But now it really is time for us to go. Our flight leaves in a few hours and we are resting and charging our many devices before being stuck on a 11 1/2 hour flight to Amsterdam, then our 11 hour flight to LAX.
Monday, August 10, 2015
One Last Day
We depart late today (11pm) so there was time for some last minute sightseeing and wine tasting. Behind us is Table Mountain which unfortunately was closed for annual maintenance of the cableway.
But now it really is time for us to go. Our flight leaves in a few hours and we are resting and charging our many devices before being stuck on a 11 1/2 hour flight to Amsterdam, then our 11 hour flight to LAX.
But now it really is time for us to go. Our flight leaves in a few hours and we are resting and charging our many devices before being stuck on a 11 1/2 hour flight to Amsterdam, then our 11 hour flight to LAX.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Touring Cape Town
Yesterday we walked around the city center and visited the aquarium which is quite impressive. We saw fish and sea creatures we'd never seen before. Today we went to a market filled with local artisan clothes, jewelry, pottery, etc. Then we went wine tasting in a different wine area then before.
Tomorrow we head home after a great visit to South Africa. We have enjoyed Cape Town so much that we wish it didn't take 24 hours to get here. It has been a lot of fun but we are ready to be back in our own place and see the cats.
Tomorrow we head home after a great visit to South Africa. We have enjoyed Cape Town so much that we wish it didn't take 24 hours to get here. It has been a lot of fun but we are ready to be back in our own place and see the cats.
Friday, August 7, 2015
South Africa Wine Country
Today we visited Wine Country which is a short distance outside Cape Town. It is similar to Napa but with more dramatic mountains. The wineries were very impressive and the wines were delicious. We ordered some wine shipped home and bought a bottle to have with dinner tonight.
Here is our guide Pieter who has been taking very good care of us in Cape Town. We highly recommend him if you are ever in Cape Town and you can contact him through his web site.
Here is our guide Pieter who has been taking very good care of us in Cape Town. We highly recommend him if you are ever in Cape Town and you can contact him through his web site.
Cape Point
Yesterday on our first outing in Cape Town, we visited Cape Point which is the most southwesterly point in Africa (not the most southern point as I originally thought). We saw the point and then saw some South African penguins, very small creatures compared to Antarctic penguins.
In the evening we went downtown to First Thursdays where on the first Thursday of each month art galleries and stores stay open late in downtown. We bought some stuff then had a very good dinner.
In the evening we went downtown to First Thursdays where on the first Thursday of each month art galleries and stores stay open late in downtown. We bought some stuff then had a very good dinner.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Last Day in the Bush and Journey to Cape Town
We had our last game drive last night and went looking for crocodiles, one of Steph's favorites. We found one sunning on the side of a water hole. Then at dusk we saw a Cheetah with her 5 cubs. They were so cute. The light was going fast so it was hard to get good pictures but got one with mother and cub. Today we left Phinda for Durban for our 2 hour flight to Cape Town. We are in the Mannabay hotel on the side of the mountain near downtown. We plan to see the sights and wine country over the next few days before heading home.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Cat Rehab
Yesterday we had lunch on our deck and then went on a game drive with a fantastic sunset. This morning we went to the cat rehab facility where they take domesticated or injured cats and either prepare them for release or breed them and return the offspring to the wild.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Surrounded by Lions!
We arrived in the Phinda (the "h" is silent) game reserve yesterday. This is a much nicer place than Zulu Nyana. I'll post pictures later. We had lunch and went out on a game drive where we saw a mother cheetah and her two children, and 2 lionesses with 8 cubs. By the time we saw the lions it was so dark that it was nearly impossible to get a good picture.
Steph says:
We drove out in completely open vehicles last night. Our first stop was after sighting a cheetah with her cubs who were hunting. They tried to catch a Nyala but failed and then went after a Wildebeest and also failed. I wondered if the presence of several safari vehicles interfered. Our ranger was driving through the brush and we had to duck our heads because we were surrounded by dense bushes with sharp stickers. We were crashing through small trees and bushes. It gave new meaning to cross country safari! It was wild.
After watching the Cheetahs for nearly an hour, we came upon a group of eight lion cubs and their two mothers. They were also hunting. We stalked them for two and one-half hours. There was interesting encounter with a Bull Elephant who was not pleased to be surrounded by them. He bellowed an flapped his ears. We quickly got away.
It finally became dark and according to our ranger, the lions had sighted a wildebeest. In the process they watched us and several times, they surrounded our vehicle. It was unnerving. We had no protection and had to rely on our ranger who did have a gun in front. He said that the woman in Johannesburg who was attacked was in a lion safari park where they feed the animals from vehicles so when she opened the window they thought it was a signal for food.
Nevertheless, we were completely exposed so when a male lion walked very close to my side of the car, I was unnerved. They are huge! Their paws alone are as big as two of my feet side by side.
We skipped the early morning drive but are going out later today again. Hopefully, it won't be for four hours. It gets cold and dark and windy. Also, crashing through bushes gets old quickly.
Steph says:
We drove out in completely open vehicles last night. Our first stop was after sighting a cheetah with her cubs who were hunting. They tried to catch a Nyala but failed and then went after a Wildebeest and also failed. I wondered if the presence of several safari vehicles interfered. Our ranger was driving through the brush and we had to duck our heads because we were surrounded by dense bushes with sharp stickers. We were crashing through small trees and bushes. It gave new meaning to cross country safari! It was wild.
After watching the Cheetahs for nearly an hour, we came upon a group of eight lion cubs and their two mothers. They were also hunting. We stalked them for two and one-half hours. There was interesting encounter with a Bull Elephant who was not pleased to be surrounded by them. He bellowed an flapped his ears. We quickly got away.
It finally became dark and according to our ranger, the lions had sighted a wildebeest. In the process they watched us and several times, they surrounded our vehicle. It was unnerving. We had no protection and had to rely on our ranger who did have a gun in front. He said that the woman in Johannesburg who was attacked was in a lion safari park where they feed the animals from vehicles so when she opened the window they thought it was a signal for food.
Nevertheless, we were completely exposed so when a male lion walked very close to my side of the car, I was unnerved. They are huge! Their paws alone are as big as two of my feet side by side.
We skipped the early morning drive but are going out later today again. Hopefully, it won't be for four hours. It gets cold and dark and windy. Also, crashing through bushes gets old quickly.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Cheetah in Action and St Lucia Estuary
Yesterday afternoon we went on another game drive and saw many of the same animals in many of the same places. But one new sight were two male giraffes being very affectionate with each other (in a very masculine way I am sure). The picture below shows one of them rubbing the top of his head along the neck of the other.
Then we found the cheetah that in the morning was laying around doing nothing but in the afternoon was out on the hunt. We saw him stalking a nyala (kind of antelope) and chasing it but didn't catch it and spent some time laying about (as cats do) keeping an eye out for any other prey.
This morning we left the private reserve and went to the nearby town of St Lucia on the Indian Ocean where we took a boat up the Estuary and saw crocodiles, hippos, a fish eagle, and a goliath heron. Below Steph is holding a hippo tooth.
Our guide told us that the locals in St Lucia had to be careful because at night hippos roamed the streets and sometimes crocodiles walked down the streets. We found news articles about the hippos but couldn't verify that crocodiles were seen on the streets of St Lucia.
Tomorrow we transfer to Phinda.
Then we found the cheetah that in the morning was laying around doing nothing but in the afternoon was out on the hunt. We saw him stalking a nyala (kind of antelope) and chasing it but didn't catch it and spent some time laying about (as cats do) keeping an eye out for any other prey.
This morning we left the private reserve and went to the nearby town of St Lucia on the Indian Ocean where we took a boat up the Estuary and saw crocodiles, hippos, a fish eagle, and a goliath heron. Below Steph is holding a hippo tooth.
Our guide told us that the locals in St Lucia had to be careful because at night hippos roamed the streets and sometimes crocodiles walked down the streets. We found news articles about the hippos but couldn't verify that crocodiles were seen on the streets of St Lucia.
Tomorrow we transfer to Phinda.
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