Off to jump out of a plane...fail. When we arrived at the air strip we were promptly informed that they had been trying to get a hold of us (Ellie had, in her excitement, forgotten to turn her phone back on once we got off the plane from Durban). The jump would not be happening on Saturday as the wind had picked up and it was not safe. Booo. So we rescheduled for first thing Monday morning. After a quick discussion and a few phone calls we headed out towards Stellenbosch to the Spier Estates - a well known wine estate. We weren't there for the wine though. We were there for the cats. The big cats. Cheetahs to be exact.
Quick cheetah facts - they are the world's fastest land animal; they are the oldest big cat on earth (3.5-4 million years old); the cheetah is Africa's most threatened great cat; they have a stride of 7-8 meters; adult cheetah's have over 2000 spots. Ellie and I got to go in and meet Enigma, a male cheetah who is 7 years old. He was really nice. His fur was really soft.
There were also 2 sisters there who were only 7 months old. They still had a bit of that awkward teenage thing going on.
And the final cheetah fact I will share with you, there is a good chance that if you are allergic to domestic cats (like me), you may also be allergic to cheetahs (like me). As we left the estate, I said to Ellie that my face was itchy. I had a few hives going on. Ergh. No pet cheetah for me.
Quick cheetah facts - they are the world's fastest land animal; they are the oldest big cat on earth (3.5-4 million years old); the cheetah is Africa's most threatened great cat; they have a stride of 7-8 meters; adult cheetah's have over 2000 spots. Ellie and I got to go in and meet Enigma, a male cheetah who is 7 years old. He was really nice. His fur was really soft.
There were also 2 sisters there who were only 7 months old. They still had a bit of that awkward teenage thing going on.
And the final cheetah fact I will share with you, there is a good chance that if you are allergic to domestic cats (like me), you may also be allergic to cheetahs (like me). As we left the estate, I said to Ellie that my face was itchy. I had a few hives going on. Ergh. No pet cheetah for me. We then took a little driving tour around Cape Town (this is looking towards Camp's Bay with the 12 apostles of Table Mountain in the background).
To finish off the first day, and before we picked up Ellie's parents at the airport, we headed over to Mama Africa's. Very touristy, but very well done. Ellie had crocodile. I had chicken. The musicians were very talented and we had a really fun evening.
Day 2 - and it was a busy one. Ellie's parents were troupers as they adjusted to the time difference. Our plan for the morning - the Cape Peninsula tour. We started in Hout's Bay, a beautiful little place to enjoy some breakfast and a little walk along the beach.
Johann and Deiter also enjoyed their adventures along the peninsula.
I was driving. It was a little tough at points. Particularly along the Chapman's Peak route, where there were way too many cyclists. That made for some interesting driving. Especially when they would pass you on the downhills.
The road was a little intense at points. And more cyclists.
After the very interesting drive, and a quick stop at an ostrich farm, we made our way to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. This is not the southern most point of Africa, nor is it the point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, but it is pretty beautiful and has lots of good stories about it. The Cape was seeing as being extremely important as a route to India from Europe and that's just what it turned out to be.
That behind us, is the actual Cape of Good Hope.
After leaving the Cape of Good Hope, we moved onto the highlight of my day and one of my favourite moments in South Africa, well maybe just generally one of my favourite moments. As most of you know, I love penguins. They make me laugh. The first time I saw a penguin in the wild was in NZ almost exactly 6 years ago. It was a little blue. The penguins in SA are a little different. First, they are African penguins, not little blues. They have gotten rid of the name jackass penguin, but they still make the noise that gave them that unfortunate name. So, at Boulder's Beach on the edge of Simon's Town, there is a very large colony of African penguins. The penguins like to hang out at the beach. You can hang out at the beach with them...see they are on the rock on the left.
Johann was super stoked to meet some relatives.
I really liked the penguins (as you might be able to tell from the numerous pictures I have included in this post). I hope you enjoy them too. One side note - penguins, or at least this many penguins stink.
Some were going through that awkward molting stage. But cute awkward, not ugly awkward.
This little guy kept doing little wing stretches. I will call him Opus wishing for wings that work.
Lots of penguins.
Baby penguins...
Penguins digging holes (I believe to lay eggs)
Penguins chilling.
Penguins sitting in holes.
This is a happy Ali (with slightly disheveled, humidity strewn hair)
This penguin had a little jaunt into the water. Not very far, just to get her feet a little wet.
Then we went over to the beach area where the penguins are right there. I mean right there. No barriers. This guy, he made me laugh. He was molting. He may also have been a bit of a dirty hobo penguin. But the other penguins weren't mean to him, so that's good.
Bah haha. Swimming penguin. Or penguin practicing a star float.
The penguins were curious. I was curious.
And happy.
See, he's cute too. Even if he is covered in poop. Oh, you can actually get in the water and swim with the penguins. But, just as I stepped into the water, I saw a penguin poo in the water. I got out of the water and continued to hang out with the penguins on the rocks.
Loved the penguins. Later that afternoon we headed to Table Mountain (which I have learned is not one of the 7 wonders of the natural world, just a pretty place). We hiked up. I am not including those pictures because they are not very good pictures of any of us. They are sweaty and tired and thirsty pictures. But this is what it looks like at the top. Very nice.
And a great view over the city of Cape Town. Lions head to the far left, Robben Island just off centre left. Again, very nice.
I enjoyed myself once I wasn't having to walk up what basically felt like a million stairs.
And then we took the cable car down.
We headed to Camp's Bay for a great meal and then to our guest house. I was exhausted. Cape Town, 2 days in, you did not disappoint. Still to come - Robben Island, Sharks and Wine.
To finish off the first day, and before we picked up Ellie's parents at the airport, we headed over to Mama Africa's. Very touristy, but very well done. Ellie had crocodile. I had chicken. The musicians were very talented and we had a really fun evening.
Day 2 - and it was a busy one. Ellie's parents were troupers as they adjusted to the time difference. Our plan for the morning - the Cape Peninsula tour. We started in Hout's Bay, a beautiful little place to enjoy some breakfast and a little walk along the beach.
Johann and Deiter also enjoyed their adventures along the peninsula.
I was driving. It was a little tough at points. Particularly along the Chapman's Peak route, where there were way too many cyclists. That made for some interesting driving. Especially when they would pass you on the downhills.
The road was a little intense at points. And more cyclists.
After the very interesting drive, and a quick stop at an ostrich farm, we made our way to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. This is not the southern most point of Africa, nor is it the point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, but it is pretty beautiful and has lots of good stories about it. The Cape was seeing as being extremely important as a route to India from Europe and that's just what it turned out to be.
That behind us, is the actual Cape of Good Hope.
After leaving the Cape of Good Hope, we moved onto the highlight of my day and one of my favourite moments in South Africa, well maybe just generally one of my favourite moments. As most of you know, I love penguins. They make me laugh. The first time I saw a penguin in the wild was in NZ almost exactly 6 years ago. It was a little blue. The penguins in SA are a little different. First, they are African penguins, not little blues. They have gotten rid of the name jackass penguin, but they still make the noise that gave them that unfortunate name. So, at Boulder's Beach on the edge of Simon's Town, there is a very large colony of African penguins. The penguins like to hang out at the beach. You can hang out at the beach with them...see they are on the rock on the left.
Johann was super stoked to meet some relatives.
I really liked the penguins (as you might be able to tell from the numerous pictures I have included in this post). I hope you enjoy them too. One side note - penguins, or at least this many penguins stink.
Some were going through that awkward molting stage. But cute awkward, not ugly awkward.
This little guy kept doing little wing stretches. I will call him Opus wishing for wings that work.
Lots of penguins.
Baby penguins...
Penguins digging holes (I believe to lay eggs)
Penguins chilling.
Penguins sitting in holes.
This is a happy Ali (with slightly disheveled, humidity strewn hair)
This penguin had a little jaunt into the water. Not very far, just to get her feet a little wet.
Then we went over to the beach area where the penguins are right there. I mean right there. No barriers. This guy, he made me laugh. He was molting. He may also have been a bit of a dirty hobo penguin. But the other penguins weren't mean to him, so that's good.
Bah haha. Swimming penguin. Or penguin practicing a star float.
The penguins were curious. I was curious.
And happy.
See, he's cute too. Even if he is covered in poop. Oh, you can actually get in the water and swim with the penguins. But, just as I stepped into the water, I saw a penguin poo in the water. I got out of the water and continued to hang out with the penguins on the rocks.
Loved the penguins. Later that afternoon we headed to Table Mountain (which I have learned is not one of the 7 wonders of the natural world, just a pretty place). We hiked up. I am not including those pictures because they are not very good pictures of any of us. They are sweaty and tired and thirsty pictures. But this is what it looks like at the top. Very nice.
And a great view over the city of Cape Town. Lions head to the far left, Robben Island just off centre left. Again, very nice.
I enjoyed myself once I wasn't having to walk up what basically felt like a million stairs.
And then we took the cable car down.
We headed to Camp's Bay for a great meal and then to our guest house. I was exhausted. Cape Town, 2 days in, you did not disappoint. Still to come - Robben Island, Sharks and Wine.
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