Day 5 through Day 8

Day #5:

After a few games of pool, we headed for ‘The Fort”, another lovely little lodging Dave and Al own. It was one of the most incredibly breathtaking journey’s we’ve ever taken. It was hot, bumpy and dusty, but boy, was it beautiful! The was a point along the way that Al smiled at Dave with a ‘knowing’ look, the music was cued, and as we neared the top of a cliff…the music climaxed and we sat in awe as we came to the most awe-inspiring view you could imagine. The Ou Berg Pass (Old Mountain Pass). Wow, we were literally without words.

After another couple hours on the road – and more stunning views – we came to the Fort. I had been to the Fort 5 years ago when our family was last here, but I desperately wanted Joe to experience the Karoo in all it’s glory. We enjoyed another braai (Lamb) that night, and then lay out on the campfire benches in the pitch darkness and again were speechless at the beauty of the skies. There were millions of stars. And the milky way was a clear as day. What an incredible sight. I wished I could capture it on film for you, but there’s just no way to even verbally describe what we saw. We passed out that night – it was a long, dusty day – being sure to keep out door shut and the scorpions out (Gecko’s present and welcome).

Day# 6:

After taking a ride in the ‘Couch Tour’ bus…actually it was in the leather couch on top of the bus…we headed for Ceres. This is where some of the most delicious fruit juice in the world (Ceres) is produced. Go check it out in the international food aisle at Meijer (hmm mm, good!). We stopped at the Calabash Bush Pub on the way through – I snapped a shot of the most stunning little girl.

Thanks to an exceptionally well-traveled uncle, we sat down and planned out our travels for the next week – where to go, where not to go, who to see and who to name drop with. Having created, directed and filmed several seasons of his awesome show ‘Going Nowhere Slowly” (S.A’s favorite travel show!), he is a wealth of information in this arena. Check out the star of the show, The Chili Pepper and their site at www.goingnowhereslowly.com (you will soon be able to indulge in the same exquisite views and eccentric accommodation as just did through the upcoming ‘Africa Unplugged’ tour they are putting together).

We wrapped up this first leg of our trip, packed up our bags and made the move to Jen and Merv’s place. (Aunt) Jen was one of the only members of our S.A. family that was able to make it up for our wedding – so it was lovely to connect again after 3 years (and to have Joe have a familiar face amidst all the first-time introductions). They have a lovely little place in Tableview, with a stunning view of the Mountain. It’s been a little chilly (although, together with the warm sun, it’s been beautiful) and quite windy, so the ‘tablecloth’ has had a constant presence over the mountain.

Day# 7:

Jen and Merv packed us into their Mercedes and toured some of the beautiful wine estates of the Southern Cape. We did a wine tasting and then ate lunch at the Chamonix Vineyard (stunning!!). The view was gorgeous!! Wow, I didn’t realize how much I loved the mountains until I didn’t see any for 10 years. We then headed off to Boschendal in Franshoek, then to Lanzerac in Stellenbosch (where Jen and Merv honeymooned). We stopped at Hillcrest Berry Orchards for coffee and dessert – what a delicious experience for all our senses!

We drove around the campus of Stellenbosch University, enjoying the sun as it disappeared over the mountains. I was in heaven behind the lens of our camera…a true shutterbug! I even got some pictures of a new favorite flower of mine (I’ve had them sitting on my coffee table for a few months, not quite sure why I was so drawn to them…): the Pincushion Protea. Aaawww. Merv was so gracious in pausing for my Kodak moments (and felt thoroughly rewarded when I introduced him to the wonders of Shutterfly’s free software). After a lovely, long day in the winelands, we got home and decided to have a Sushi night. This was quite scary for me…but we really wanted to be adventurous and give Sushi a second chance to lure us into it’s faithful crowd of followers. We were not disappointed! What fun (as long as you don’t take too much wasabi).

Day #8:

I can’t believe we flew in 1 week ago today. What an incredibly full, wonderful, exciting week we have had. It’s hard to believe we have 3 ½ weeks left.

We tackled the Two Oceans Aquarium at the Waterfront this morning. It was probably my 4^th visit there – and it was as exciting as my first. I’m like a kid in a candy store when I enter places like this. In fact, my sweet hubby says he loves aquariums, but even more than that, he loves watching his wife in an aquarium. It’s a hoot! We saw Nemo and Dori (x 500), starfish, jellyfish, eels, every-other-cool-fish, and the most amazing creature our little minds could dream up…the Basket Star. You’ve got to google this thing! It’s gorgeous, incredible, cool and unbelievable all at the same time! I had no idea something like this existed. WOW! From there we witnessed the largest stinking crabs you would ever want to know exist. They’re literally two feet tall and their bodies are the size of a football. We felt as though we were on the set of Men in Black. Freaky and awesome all wrapped up in one little, er..huge, thing!

We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant – Cantina Tequila – which tasted good, but it’s exceptionally clear they are nowhere near Mexico. Joe thinks it was a pathetic excuse for Mexican food (he wanted me to type that). But it was fun sitting on the waterfront, feeding the little sparrow on my seat little grains of spicy rice. We hit the mountain after lunch – driving up Signal Hill, we soaked in the beauty of Table Mountain, gloriously displaying it’s tablecloth of cloud. The view of the city below was outstanding. We checked out a couple of craft stores, made a delicious meal and called it a night.