Month: August 2016

Day 107: Cape Town

The forecast showed beautiful sunny weather, so we decided to explore the two famous mountains of Cape Town: Lion’s Head and Table Mountain, both of which were a short 15min drive from our hotel. We planned to hike Lion’s Head in the morning while we had the most energy, then ride the cableway to the top of Table Mountain to take some pictures of the vista.

The hike up Lion’s Head was a cake walk for us. Considering it was a sunny Saturday, the trail wasn’t obscenely crowded on the way up. Near the summit, the path diverges: the steeper way requires the use of ladders and staples (after the Pinnacles trail, this section was a joke), while the path takes an extra 10min. After a few victorious pics at the top, we headed back down as the trail started to get busier. When we came across a detour, Igor took us off the main path for a more secluded hike down.

Early hike up Lion’s Head

 

Climbing the summit of Lion’s Head is like a jungle-gym for adults!

 

Some tourists get scared of heights and create a bit of a bottleneck at the ladders and staples – we found it less crowded when we were going up then coming down

 

A really steep ascent for the last section of Lion’s Head

  

Views from the top of Lion’s Head – downtown Cape Town on the left, and Camps Bay in the middle and right

 

Taking the path back down the mountain

 

Igor takes us off trail on the way down to avoid the crowds, and we eventually end up on a designated loop

When we reached Table Mountain, we were dismayed to discover that the cableway wasn’t running due to high winds at the top of the mountain! It was barely noon, and one of the park managers told Igor that we could hike up – the Platteklip Gorge Trail was the fastest way up the mountain, and she assured Igor it would only take us an hour and a half.

It took us about 3hrs, and it was the most painful hike of the trip. If we hadn’t just hiked Lion’s Head, it probably wouldn’t have been that bad, but Lindsay was practically in tears by the time we reached the top due to the strenuous climb and the drastic temperature change from the base to the summit. At the top, Lindsay didn’t have any energy left to anything but sit in the sun and drink water, so Igor walked around a bit on his own to take panorama pictures and read the information plaques and maps posted at the viewpoints.

At one of the viewpoints, he suddenly found himself alone with a fellow hiker. The guy said hello to Igor, but kept staring at his camera when he was talking. Igor asked if the guy was from Cape Town, he said he from Angola…never taking his eyes off Igor’s camera. When another group of tourists came within earshot, the Angolan suddenly said he had to go, and ran off. Super sketchy.

 

Since the cableway wasn’t running, we had to hike up Table Mountain, too!

 

The path up the Platteklip Gorge is the most direct route up the mountain, but it is steep and monotonous

 

The temperature changed dramatically as we climbed up the mountain – Lindsay was having a really rough time getting up the mountain

 

Igor explored the top of Table Mountain by himself while Lindsay rested and warmed up in the sun, and risked getting mugged by a creepy guy from Angola

 

A map at the top showed additional hiking trails running around the top of the plateau – as it was already late afternoon, we only had time to admire the view of Lion’s Head from above before heading back down

View from the top of Table Mountain

Lion’s Head and Cape Town CBD from the top of Table Mountain

Near the bottom of the trail, Igor found a someone’s car key – some poor hiker must have dropped it! It was getting close to sunset, and we were still a good 30min from the trailhead – whoever lost it probably would not realize it until they tried to open their car; retracing their steps all the way back up the mountain would be a bitch! We carried the key down, and did a quick look to see if anyone was freaking out near a Ford – unfortunately, most cars were parked along the road winding up the mountain, not concentrated in a parking lot. We saw a police truck parked near the trail head, so we figured giving the key to the officer was the best bet. Either that, or we just gave that cop a new car.

Enjoying happy hour the hotel, with a view of Lion’s Head

Day 107: Stellenbosch

We were hoping to fit in a morning hike at the Walker’s Bay Reserve, but we woke up to rain! Boo! Since the alarm had already gotten us up early, we drove over to Walker’s Bay anyways, just in case there was a break in the weather. We got a few moments to enjoy the scenery – better than nothing! We then turned away from the coast and into the mountains to visit the South African wine country, via the pseudo-French village of Franschhoek.

 

Cloudy morning in Walker’s Bay

Wish we had more time and better weather to do more hiking!

 

Secluded cave and beach at Walker’s Bay

 

On the road to Franschhoek, as the rain clouds start to break up

It’s a great day for a road trip in South Africa

View of the Francophile town of Franschhoek in the heart of South Africa’s wine country. It’s a shame we didn’t have more time to explore – we hear they have a “wine train” that you can ride to visit (and taste!) many of the wineries! Now we totally have a reason to come back!

 

Various types of training grapes vines in Franschhoek

 

A cozy fireplace and flight of wine make for a great lunch stop in Stellenbosch

 

Pizza and wine pairing for lunch – yum!

Lindsay’s former co-worker, Joanne, used to work for Distell Wine group – the largest wine company in South Africa, so we looked to her for recommendations for our day in Stellenbosch. Knowing our love (obsession?) of sparkling wine, she set us up with a tasting at JC le Roux – the *only* winery in South Africa solely dedicated to sparkling wine. We owe her one – the tasting was awesome!

 

A winery that *only* produces sparkling wine – our type of place!

 

An old-school ridding rack and a modern gyroplatte – use whatever is necessary to produce those tasty bubbles

 

Tasting through the JC le Roux line-up, paired with nougats

 

Bottoms up! Fantastic bubbles down the whole line-up

We also owe a debt of gratitude to another former Banfi co-worker, Mary, who shared a recommendation for Vergenoegd Winery which has a twice daily duck parade, with over 800 ducks! The ducks are actually part of an eco-friendly pest-control program, where the ducks patrol the vineyards twice a day to eat all the bugs, reducing the need for pesticides. Igor doesn’t care why the ducks were there, just as long as he could cuddle them!

 

Vergenoegd Winery has a real old-world feel to it, complete with a cozy farmhouse fireplace in the tasting room

 

3:30PM – Time for the Duck Parade! Twice every day, 800+ ducks march from the lake through the winery

 

Since the vines are dormant and there are no bugs to eat, the ducks get a generous helping of feed instead

 

A handful of geese have joined the ducks for the free meal – while geese are normally on the aggressive side, this one goose was incredibly affectionate and climbed into his lap!

 

We take a short tour of the incubator room where there are a dozen baby ducks

 

Lindsay holding a baby duck!

 

Igor holding a baby duck!

 

Future ducklings – each egg has the week it was laid, giving the farmers an good idea of when to expect the hatching

 

Returning to the tasting room for a flight of Vergenoegd reds

 

A great visit to Vergenoegd Winery – totally one kind!

We had to call the wine tasting quits after Vergenoegd, so Igor (our designated driver) could get us to Cape Town safely (where he could enjoy a well-deserved glass of wine in the comfort of our hotel). We checked into the Azamare Guest House which is our favorite hotel in Africa to date: it’s a chic, modern boutique hotel with stunning views of the ocean. Service, location, scenery, amenities – all top notch. But best of all are the complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres – truth be told, we totally took advantage of this our first night and stuffed ourselves with appetizers instead of going to dinner. WE BE CLASSY.

 

Checking in to our posh accommodations in Cape Town’s Camps Bay neighborhood

 

Pulling into our hotel just in time for sunset. Look at the dust on the Benz! We really aren’t the luxury-car types.

Day 106: Hermanus – Great White Cage Diving

When Igor originally planned our week in South Africa, we planned for us to go cage diving to see Great White Sharks in Cape Town, as South Africa is one of the few countries in the world that does not prohibit chumming the waters (i.e. dumping fish guts in the water to attract the sharks). However, when Igor asked Russell from Green Bushpig Safaris for his recommendation, he told us that the best operators are near Hermanus – a good 2hrs from Cape Town. Since we were on the road already, we didn’t have time to research and reserve anything, so we asked our hotel if there was anything they could book us last minute. Luckily, Great White Shark Tours had room on their afternoon tour, so we had time for a walk on the beach and a leisurely breakfast before heading out to Gansbaai.

 

Early morning walk on the beach in Hermanus

The Great White Shark tour was AWESOME! We were lucky enough to see a shark hunting a seal as we were setting anchor for the dive (thankfully, the seal got away – we didn’t want to see the poor thing die), and we had at least two sharks actively swimmingly around our cage and interacting with the decoy and bait.

The worst part of the diving wasn’t the fear of the sharks – it was the water temperature. Lucky for us it was a warm sunny day, but the water was still 59 degrees – and we had loose-fitting wetsuits, not dry suits, so we were COLD. But the views of the sharks were totally worth it – they look so *powerful* up close – and you can tell they are totally looking at you through the cage and sizing you up! Since the sharks were so active during our dives, only half of the group opted for a second dive (including Igor, of course), so we had time to drive through “Shark Alley” – a narrow passage between two rock islands that are home to a colony of about 60K seals, which is prime hunting territory. In fact, a film crew from the Discovery Channel was on hand shooting footage for “Shark Week” specials.

 

Second breakfast and a video safety briefing before cage diving

 

The “Apex Predator” – our cage diving boat

 

Local seabirds have learned they can get a free sandwich from the boat

A near predation! A juvenile Great White Shark goes after a seal, but the seal escapes (barely)

 

In addition to chum, the tour operators used a seal-shaped cut-out and a chunk of tuna to lure the sharks to the cage

 

Predictably, Igor is the first person to jump into the cage!

 

A huge female shark is very interested in the cage and makes repeated passes

 

Igor is cold but super happy after his first cage dive – he goes back in for a second turn!

 

Lindsay finally gets into the frigid waters and sees the Great White Sharks up close

 

The Great White Shark is going for the bait

 

As she swims by, there is no doubt she is sizing us up and looking for a chance to take a nibble!

 

A crew from the Discovery Channel is filming the seal colony at “Shark Alley”

We got back to the shore around 3PM, which gave us just enough time to drive across the bay to Betty’s Bay, which is home to a large colony of South African “Jackass” Penguins (apparently the name is thanks to their very loud squawking). After our experiences in New Zealand and Australia, waiting quietly in a hide or walking trails with a red-filter flashlight for some very shy penguins, we were anxious the get to the beach early, so we could have a chance to spot the birds. Well, there’s no need to worry about missing the Jackass Penguins because they are not shy at all! When we arrived, huge groups were waddling up the boat ramp and walking right by all the amateur photographers camped out on the beach. Apparently there is actually a problem with tourists getting *too close* to the penguins and getting bitten! (No, Igor didn’t get bitten.)

 

Jackass Penguins walking up the boat ramp at Betty’s Bay

 

Easy wildlife photography

Photographing Jackass Penguins in Betty’s Bay, South Africa

 

Penguins weren’t the only critters around – these fat Rock Dassies were also pretty cute

 

Dozens of Jackass Penguins coming in to shore at sunset

 

The endangered South African Penguin

 

As we were leaving the beach, we see one lone penguin trying to cross the street

So far, South Africa had been an absolute blast – every day brings a new and thrilling animal encounter! With the day ending on a great note, we headed back to our hotel. Since the Hermanus Beachfront Lodge isn’t within walking distance of any restaurants, we decided to take advantage of our kitchenette and have a home cooked meal so we could both enjoy a bottle of bubbly and save a little money as a bonus.

 

Spaghetti & salad (with LOTS of grated cheese!), and some brownies for dessert in our little apartment – cozy!

Day 105: The Garden Route – Part 2

Our farmstay at the De Zeekoe Guest Farm had a very unique twist – the owners had discovered they have a large population of meerkats on their property. Over the years, they learned how to get families of meerkats accustomed to their presence and started running sunrise tours. Unlike other operators in South Africa, De Zeekoe does not feed the meerkats at all – they just use a lot of patience, slowly getting closer to them each day. Every night, the guides follow the meerkats to their hole so they know where to find them in the morning. Every morning (regardless of whether they have a tour running) the guides sit outside the same hole before sunrise so the meerkats just get used to the idea that these loud, talking rocks will be outside their hole every day.

We met our guide down the road from the farmhouse at 7AM and followed him through a little trail in the fields for about 30min until he found the latest meerkat hole. We set down our chairs, and just shot the breeze with him for about another 30min until the meerkats decided to wake up. There was no need to be quiet – we could talk or shout as loud as we wanted! Sudden movements though – that was a big no-no. Once the sun came up, the whole family of meerkats started coming out of their hole, each standing straight and facing their bellies to the sun – apparently their digestive system can’t work if they are cold, so every morning they have to heat up their stomach as quickly as possible, so they can start hunting and feeding for the day.

 

A cup of tea & coffee and a few biscuits before our sunrise meeting with the meerkats

 

Walking through the fields at dawn

 

Our guide leads us to the meerkat hole, where we sit and wait for them to appear

A family of sun-worshipping meerkats

 

Who needs TV? We have a live version of “Meerkat Manor”!

We watched the meerkats for a good hour, before they felt warm enough to stop sunbathing and run off to hunt. We got back to the farm, where a delicious breakfast was waiting for us. (Like, SERIOUSLY delicious. I need the recipes for their quiche, potato cake and farm bread. YUM.) For our next activity, we planned to visit an ostrich farm. There were plenty in the area (a big one was literally down the road from De Zeekoe). We were originally planning to visit the Cango Ostrich Farm, recommended by Russell Frankish from Green Bushpig Safaris, our Namibia/Botswana tour organizer, but it was a bit of a drive in the wrong direction. We hoped we could save a little time by finding something closer, so we asked our meerkat guide for his recommendation as he’d worked various jobs in the tourist industry in the area. He also recommended Cango, as the closer places tended to have huge tour bus groups. It was 2 for 2, so we headed to the farm.

We got there just in time for a tour, where our guide, Lizzile, gave us an introduction to ostrich farming in the area, what products come from the birds (eggs, red meat, leather and feathers), how they raise them, difference in size from emus, and then took us out to meet birds in person.

Grabbing a late breakfast at the farmhouse before hitting the road

 

Ostrich info: a framed collage of all the odds and ends found in the stomach of an ostrich (they liked shiny things, so Lindsay took off her diamond earrings), and a boa made from ostrich feathers (dyed, of course)

 

Our guide, Lizzile, shows us the steps of egg development with a real (unfertilized) sample. The size of an ostrich egg is equal to 24 chicken eggs!

 

Lizzile introduces us to Betty, the “friendly” female, and shows off her thigh (which is where ostrich steak comes from) and a small claw on the tip of her wing

 

Lindsay and Igor both takes turns feeding Betty – Igor gets a “kiss” in the process!

 

None of the tourists wanted to ride the ostriches (we were glad as the practice seems a bit cruel), so two of the farmhands wrangled one of the males for a short demo

 

Lindsay getting a “neck massage” from a group of hungry ostriches

 

Igor is falling in love with the biggest chickens he’s ever seen. Wonder how they’d do in a backyard in Long Island?

 

Apparently ostrich eggs are strong enough to stand on!

After the ostrich farm, we had several hours of driving ahead of us before we reached the beach town of Hermanus, where we would be staying for the night. At the halfway point in Mossel Bay we took a break to explore a small section of the St. Blaize hiking trail, which meanders along the coastal cliffs. The trailhead that Google Maps led us to was inside a gated golf course, called Pinnacle Point Estate. When we got to the gates and explained why we were there, we assumed they would tell us to get lost – after all, we weren’t members! Not only did they wave us in, they didn’t charge anything for access or guarded parking! (Not sure if a local would have received the same treatment trying to get in to the trail…)

The trail is known as a good spot to spot whales from the shore, and while this is the high season for whales when they are mating and breeding just off the coast, we are not patient enough to stare at the ocean for hours. But the beautiful scenery was plenty to keep us happy!

 

After hours in the car, we need a short hike on the coast to stretch our legs

South African coastline in Mossel Bay

 

Walking a short section of the St. Blaize Trail

 

Rock Dassies, hanging out on the St. Blaize Trail

 

Rough surf below the cliffside trail

View of the gated golf resort where we walked the St. Blaize Trail

We only had an hour of daylight to make it to Hermanus, and with Igor at the wheel we were actually going really slow because he kept getting distracted by the scenery and asking to take pictures! No doubt South Africa is stunning – dare we say it? – just as much “eye candy” as New Zealand. Sadly, the high rate for violent crime spoils it from being the perfect travel destination – there were so many spots where we wish we could have gotten out of the car to take pictures, but it didn’t feel safe.

 

Driving the Garden Route is beautiful – we kept taking pictures out the window of the bright green fields and seaside towns

 

The cloud cover gave us a spectacular sunset – unfortunately we were driving away from it, so this was the view in our rear-view mirror

Day 104: The Garden Route – Part 1

We slept like babies (easy to do after a red-eye flight), and woke up refreshed and ready for a day of activities! Before heading downstairs for breakfast, we noticed a guy in the gated parking lot washing our car – actually, he was washing all the cars. One of the scams we had been warned about in South Africa was vagrants trying to wash your windshield when you are stopped at traffic intersections in exchange for money. We read that if you don’t intend to pay them, you have to stop them immediately or it could get nasty – plus the whole practice is illegal and you could get in trouble for encouraging these guys. We decided to enquire about it at reception, and they told us the car wash was complimentary from the hotel, and we could tip or not tip as we wished – 10 to 20 Rand would be customary. Good to know!

 

A complimentary car-wash and a delicious breakfast – great start to the day!

We backtracked a bit in our squeaky-clean Benz to return to the Birds of Eden free-flight sanctuary, which is right next door to Monkeyland. Similar concept: the sancuary aims to give rescued birds an environment as close to wild as possible. At 5.7 acres it is the biggest aviary in the world! We are not huge birdwatchers, but we spent over 2 hours walking around the path, taking close-ups of over a dozen species.

NOTE: The gift shop sells a small photo booklet for 25 Rand (about USD$1.75), but we decided not to buy it. Not because we were being cheap, but because we have accumulated so many unused park brochures and pamphlets thoughout our travels that is seemed a waste to add more to our load. So, all the bird pictures below were identified by using Google Images – mea culpa if I got any of them wrong.

 

An early morning visit to the Birds of Eden free-flight sanctuary – home to over 200 species of birds

 

Golden pheasants in the Birds of Eden

 

A very loud Blue & Gold Macaw and a Moustached Parakeet

 

A pretty pink Galah sitting near the tunneled bridge

 

A Green Turaco rockin’ a stylish Mohawk. When Lindsay tried to get to close it freaked out and flew at her face

 

Hartlaub’s Tauraco – a tamer hairstyle, but bolder eye shadow

 

A handsome Scarlet Ibis, walking by the pond

 

A sweet Fulvous Whistling Duck, getting picked on by the Scarlet Ibis! Guys – play nice!

 

A gorgeous Mandarin Duck, getting romantic with his lady

 

Igor going nuts snapping pics of the flamingos with his new zoom lens

 

Lindsay saying hello to a rather sleepy Greater Flamingo

 

A bright pink Caribbean Flamingo looking absolutely fabulous!

 

White-Faced Whistling Ducks

 

A South African Grey-Crowned Crane & a lone Mouse Deer

As we pulled out of the parking lot, we came across a family of baboons crossing the road. Igor was pushing Lindsay to take pictures out the window, but she was really skittish after the Monkeyland guide said baboons can get aggressive with humans. She started freaking out when Igor stopped *right in front* of a HUGE male, and lowered her window! After a few snaps of the she said, “I got the shot! Let’s GO!”

 

A pack of wild baboons crossing the street as we drive off

 

The biggest, baddest baboon…is still just a little tired

Our route took us along the coast, through the town of Knysna where we take a short detour to visit the Knysna Heads – magnificent cliffs overlooking the ocean below. We followed the signs to the lookout, and parked our Benz in a small lot, with parking attendant – yay! No one will break into our car while we are taking photos!

After a good half an hour, we head back to the car, when all of a sudden we notice a sign that say, “Only Parking Guards Wearing Red Vests May Accept Tips.” Tips? We have to tip this guy? Shit – we already gave the only small bill we had to the carwasher this morning. As we hit the ATM at the airport yesterday and had yet to buy anything to get change, we only had 200 Rand bills on us. We hoped to sneak away without the guard noticing, but as we pulled out he boldly came up to the driver’s window with his palm outstretched. We apologized profusely, explaining we didn’t have any change and we had just arrived. The guy got kinda pissed and said, “How do you do it in your country?” After a couple more, “Sorrys!” we drove off leaving a very angry parking guard behind. When we hit a grocery store later that afternoon we made sure to get LOTS of change for the future.

 

Passing through the seaside town of Knysna, home of “The Heads”

 

Checking out the viewpoints of the Knysna Heads

 

The rough waters of the South African coastline

 

We didn’t have time to visit the opposite headland, but we could admire the view with our nifty zoom lens

Afterwards, we headed inland bypassing the town of Oudtshoorn, where we would be staying for the night, to take a really long detour through the town of Prince Albert (or Prins Albert, depending on the language of the road sign…) so we could take a scenic drive through the Swartberg Pass – a beautiful pass through the mountains via dirt road. Lindsay was getting really nervous, as the going was slow on the unsealed road, and we barely hit the top before sunset. But Igor pulled through, taking the turns like a NASCAR driver and got us to our farmstay lodging by 6:30PM, just as the sky was getting dark.

 

Taking the longest – but faster! – road to the town of Prince Albert

 

After a quick fuel stop in Prince Albert, we had for the dirt road mountain pass in our 2WD Benz, chugging some Pellegrino. It’s a weird combination of prissy and bad-ass

 

Driving up the Swartberg Pass

View of the road snaking up the mountainside

 

We reached “Die Top” of the Swartberg Pass! Now we need to book it down to get to our hotel before dark!

Loosing sunlight fast on the other side of the mountain

 

A bottle of sherry and a cast-iron fireplace – cozy!