Off to Swaziland

Running a bit late. Dive started a bit late. Aiming for the border crossing at Pongola and then onto phophonyane lodge near piggs peak.

More diving!

Got up early to dive again today, this time at two mile reef here in Sodwana Bay. Did two dives and the water was much calmer than yesterday down at umkomaas. Saw a bunch more wildlife. Fish everywhere, and octopus and a few turtles.
Had a casual late lunch at a beachside cafe and now resting in our cabin before getting dinner here at the restaurant at Triton lodge.
Might dive again tomorrow depending on the timing. We need to get an early start on the drive to phophonyane in Swaziland.

diving!

Went diving at Aliwal Shoal this morning. Amazing dive. Saw lots of wildlife - full list to come!
It was windy so he water was choppy so we only one dive instead of two.
Then we drove to Durban for lunch having bunny Chow at Oriental Restaurant at the Workshop mall.
Then we continued up the coast for Sodwana.
Made it mostly ok but got stuck on the sand road to our dive lodge. They cane out to rescue us though and now I sleep to get ready for tomorrow's dives!

Cape Winelands

On Saturday, we went to the Cape Winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschoek. We were a group of sox squeezed rather comfortably into a Peugeot (including one in a spacey trunk - it was a hatchback).
The drive out is very nice. The whole day we commented that it looked like Napa meets the Sierras. The vineyard sceneries enclosed by towering mountains. Two wineries in Stellenbosch. First was Dornier. We sat at a table indoors. The wine was not great, but it was in a nice building surrounded by nice scenery.
Next was Rust en Vrede. We sat outside at a round table in the trees just outside their cellars. The wine was tasty and the environment was enjoyable. Both the Cab and Shiraz were good.
Then we crossed into Franschoek and got food at Essence. A few quick yummy sandwiches and we were off.
Unfortunately Boekenhoutskloof is closed on the weekends. (Seriously?) Up next was the disappointing Chamonix. The tasting room was a bit dark not taking advantage of the scenery and their wine was not that good - at least according to our group.
The last place was Grand Provence. The winery is very nice - a sprawling modern/classic mix complex with an art gallery, restaurant, and tasting room. Also has a very nice courtyard. The wines themselves were quite delicious as well. Both their cab and estate blend of cab and Merlot have a minty hint, owing to the eucalyptus trees grown by the fields as windbreaks.
After wine was time for dinner at Le Quartier Français. We ate at the more casual (but still quite elegant) iÇi becase the more formal Tasting Room was fully booked. The food was all good. I particularly enjoyed the mussels for apppetizers and my pork belly main course.
Then we went home to watch the exciting but ultimately disappointing USA game. Today we took Dennis to the airport and then drove down to Hermanus, then back for a quick stroll in the Company's Gardens where of course, I got pooped on by a bird. For those keeping track at home, that's Mountain View, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Venice, and now Cape Town. After popping back home to wash it off, we had afternoon tea at the Hotel Mount Nelson. Good food (although get your own buffet style is different for tea, but does let you gorge yourself - for better or worse) and the conservatory and veranda both provide a scenic place to take tea.
At 165R per person, it's about half the price of Victoria's Empress Hotel.
Then airport and flight to Durban.

In Umkomaas!

Arrived in Umkomaas after flying to Durban and driving down here. Tomorrow, we dive Aliwal Shoal.

Back to Durbs!

Cape Winelands yesterday. More in that later. On the tarmac about to depart for Durban for some scuba!

And the pictures

Long Street, baboons, and Table Mountain

Cape Town!

Lots to cover!
We got into Cape Town on Wednesday after setting out from Mossel Bay. We had breakfast at the guest house we stayed in and chatted with a nice South African couple who were relatives of their owners. They recommended taking R62 instead of taking N2 from that point for better scenery as the N2 cuts inland after Mossel Bay and is no longer on the seashore and the R62 goes through the Little Karoo.
So after breakfast we headed back east towards George so we could cut up to Oudsthorn, the country's ostrich capital. Formerly home to rich ostrich farmers and their "feather palaces" (so called because they were built with money made from the lucrative ostrich feather industry, not because they're made of feathers, disappointingly enough), Oudsthorn is a quiet rural town. I had originally been wanting to ride an ostrich (I think that double decker carousel at Great America with the ostriches on Tue bottom deck is to blame for this odd fascination), I was convinced that this is actually quite cruel to ostriches. Plus, we didn't really have time. We drove quickly through an ostrich farm, confusing the parking attendants who watched us circle into the parking lot and then right back out.
If you're not going to stop at an ostrich farm to pet or ride an ostrich, there's not really much to see there.
Continuing along, we stopped at Bokaaps winery in Calitzdorp for some port tasting. It was a nicedriving break and I really enjoyed their tawny port.
Afterwards, we continued along R62, which I think is South Africa's version our Route 66. It's narrow and goes throguh deserts and small towns. A nice drive. Next stop was Montagu where we had lunch at a little restaurant attached to a store. We ate outside in picnic tables. This was our 4th try for lunnch as mny other places were closed between their lunch and dinner hours.
Next we drove through a cool looking mountain pass to get towards Cape Town.
Onwards to Cape Town (Kaap Stad) via N1. The last hour if driving was heading to the city with a huge and magnificent Table Mountain inthe backdrop.
After checking into Dunkley House (which is an amazing place) we went out to Long Street for dinner. The street was a little more tame and quieter than I'd expected but it was still lively.

Thursday was our Cape exploration day. We drove down the west coast of the Cape, stopping at Hout Bay, the top of Chapman's peak and a few other places along the way to admire the great views of the shoreline.
We arrived at Cape Point first and made the half hour or so hike to the historical lighthouse there. The views here are amazing. Sea cliffs dropping off into the ocean.
Also headed out along the lighthouse keeper's path to go further out towards the lighthouse that's currently in use. The sign says it's an hour and a half round trip walk but it's actually much shorter. Amazing views out here too.
We then drove over to the Cape of Good Hope and hiked up to the point. Much shorter hike this time, but another amazing view. On the way back we saw ostrich on the side of the road. Our drive was also slowed by a family of baboons crossing the street. They were escorted by a group of volunteers.
We then made a few more stops along the way. Enjoyed the sunset at Fishhoek on the beach for a bit before catching the rest of sunset at Harbor House in Kalk Bay.
We had dinner at Limoncello in our neighborhood before turning in for the night to get ready for Table Mountain.

On Friday we got up to drive up to Table Mountain (Taffelberg) for our hike. Up the Platteklip hike - 700m up in about 3km. Lots of up. Pretty nice views looking back down at the city on the way up. The view at the top was well worth the climb.
We hung out up there for a bit enjoying the mountain top views.
We took the cable car on the way down and took a bit of time to rest at home before exploring the city.
We wandered around downtown and walked over to the waterfront. Other than being followed by an aggressive panhandler asking for change and also trying to open Jimmy and Dennis' backpacks.
The waterfront is a big mall along the water. Nice but it's just a big mall. We did finally get something other than light light beers they all have here by having some Paulaner brewery beer.
That's the update so far!

Correction

Editor's note: Varanasa is some weird autocorrection my phone is doing. I meant Bafana Bafana. Thanks to Anonymous for pointing it out!
Bafana bafana means "the boys" and is being used by everyone here to refer to the national team.

In Mossel Bay!

We got an early start today with breakfast in J-Bay before heading out on the road. We went to Storms River Mouth in Tsitsikamma park for a brief hike. We walked down to the suspension bridge and then up to the lookout point. Really great views of the Indian Ocean.
Next we drove to Plett. We made it to the beach and ate along the beachfront at a restaurant called the Lookout. Food was rather good - a local fish whose name I cannot currently remember.
We went to another beach area at Plett and further enjoyed the beach resort town.
Next we went to Knysna, just in time for the Varanasi Varanasi game versus France. The town is neat and looks totally not South African. It looks like some Pacific Northwest or New England fishing town. We heard roars when South Africa scored. We stepped into Quay Four to watch some of the game and to have some oysters.
We went to the Heads to seethe mouth of Knysna's inlet and then drove to Mossel Bay for the night. Dinner was a casual affair at Santos next to its adjoining accommodation that was a converted train car.
Tomorrow is the drive to Cape Town.

In J-Bay

No lions again on the sunrise drive. No new animals seen.
Drove around on our own afterwards and found a trio of zebra.
We drove back PE to have lunch at blue waters cafe right on the beach in PE. After lunch, a bit of wandering around on the beach and we were off to Jeffreys Bay.
Looks like a surf town. Our place isn't amazing but it works. Wonderful sunset and then a great meal at 3 fat fish (thanks lonely planet!) with a fun Australian waitress.
Now off to bed. Tomorrow: tsitsikamma, plett, knysna and mossel bay!

In Addo!

In Addo elephant park where the three of us (Michelle joined us in PE) went on the sundowner drive. We saw elephants, ostriches, jackals, kudu, eland, a hare, Egyptian geese, warthogs all roaming around. We also got snacks and drinks. We wrapped up with dinner and now we're enjoying the stars on the balcony of our cottage here in Addo. Tomorrow we wake up early for a sunrise game drive. Hopefully we see lions!

In PE!

Slept through an alarm this morning but we were able to catch the next flight out to PE. Waiting for the third in our group to arrive from joburg before heading out to Addo elephant park to spend the night.

Made it to Durban!

Just got into our Guesthouse in Durban after our six hour drive from joburg that looked a lot like drivinng through a hillier central valley.
Time for a brief rest before watching the England game. Go USA on the second half come back draw.
Tomorrow we go to beautiful Moses mabhida stadium to watch Japan and the Netherlands!

day 3 in jozi

short update today. yesterday went to the apartheid museum and did a tour of soweto. more details on that currently being written.

 

went to the cradle of humankind center today (uh, it's kind of weird and i wouldn't recommend it) and the sterkfontein caves (this was cooler) followed by dinner at the carnivore. ate crocodie, kudu, blessbok, springbok, and zebra. to come: a ranking of those weird meats!

 

for now though, bed and prepping for tomorrow's argentina/south korea match in soccer city!

Finished day 1 in Joburg

After a shower (really nice after spending 20 of the last 28 hours on planes) and a brief nap, we set out to explore Joburg.
Both our books (fodors and lonely planet) mentioned a restaurant chain named Moyo which serves traditional African food. We chose the one at Melrose Gate which was a nice new mall. All open plazas had giant screens showing the Japan Cameroon game. The food was pretty good albeit a bit pricier than I expected. About twenty dollar entrees.
We started with a Springbok carpaccio and I had a Springbok steak as well (see picture).
We then picked up a few provisions and went to Melville to explore the nightlife on 7th. A lot of bars had crowds watching big screens showing the Italy Paraguay game. We visited two different ones watching one half each at the two bars.
As we left someone helped me get out of my parallel parking spot probably expecting a tip. Oh well.
Now for rest before a full day tomorrow.

Made it to Johannesburg!

Made it to SA! Met a nice couple on the flight who gave me their home phone number in Pretoria in case I get into any trouble - super nice folks!

We got the car and made it to the guest house. Quick wash and rest before heading out to hunt down some food.

In Zürich!

City is nice. Did a brief river and lake tour on a bateau mouche like boat and now it's raining like crazy. Hopefully it will abate soon.

LX39 sfo to zrh

look at the legroom! Downside of front of cabin exit roe though - can't have a bag close by. Oh well - no complaints!

Awaiting my flight to Zurich!

Testing out email blog updates

I'm about to head off to South Africa, so I wanted to enable blog updates by email, so I can give myself more options to update the blog. Hope this works!