed to Al and Vanessa's home to spend the rest of the day with them, Dave and Barbie, Lyn, Al's sister Angie and her husband Ross, and 5 young boys. We began with drinks and starters on the patio, followed by a fantastic meal on the patio (turkey, ham, roast beef, potatoes, salads, homemade ice cream, plum pudding, and Christmas cake.) After lunch, I joined Al, Ross, Andrew, Ollie, and Alec for a nice swim in the pool before everyone convened in the lounge for the second gift exchange of the day. By the time that ended, we were all just about worn out and each family headed home. Back at Marty and Peter's house, we rested and watched a beautiful compilation of Peter's wildlife photography from the Kalahari Desert. We ended up munching on a few leftovers, believe it or not. I had to have more of those pies, and it was nice to have a little protein and veggies first.

Barbie, Vanessa, Marty, Ollie, Andy, Peter, and Al.

I started Boxing Day with a quick coffee on the terrace while Barry packed and got ready. It was a bit cloudier this morning and the birds were not quite as active. After we got everything packed up, we checked out and went to Marty and Peter's for breakfast. We got Gywen loaded, then chatted for a while and took a couple of pictures before leaving for the airport shortly before 10:00 am.

Saying Goodbye.

We made good time getting to the airport, then drove, it seems, all over Gauteng Province trying to figure out exactly where the petrol station was and how to get in it. Finally we did, then we returned the car and checked in for our flight to Cape Town. All went well on the two-hour flight. On the other end, it seemed to take forever to get the rental car, only to find out that it was tiny! We went back to the counter and eventually were able to get a marginally larger car which holds everything if we put one suitcase in the back seat. An hour and 45 minute after landing, we were on the road to Stellenbosch - about 1/2 hour too late to squeeze in any wineries today.

We've checked into the lovely and historic Bonne Esperance Guest House, and are passing some time before our dinner reservation at Jimmy the Fish, which was recommended to us by Ross. We have more red-eyed doves calling outside of our window as I type, It's nice here, around 68 degrees, but it was very windy in Cape Town and on the road. It's also a bit hazy so the mountains are less stunning than they can be, and Table Mountain was still impressive even with some clouds at the top. Tomorrow should be mostly sunny with a high of 81, so it looks to be a great day for visiting wineries!

Last of the Photo Safari

Monday morning we went out for a game drive - late (8:00), so we had breakfast first. Gywen stayed behind at the lodge. Mark had taken the other family to St. Lucia for the day, so we had Ronnie again for our morning drive and we were joined by a family from Anchorage. Not a terrible lot of action on the drive... the usual hoofed animals, a kingfisher, a croc, a pin tailed widah, yellow billed kite, kudu bulls, and Barry saw a red duiker. On an earlier drive that morning, another group had seen the male cheetah following a leopard. We were on the lookout. Ronnie took us to the area where the cheetah has been hanging out, and he hopped out of the vehicle with his machete in hand. He headed into the bush to look for the elusive cat and soon came back and invited us to get out of the truck to follow him.

We walked about 20 meters into the bush and found the cheetah resting under a tree. We quietly watched and took photos as he looked around, rolled over, and posed for our benefit. After a few minutes, he sat up and looked around, then started slowly started walking toward the nearby wildebeests we all could hear bleating as they grazed. We went back to the truck and drove around to a road in the direction of his travel. We saw him again as he approached the other road, but he didn't seem to be actively hunting and we went back to the lodge before witnessing any major action.

Watching the cheetah.

That day, to pass the time, we each had a nice massage in the spa. Gywen supplemented hers with the

Martial Eagle.

best pedicure she's ever had. We had lunch and headed back out for our evening drive, this time with Riann as our guide. He was very knowledgeable and talked a lot about the animals, their behavior, and their habitats. The drive featured the usual animals, along with the elephants, kudu, a croc, monkeys, hippo, rhino, cormarant, egret, storks, a three banded plover, a juvenile black crowned heron, green backed heron, and a harrier hawk. The highlight of the evening was a huge, beautiful martial eagle - the largest in Africa. We watched him sitting in a tree long enough for us to take some nice photos. Eventually he took off and swooped down toward the ground. I though he was landing, but then we saw a heard of startled impala running for their lives. The eagle didn't catch anything, and landed in another tree further away. We watched all of the impala (including dozens of young ones) excitedly crossing the road in front of us. We were hoping to catch the rare sight of the eagle coming back to catch one... but he was taking his own sweet time and we finally had to move on.

We went to bed early, not long after dinner.

Tuesday morning we left early - 5 am - for our final game drive with Mark. It was a quiet morning, but we did see the cheetah one last time, as well as a second sighting of a baby giraffe (likely 3-4 days old), plus a brown snake eagle, coucals, rollers (finally!), starlings, and a red duiker.

Baby Giraffe!

Even a quiet day of game viewing is a good day! After breakfast we showered, packed, and checked out. By 10:00 am we were on the road for our 7+ hour drive to Johannesburg. Lots of pretty and interesting sights along the way, going from the savannah past a large pretty lake, up the hills, along the Swaziland border, through tiny villages and small towns, through forestry plantations, and across productive farmland to the outskirts of Johannesburg where a handful of gold mine dumps still dot the landscape.

Final Cheetah Sighting.

We arrived at Marty and Peter's house just after 5. Marty took Barry and me down the road to the very nice Golden Candle B&B to check in, so we wouldn't have to sleep on cots in the lounge again. We had dinner back at their house before retiring for some much needed sleep.

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Adventure

On Sunday, we decided to go with our new friends Julie and Sandy to the nearby, much-larger, KZN Conservation-run Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Reserve, where they have lions, black rhino, and other game we might not see in Zulu-Nyala. Our guide Mark had to stay behind to take care of another family, so Ronnie was our guide as we took the open-air vehicle about 40 minutes west to the Reserve. We thought we were going to have to leave at 4:00 am to get the the South gate by the time the park opened at 6:00, but instead we left at 6: and went to the closer north gate. Barry was disappointed that we missed an hour of early-morning game viewing, but the day turned out to be long enough.

We stopped to have our pre-packed breakfast at the park gate. The park itself was beautiful - lots of big hills and mature trees, plus the sheer expanse of space, made for a nice change of scenery, The park has lots of Rhino - well over 1000 -  so it seems like we saw them around every corner. We also saw a good number of elephants, near and far, herds of buffalo, baboons, vervet monkeys, waterbuck bull, and lots of birds including both helmeted and crested guinea fowl, a hamerkop, white faced ducks, a blue heron, yellow billed kites, and a purple crested lourie. Of course we mpala, zebra, also saw the usual suspects: impala, wildebeest, zebra, nyala, and giraffe, including a beautiful big one which galloped across the road right in front of us.

We had a stretch break, and later lunch, at the Hilltop campsite, which, as implied by the name, was very high up and featured great views of the valleys below. We braved lunch at the picnic tables, where a group of monkey was very interested in what we were eating. The sat nearby on the ground, in the tree above us, and on the garbage can next to us. There was a particularly cute baby monkey among them. We had to be vigilant to make sure they didn't come right up and steal our food. Sandy didn't want to deal with it, so she stayed near the truck - but before long she came over to say that the monkeys had overrun the truck while Ronnie was away and one of them made off with the nuts out of Gywen's bag. At least it didn't take the whole bag.

Following lunch we headed south down the main road dropping in elevation until we came to a side road which took us down the the riverbed far below. It was the heat of midday, about 2:30, when most of the wildlife was sleeping, so there was very little activity. Eventually we turned off on a more remote loop road to see if there was any activity along the river (no luck), and moments after we turned around to head back Ronnie stopped and hopped out of the vehicle. We were disappointed to learn that the left front tire was flat. Ronnie quickly set about changing the tire, but didn't get far. The vehicle was not equipped with the tool needed to remove the spare from the undercarriage. And there was no cell service. Lacking options, Ronnie grabbed his machete and headed up the road to the slightly less remote road to wait for a car to pass. He told us he would be back soon. We waited. In the heat. I read, while everyone else closed their eyes to rest. Sandy and I hung blankets to shade ourselves from the blistering sun. Gywen somehow felt safe getting out of the vehicle, putting a blanket on the ground on the shady side of the truck, and laying down on the road in the middle of a game reserve.

Meanwhile, Ronnie waited in the heat for a car to pass - not like many other people would be looking for game at this time of day! One car did come along, but sped off when they saw a man standing in the bush with a machete. After half an hour, he started to walk back to us, but then heard another vehicle passing. He ran back and flagged them down. After we had been waiting 40 minutes, We finally heard a vehicle and saw Ronnie riding back toward us on the back of a truck. We were fortunate that this group came along - it was a park worker, a master's student and a PhD student who are conducting research in the park, and their friend. Their truck had plenty of supplies, so we were able to get the spare out from under the truck. Our jack proved to be the wrong one from the truck, and our rescuers had two jacks including a taller one. The got the old tire off, but we still weren't high enough to attach the new tire, so Ronnie dug a hole in the road with the machete so he could attach the spare. All of this didn't take long, once the rescuers arrived. We took their picture, along with "Carlos," their silly watermelon mascot complete with drawn face, hat, and cigarette.

Off they went, and we continued our drive, stopping soon to get some cool drinks. We never did get to see a lion or a black Rhino, but it was a worthwhile and adventurous day. We left the screens off the vehicle on the way back to the lodge and enjoyed the powerful wind blowing on our faces. as the sun began to set.

Barry and a nice big Rhino at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi.

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi view.

Curious baby vervet monkey and mom.

Tiny baby Rhino!

More Game Viewing

Now we're very far behind on blog posts! Busy days, travel, and low batteries are contributing factors. We have a little downtime this Christmas morning before heading out to spend the day with family, so I will try to knock out a few days...

Pygmy Kingfisher

Saturday, December 20 was our last morning at Zulu-Nyala's Heritage safari Lodge. We had a morning game drive which seemed quiet at first, but a couple of the watering holes turned out to be great. At the first one, we saw a monitor lizard and a frog nest. Next we saw a kingfisher take a dive into the pond and a beautiful pygmy kingfisher. At the final watering hole, the one where the hippos sleep all day, we saw three blue herons, three Spoonbills (storks), a yellow billed stork, water thick-knees, multiple kingfishers, a cormorant, a cattle egret, and a turtle. Not a bad morning.

After breakfast, we packed up and checked out of the nice luxury suites we had. We drove into the town of Hluhluwe to go to the drug store, and while we were there we spent a little time in the grocery store. The town certainly isn't large, but it had a couple of tyre stores, a hardware store, a hotel, a KFC (of course!), and a couple of grocery stores. Most of the stores were lined up along one long strip, where across from the stores lots of individual vendors had set up shop selling fruit or other items, cutting hair, etc. it was a busy little street. The grocery store seemed surprisingly like what we would see at home, except for the very long line of people waiting to conduct banking services at the counter.

Once we got what we needed, we still had a little time before lunch so we headed down the highway to a very large craft market we had passed when we first arrived. I mainly just wanted to see it, while Gywen was looking for one specific item. Unfortunately(?) we didn't get away without spending a fair amount of cash. We got a small Zulu basked (we've never got one one on previous visits), and I decided I needed a giraffe carving for my office. Finally, in spite already having of a wall full of carved masks hanging in our dining room, we were taken in by a beautiful painted zebra mask. It's heavy and difficult to transport, but I will be a wonderful addition to our collection.

While at the market, someone asked about my IU cap. I met a woman from Chicago, her South African husband, and his father who lives in Pietermaritzburg. Her brother graduated from IU with a Kelley degree last May. I also learned that the husband's mother had worked at Michaelhouse School, so I was reminded what a small world it can be.

We headed off to the Zulu-Nyala Safari Lodge to check in and have lunch. The rooms at the Safari lodge were older and smaller than what we had just left, but they were more traditionally "African" with thatched roofs and Zulu basket decor. The most impressive feature was the view - we could see for miles over a beautiful wilderness valley. The least impressive feature was the mosquito infestation. After the first night, we had them spray the room which largely took care of the problem, but man... that was annoying.

Our game drive Saturday evening featured the elephants, a red duiker, a baby rhino about one month old (along with mom of course), black winged storks, our first waterbuck sighting, a genet, and the male cheetah. We took along some sundowners and stopped for a while to enjoy some drinks and conversation in the bush with Mark, Julie, Sandy, and a nice family from Colorado. Following our break, the sun began setting and we headed to the hippo pond. We waited patiently... and waited... until the hippos started to get more animated, and we waited some more. Finally, as almost all of the light had faded away, the hippos started exiting the pond to graze for the night. We were only able to see the huge creatures thanks to Mark's spotlight. It was a nice drive.

Snorkeling!

On Friday, Barry and I slept in a little while Gywen went on the morning game drive. We were afraid we might not get back from the drive on time but Gywen came in to breakfast while we were eating. We could have made it, but this way we got a little extra rest and weren't rushed.

That morning we headed to Sodwana Bay, in a marine reserve on the coast of the Indian Ocean. It was a 90 km drive up an interesting rural highway. All along the route cows and goats were grazing on the shoulder - not always attended. The animals could often be seen crossing or standing in the middle of the highway. Lots of interesting sights to see along the way, for sure.

We made it to Sodwana around 10:15 and worked our way through the dunes to the park entrance, past the market, and to the parking area. A short walk over the dunes brought us to an active and beautiful beach and bay. There were several busy dive charter operations and a small takeaway shop. The beach itself was lined with tractors and people launching and taking in boats full of fishers, divers, and snorkelers. We found the tent where our boat was arranged, but we were about 45 minutes early so we had some time to walk down the beach and wade in the warm, clear water.

Beach at Sodwana Bay

Soon the time came for us to get our orientation and safety briefing. Along with about seven other snorkelers, we learned some Do's and Dont's before piling into a truck to take us across the hot sand to the shore. Our boat was a large inflatable raft fitted with outboard motors. We had to pull the boat around into thee water before climbing in over the sides. Once in and situated, we took a couple of spins around the bay before crossing the surf into the relatively calmer water of the ocean. The captain took us a few kms up the coast in the hopes that we might see some dolphins or whale sharks, but with no luck.

After a while we came across a school of brilliant yellow fish hunting for food. (Don't ask me what type of fish we actually saw - I'm useless with tropical fish.) We jumped in the water to have a look, and it was quite a wonderful sight. Too soon, we were ordered back in the boat so we could relocate to the nearby reef. This area is known as one of the top 5 dive sites in Africa, and there are a series of reefs that are quite popular with divers. since we were only snorkeling, we went to the "1/4 mile" reef, which I believe is the closest one to the shoreline.

We got in the water again at the reef, and spent a decent amount of time in the water (although, not nearly long enough.) There were some grey fish that seemed curious and swam very close to us. There was a variety of fish further down toward the reef itself. I spent some time capturing the scenes with our GoPro, and in the process, I think I was the only person in the party to miss seeing the group of Manta Ray swim by. Apparently, that was the big highlight of our snorkel trip. All too soon we were headed back to shore, where they ran the boat right up onto the beach so we could disembark. We were out for about an hour - just long enough to get a nice sunburn.

I could have spent all day at the beach enjoying the sand and surf, people watching, and snorkeling in the bay, but we didn't have that kind of time. We rinsed off and got back in the car, stopping on the way out of the park to get fresh pineapple, which was probably the best I've ever tasted and it hit the spot perfectly.

Back we drove 90 km past the villages, pineapple fields, and cows to Zulu-Nyala. We arrived just in time for the evening game drive. I don't have the list of animals we saw in front of me... I'm sure we saw the usual good stuff. Back at the lodge that night we had dinner followed by some drinks and blogging in the room.

Leaving Durban for our Photo Safari

On our final morning in Durban, we got up early to walk on the beach, which was just across the street from our hotel on the other side of some dunes. There were already people out surfing, fishing, walking, and even performing some sort of beach-front ritual. As we walked further south, the beach got more and more crowded and we encountered shops, swimmers, cyclists, a soccer game, and impressive sand sculptures (see photo).

We returned to the hotel in time to enjoy the huge breakfast, just ahead of the throngs of tourists from Lesotho. After checking out, we headed to Moses Mabhida Stadium, constructed for the 2010 soccer World Cup (see photo). We rode the funicular to the Skydeck observation platform 106 meters above the pitch and took in wonderful views of the city, including myriad sports facilities, beautiful hillside homes, the port, our hotel, and of course, the Indian Ocean and coastline (see photo).

After shopping in the visitors center, we got in the car and left Durban for the impetus of our trip: the six-day photo safari at Zulu-Nyala. It was a pleasant (sunny!) drive several hours north to Hluhluwe.

At Zulu-Nyala, we had booked space in the tented safari camp, which on the website features tastefully appointed if somewhat rustic Hemingway tents. I thought this would be a unique adventure. To my surprise, we ended up in the tented area, but in standard-construction, adjoined luxury suites! (See photo.) Not what was expected, but perfectly acceptable! Zebra, impala, and Nyala graze outside our door.

We got settled in just in time for a 4 pm game drive with our appointed guide, Mark. Mark has been doing this type of work for 35 years, but his primary job at the reserve now is oversight of the 11 white rhinos and anti-poaching initiatives. He gave us a basic drive around the reserve, where we saw a duiker, wildebeest, impala, zebra, nyala, buffalo, rhinos, giraffes, vervet monkeys, and a tawny eagle. Mark returned us to our accommodation where we had dinner before retiring to our suites for the evening. It was a beautiful ending to our first week in southern Africa.

The next day started early with a 6:15 game drive. This time we were joined by a truckload of other guests from the States, including New York, Chicago, and Seattle. The weather was perfect. We saw many of the same animals, plus hippos,  kudu, crocodiles, a cheetah (see poor quality selfie), and the reserve's three elephants. We stopped for breakfast at Zulu-Nyala's other location, the Game Lodge.

After breakfast we returned to our rooms for showers, much needed naps, and lunch. After lunch we went down the road to a very nice craft market and Zulu culture museum before returning for our evening game drive. Again, the weather was perfect and we saw many of the same animals, minus the elephants and cheetah. There were throngs of impala, including may young ones (see photo). The evening light was perfect, making for some great photos, and it turned into a beautiful sunset. After the drive we had dinner and returned to our fancy suite to enjoy some Amarula while I blogged and Barry researched wineries for us to visit after Christmas.

I'm almost up-to-date with this blog!

Final Day in Lesotho; First Day in KwaZulu-Natal

On our final day in Lesotho, we had a rushed breakfast and set out in a small truck with five of our six guides, plus another adventure tourist Johannes from Germany, for the waterfall. Counting Gywen, that's nine of us plus gear in the truck. We drove to the falls, which took over 1/2 hour on terrible dirt roads. Upon our arrival, we were met by the sixth guide who brought additional gear on horseback. We went to a great vantage point to see the falls and left Gywen there to observe.

The rest of us followed the horse down a steep bank to the abseil location about 15 meters above the river and the top of the falls. The guides assembled everything while we took in the magnificent views of the gorge and marveled at the shepherd and his flock on the cliffs across the river. Before long, it was my turn to attach the harness and step backward over the cliff edge.

I began my decent. Due to the weight of the rope, it was not easy at first to pull the rope up through the harness and force myself down the face of the cliff. Before long, the cliff cut back a bit, leaving me to hang and spin as I slowly got lower. When I met the wall again, I could more normally walk myself backward down the cliff. A few minutes later I was even with the top of the falls. More spinning, more steps down, a few jumps outward to decend more quickly. Then I had great views of the massive falls to my side. I kept going until the mist started hitting me and making the cliff face more slippery. Closest to the bottom, it was like being out in the rain. Water was pouring down crevasses in the rocks, but I finally made it to a slightly sheltered indentation at the base of the falls where the guide was waiting to unhook me and walk me out of the river's furious spray. I had done it: 670 feet down the cliff, the 2701st person to ever do so (not counting guides)!

Next was Barry's turn, and I watched as his tiny figure descended further and further down the massive wall. All went well, except for a little slip on the wet rocks near the bottom. He quickly recovered and finished the descent. He climbed up the slippery canyon rocks to join me and we watched Johannes come down (and slipping in the same place). Once Johannes joined us, the three of us and two guides began the long climb more than 700 feet out of the canyon. This was the hard part! Fortunately, we stopped a couple of times on the way up to rest, have cool drinks, take in the amazing scenery, and ponder the sheep on the cliffs.

Once back at the top, we all piled back in the truck and took the dirt road back to the lodge. After showers and a nice lunch on the terrace, we settled our bill and got back in the car to leave.

The little VW actually made it up the rocky road in first gear, then through the puddle, past the horses, people, and shops to the main road. The beautiful road took us further through Lesotho past breathtaking mountain scenery and nearly unimaginable climbs and descents (see photo). Eventually, the nice road ended but the remaining stretch was passable; albeit with some rather frightening-looking boulders which had fallen onto the road along the way. As we got closer to South Africa, it started to rain.

We climbed higher to the bustling little town of Qacha's Nek where we were apparently in the actual rain cloud. Through a steady rain and low visibility, we found our way to the border post. On the South African side, we had to go in the building and wait in line to get our passports stamped. Nine workers in there, but only one serving the crowd of people trying to cross from one country to the other. Soon enough we were on our way, only to discover that the road was now gravel (see photo). Apparently South Africa does not encourage people to take this route out of their country. Eventually we came to a tar road, then a main road, but we drove up and down massive hills through pouring rain for the rest of the night stopping only once for dinner.

We arrived at our hotel in Durban around 10 pm. The dance club adjacent to the lobby was quite loud, but we couldn't hear that from our rooms on the 11th floor. Barry and I enjoyed some craft beers in the hotel bar before going to bed.

The next day was rainy so we postponed our plan to go to the Moses Mabhida Stadium skydeck. We had a wonderful breakfast in the hotel restaurant and took our clothes to be washed while Barry worked in an Internet café. After shopping for groceries and wine, we picked up the laundry, dumped it at the hotel, and headed to the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.

Barry used Google to find a great spot in Pietermaritzburg for lunch (see photo). It was a gifts and collectibles/antiques/book shop with formal English garden and tea room. The food was delicious. We were not too put off by the cat which ran in the shop with a live mouse in its mouth. (The mouse escaped.)

After lunch we stopped at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site where he was arrested in 1962. We quickly perused the somewhat confusing museum there and walked down "the long walk to Freedom" to see the amazing memorial sculpture.

The day's destination was Michaelhouse, the boarding school where my cousin Chris attended school. More recently, the movie Spud was filmed there. We met the head grounds keeper who was generous enough to give us a nice tour and an overview of the school's history. He showed us the chapel, a dormatory, and some classrooms before taking us around the grounds in the car to see the sports fields, staff residences, pond, amphitheater, and other facilities. In spite of the dismal weather, it was a beautiful place to visit and wonderful to imagine my cousin living there in his formative years.

Next we headed back through the hills, fog, and rain to Pietermaritzburg. I'm sure the Midlands are lovely, but we would hardly know. Fortunately, the rain broke just as we descended into the city. We grabbed some fast food and headed to Harry Gwala Stadium to see a S.A. Premier Soccer Leage match between Maritz United and Sundowns (see photo). It wasn't a big place, but the crowd was good-sized and very enthusiastic. There were lots of interesting sites and sounds to take in as the home team fell 0-2. After the match we made the late night drive back down to Durban, where we were surprised to learn that access to the beach is cut off at night, except to cars with a pass. Our hotel had never mentioned this, so Barry kept asking the police officer "so how can we get to our hotel?" until she finally let us through.

We took some pictures of the abseil, hotel in Durban, and Michaelhouse, of course, but I'm blogging from my phone and can't post them now. I may post some here later, but all of the best photos from the whole trip will be put up in a Facebook album eventually. Stay tuned!

Catching up

It has been a few days since our last post. We didn't have data service (expected) or WiFi (somewhat unexpected) in Lesotho, and limited WiFi in Durban. As a result, there is a lot to write about and I know I can't do it justice in one sitting.

We left Jo'burg around 8 on Saturday morning taking the N1 south toward Lesotho. It didn't take long to realize that the faulty AC in the car was not going to suffice. We ended up driving about an  hour or so out of our way to the Bloemfontein airport to get a different car. We crossed the border a while later and enjoyed seeing the capital city Maseru on our way through to Thaba Bosiu. We arrived at Mmelsi Lodge at 4:15 and quickly headed off to hike up the historic "Mountain at Night."

It was a short steep climb, made more difficult by the altitude, but it was a nice level walk up top. There we saw ruins dating back to about 1820, when Chief Moshoeshoe united the tribes and held off the invaders thus forming what eventually became the Kingdom of Lesotho. We also strolled around the royal cemetery and enjoyed the views in every direction. The sun was setting as we descended  (see photo). That night we had a decent diner at Mmelsi and retired to our small three person rondavel.

The next day we drove through the small university town of Roma before driving up the brand new, beautiful highway to Semonkong. I'm not sure I've ever climbed such steep mountains, and our poor little VW Polo rental could hardly make it. It was interesting seeing people walking up and down the road the whole way. We eventually reached a relatively level plain and the town of Semonkong  (Place of Smoke).

Semonkong is a bustling little village with rows of tin structure shops, dirt streets full of donkeys and horses, one larger store, a number of cinder block houses and pubs, and a soccer pitch where sheep graze.

The Garmin directed us one way to the lodge, but we soon encountered a large water puddle blocking the road, so I found another route - which also turned out to have a similar obstructive puddle. I called the lodge to ask if there was another way, and they ensured us that the only way to get there is through the puddle which two-wheel drive cars do all the time. The children on the fence laughing at us did not inspire confidence, but we forged ahead and found ourselves decending a very steep and rocky road down to the river-side lodge. We were sure the little VW would never get out.

Once there, we were shown to our lovely rondavels. Soon Barry and I set out on a walk to see the famous Maletsunyane Falls. Believe it or not it was about a 3.5 mile walk there, and it was one of the most interesting hikes I've ever been on: up to a mountain pass, across a large marshy field (see photo), down across a stream, past a small collection of houses, along a fence row, past some shepherds, and around a stand of pine trees. There we finally saw the falls, but we were not at a vantage point where we could see the bottom of the canyon. Quickly, we reversed course and made it back 3.5 miles to the lodge just in time for our abseil training.

We both had the opportunity to decend the 25 meter cliff behind the lodge three times to prepare for our big adventure the following day. We completed that just in time to take our donkey pub crawl through the village. (Yep.)

We (including Barry's mother) climbed onto donkeys and rode them up the rocky road to three of the pubs in the town. The first was very primitive, with a pool table, two sets of plastic tables and chiars, and quite possibly no electricity (see photo). The beer selection was limited but we had a Castle and the last Smirnoff Storm before heading to the next pub.

The second pub was busier, had beer coolers, a wider selection, and booths. We had some other South African beers there before moving on to the third pub. At this one, which had a few tables, a jukebox, and a TV, we sampled the Lesotho brand beer before riding the donkeys back down the hill.

After showers, we had a nice dinner at the lodge while it poured down rain. After dinner, I read a little before falling asleep with a fire in the fireplace. The next day was a big one; I hope to blog about that tomorrow!

Not Much Happened.

Today was a fairly laid back day. We finsished wrapping Christmas gifts and sprayed our clothes with permethrine (how exciting!) before heading out late in the morning to pick up our rental car in Sandton. Things seemed complicated at the rental counter, so it took longer than expected.

In the middle of the registration process, there was an unexpected power outage, so we had to write out our  inform8ation on paper forms. The booking website made no mention of the required deposit which also functions as an insurance deductible if anything happens to the car. We finally got that all sorted out, but we had forgotten to take our passports along. Fortunately Gywen had hers, so we could still get the car. Finally, the agency wasn't aware that we plan to take the car to Lesotho. There was an additional fee for them to prepare the paperwork, which of course couldn't be produced on the spot. We decided to go get lunch and returned later for the paperwork.

We were close to the upscale Sandton Center mall (allegedly the richest square mile in Africa), so we headed there and found a place to eat outdoors at Nelson Mandela Square. We took photos with the statue and walked through the mall for a while before retrieving the car and heading home.

Jim with Madiba.

Barry with Lego Yoda.

We experienced another unexpected power outage at home in the afternoon. This evening we went to the trendy Parkhurst community for dinner at a place called Coobs. It was a nice dinner and we enjoyed walking up the street to see the sights before heading home for leftover birthday cake.

We're off to Lesotho in the morning!

Day 1 R: Johannesburg

We woke up to the unfortunate excitement of the storm damage from overnight. We spent some time in the morning walking through the development and talking to people about the damages and looking inside a few homes where ceilings have collapsed. Most homes in the development have sustained some damage. Here at Marty and Peter's house it's just a couple of water spots on the ceiling, which is true for some of the other homes, too. The other surrounding developments also had a lot of damage.

Accumulated hail in the street at the low end of the development.

Late in the morning we headed to the city center to Constitution Hill, home of an old fort and several former prisons where now the prisons are open for tours and the newer Constitution Court and law library have been built. We didn't tour the Women's Gaol or Old Fort/White men's prison, but we took the guided tour through the Black Men's and Coloured Men's prisons and the Court. These prisons have the distinction of having held three Nobel Peace Prize nominees, including both Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. We learned about the terrible prison conditions, disparate treatment of prisoners based on race, prisoner gangs and hierarchies, blanket sculpting, resistance movements, and some of the torture procedures that had been used. In the Court, we learned about the rights guaranteed by the constitution (which was signed 18 years ago Dec 10) and the intentional design of the court building which reflects the transparency of the institution, the concept of "African Justice under a tree," the equality of all people, and the fact that the courts and the government are not above the law and the people. The court also had some great artwork, including a beautiful large beaded South African flag.

Constitutional Court.

Following the tour, we walked around the ramparts of the Old Fort to take in the views of the city, and then enjoyed a nice lunch in a new restaurant at the fort.

Barry, Gywen, and Marty on the Rampart at the Old Fort.

On the way home, we stopped at a very nice gallery and curios shop, where Marty bought us a cute little ceramic sculpture for Christmas. Once we got back home Gywen and I rested while Barry did a little work on the computer. in the evening, we had a very nice birthday dinner for Barry consisting of champagne, salad, grilled steak, roasted vegetables, potatoes, and of course carrot cake for the birthday boy.

Storm Update

Wow - the morning sunlight reveals that the hailstorm was quite damaging. There is still stand8ng hail on the ground at 6 an. The front patio awning next door has collabsed, but worse damage was done to 5 homes in the neighborhood, where the heavy rain has caused the ceilings inside to collapse. I saw in the house across the street, and the damage was amazing.

We're thankful here that the only damage has been to the garden, plus a little water in the room off the garage.