Africa: A Summary

Our time in Africa is over.  31 days of exploration, adventure, discovery, and surprises have come to an end. 

I’m sad and happy at the same time.  Sad to say goodbye to my new-found friends: lions and zebras and rhinos and giraffes and elephants and wildebeests and cheetahs and leopards and buffalo and hippos and crocodiles (okay, I’m not so sad to say goodbye to them!) and water otters and goats and puppies and cats and jackals and steenboks and springboks and kudu and orecs.  And I’m sad to leave the gorgeous GORGEOUS country of red earth, red sunsets, green trees, yellow bushes, purple flora, blue skies, and black nights peppered with white stars.  It’s such an amazing, spectacular, beautiful, peaceful, chaotic, aggressive, competitive, soul-searching, mystical, puzzling place.  I know it will take years for me to be able to succinctly describe our time here.  Because at this point, I’m still at a loss of words to sum it up.  I’ll say, “it was awesome!  It was incredible!  It was spectacular!”  and that won’t even begin to adequately describe this journey.  We had moments of awe, moments of surprise, moments of laughter, moments of sadness, moments of frustration, moments of sheer joy, moments of peace, moments of discovery, moments of speechlessness, moments of experiences that will never be able to be described in words but simply by our memory, and moments of absolute gratitude that we can experience such an array of emotions in such an amazing place.

I loved that I was able to witness a mother rhino step in front of her baby because she thought we were a threat, and I love that I rafted down the Zambezi River (even though I caught a cold after!).  I love that we were a half of a day ahead of the rest of everyone back on the western side of the world.  I love that everyone we met were thrilled to welcome us to their country.  I love that a lion growled at me, a shark charged at me, and an elephant threw a temper tantrum (maybe) because of what I said.  I love that our friends Ron and Anya took so much time to research our trip so that we could see so much of a country we knew nothing about; and then took us to their home so we could see their life with their families.  I love that I almost couldn’t climb through a cave but in the end had my husband give me the push I needed to climb up into bigger spaces.  I love that we ate our way through Barcelona and that I’m still dreaming of Iberican ham.  I love that I walked across Abbey Road and thought of the 4 iconic musicians that have certainly shaped my musical knowledge.  I love that I spent countless hours on a plane with Matt, on our way to explore new lands together.  I love that I got to snuggle with little Aidan and Jules (Ron’s niece) and Frank and Chelsea (Ron’s parent’s pups).  I love that I got to drink bottles of wine for $2 a pop, and cappuccinos for $1.80 a pop.  I love that we saw the top of Table Mountain and Cape Town over the clouds.  I love witnessing the pride South Africans have of their country.  I love that we ate so much meat that I truly could not ingest another bite.  I love that I swam in the Indian Ocean.  I love that we sat around campfires and stared into the flames without saying a word.  I love that on our last day in South Africa, we witnessed 3 elephants walking through the plains.  I love that I was able to spend time in a watering hole, waiting for wildlife to come and drink water but really it was just a way for me to take a moment to reflect on the blessings of my life, including this vacation.  I love that I was able to spend the last 6 weeks with some of the best friends Matt and I could ever ask for.  And I love that through these friends, we were able to meet new friends in new places.

I will forever be truly grateful for this experience.  I know it’s changed me.  It’s changed me in the ways that I may not be able to verbally describe; and yet, those around me may be able to just know that I’m a little different.  We as Americans are truly, truly blessed in our lives.  We may have a messed up government that can’t get off their asses to agree on the important things in our country, and we may have simple stupid issues on a daily basis that we deem as “important” or “awful” or “life-changing”, but the reality is, we have it really easy.  Even our low-income citizens have a much better opportunity in succeeding than high-income Africans.  And our freedom is truly real: we can go anywhere.  Literally and figuratively.  We have the means to travel the world and the world welcomes us with open arms.  And more importantly, we can see a world that so many people will never know. 

I’ve seen poor villages and I’ve seen prospering villages.  I’ve seen people in utter poverty, and I’ve seen people who, according to our standards, are poor but according to theirs, have everything they could ever want.  I’ve seen the innocence in children in Africa like I’ve seen the innocence in children in the US.  I’ve seen sheer joy and I’ve seen struggle.  And I’ve seen normal people, living their life on a daily basis, just like we do back home. 

I think that’s what struck me most about life in Africa: the normalcy that, with a few exceptions (some minor, some major), is very similar to life back home.  We are all just living our lives.  Making the most with what we’ve got.  And it doesn’t matter if you’re in Africa, America, Europe or Canada, we are all just trying to survive.  Some are doing it much better than others, and there are plenty of people in the world who choose to spend their time on this earth doing things that the rest of us question, but for the most part, all money aside, we are all trying to live our lives the best way we know how.  

It may be a naïve statement, and maybe I’m giving some people more credit than they deserve, but from what I’ve observed the last six weeks, more people than not are just doing their everyday thing: working, raising a family, providing, socializing with family and friends, etc.  There were plenty of people we met who live in a house smaller than our boat and wish for nothing more; and there are people we’ve met who live in a house bigger than 10 of our boats and always want a little more than what they have.  And if it’s in the US or Africa, it’s the same thing.  The language may be different, the governments more or less corrupt, and the freedoms more or less limiting, but in the end, we are all on the same planet, trying to make our way the best way we know how.

I had a lot of expectations of this vacation, most of them involving animals and assuming that I would know how to experience this place, simply because of the fact that I didn't know what the place would offer me.  And in the end, my expectations, while surpassed for the most part, were definitely redefined once I realized that I had no concept of this part of the world, and it is better to let the expectations fall by the wayside and just allow the surroundings take me in and show me where I am.  

Wow.  An absolutely, utterly amazing few weeks we've had in this beautiful part of the world.

I did mention that I was happy to see the end of this trip, didn’t I?

I’m happy to get back to our home country, where we know the rules, we know the language, we know the “ins” and we know that we will drive on the right side of the road.  There’s something to be said about going “home.”  And the more you travel, the more comfortable coming home feels.  Not to mention, I’m very excited to begin the next chapter of our life.  And taking this trip helped me to get more prepared for the next adventure: spending a year off the boat, away from our business, and focusing on the next phase of our life.  It’s a little scary, but I think taking this time to explore new worlds helped me to feel more confident in myself with pursuing this next adventure.

And so, it is with a heavy heart that I say farewell to Africa, but it is with all the love in my heart that I say, with confidence, I will see you again.

Because we WILL be back.  

The Great White

 

We saved the best for last.

(Actually, there are several “bests”, but this one is definitely in the top 5.)

Great. White. Shark. Cage. Diving.

The Round House B&B

We were supposed to do this last week, but weather was too rough (and HOW!  We saw the tides coming in as we drove through Hermanus and we were NOT disappointed that they cancelled the diving.), so Matt and I decided to drive from George to Gansbaai (pronounced, “Hans-bay”), roughly a 4 hour drive, to participate in a little cage diving.  We arrived into Gansbaai on Tuesday afternoon, to a wonderful B&B called the Roundhouse (aptly named, it was literally a round building).  We had the afternoon to walk around this ocean town, and made our way to the shore to climb rocks and do a little whale watching.  And we were not disappointed: several Southern Rights showed their topsides to us as we climbed the rocks.  It was simply beautiful. 

Crawling around rocks and watching whales

We were to report to at 7am to the Shark Lady, the company who was taking us out for the day, so we made an early night of it-I took a bubble bath while Matt watched Rugby-and slept in a glorious king sized bed.  6am came waaay too early and I awoke with butterflies in my stomach.  I was a wee bit nervous.  The boat wasn’t the issue, I’m used to those.  The sharks weren’t even really the issue; at least, not the biggest reason for my nerves.

I was absolutely, positively, 100% dreading the cold water.

4 years ago, after I completed my PADI Instructor’s certification in 64-degree water (55 degree ambient temperature too), I swore I was finished with cold water diving.  It’s just not my favorite thing.  Seriously, what can be so fantastic in cold water??  When you spend your whole time shivering??  And here I am, willingly doing this again just to see some sharks?

I must be crazy.

But here I am, going for it.  I know if I don’t, I’ll regret it later.  I mean, I’m a dive instructor.  How can I teach innocents all about diving if I don’t test the waters first??  I should know all about what is in the waters all over the world, right?  I should experience every opportunity of dives presented to me, right?  Even if that means I have to put myself in cold water again, right?

So it’s for my students, really, why I’m doing this.

Yeah, that’s it!

Sigh…alright, if I have to.

So off we went, nerves aside, and met the rest of the group at the shop, where we were greeted with fresh baked muffins, cereal, salami, toast, tea, juice and coffee.  After about an hour of waking up, eating breakfast and getting our safety briefing (I really hate those things.  They make every nerve shoot straight to my stomach and make me want to vomit when I hear all the details of how this is all going to work.), we headed to the boat.  It was here I finally started to feel normal again; I guess I can thank 7 years of living on the water for this one. 

Anyway, we motored about 15 minutes to a place called Shark’s Bay, just off Dyer Island where we would begin the chumming process (if you watch “Shark Week” on the Discovery Channel, you’ll know the place as “Seal Island.”).  This was the part I was the most skeptical about: chumming the water for great whites to approach seems a little unnatural for me.  Not to mention, against the norm ecologically speaking.  But from what I saw on the boat, the “chumming” wasn’t as ensnaring as I had thought.  First, they take all the delicious pieces of chum and blend it up into liquid (lucky the one who gets that job!), which they then dilute with water, so that it becomes very thin and it “slicks” the ocean surface.  This creates a scent to attract the sharks, but doesn’t lure them into false pretenses as I had thought (here sharky sharky, come see all the blood with no guts!!).  Then the captain throws a line of 4-5 fish heads to further entice the shark to coming close.  Now, according to the staff and the woman who began this business-the Shark Lady-the fish that is attached to the line is not even enough to be considered a meal for these guys.  And, since sharks are not migratory, the sharks that come on a daily basis to these boats are not the same ones day in and day out looking to score a free meal. 

Okay.  I guess I can buy that.  Hopefully that’s the truth and that this isn’t like the Stingray City in Cayman where they are 100% dependent upon humans to feed them.  These are wild creatures, and they aren’t tamed at all.  Ergo, the need for the cage.

The cage is big enough to fit 5 people.  Here’s how it works: you gear up in a 7mm wetsuit, boots and hoodie.  You climb into the cage and slowly sink yourself into your “slot.”  And wait for the cold water to sink in through the wetsuit (that's such a fantastic sensation...not!).  The cage bars are double sided; meaning the bar you hang onto with your hands is inside the outer bar, so you’re not “sticking out” for the shark to investigate.  And since it’s salt water, we naturally float a little more than in fresh water.  We hang onto the bar at the surface, waiting for a shark to come around to check out the fish heads.  When the shark comes around, the captain tells us to go under water to watch him swim by.  We don’t use a snorkel or dive tank, as bubbles scare off sharks quicker than you can say, “there’s a shark out there!”  And a snorkel doesn’t work so well either as you dip your head pretty far down in the water to watch the action, so you couldn’t breath through the tube anyway.  So when a shark comes around, you take a deep breath and push yourself underwater and hang out as long as your lungs can handle it.  Since you’re in 7mm of neoprene, you need a little extra assistance in being able to pull yourself under water, so they strap on a weight belt to your suit so going under water is a lot easier.

Anyway, after we got the hang of going underwater to watch for sharks, we sat (or hung, rather) around waiting for one to come by.  And sure enough, they started to come around.  At first, a shark would swim past the cage one way, then come back the other way.  Never very close to cage; usually 10-15 feet away.  Until the one decided to come say hi to me, face to face.

I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for a 9’ Great White propelling itself straight toward you with its mouth wide open, showing you his teeth and all their glory.  So naturally, when this happened, I screamed.  Underwater.  Loud enough for everyone on the boat to hear me.  But it was absolutely AWESOME.

And maybe a little bit scary.

Obviously, this was the highlight of the trip.  And happily, Matt captured it on video (at an angle though; he was 3 people down from me in the cage).  There was another moment where a shark (maybe the same one?) breached up out of the water to catch the fish heads...and managed to successfully bite them off the line.  Of course, this happened so quickly that we weren't able to capture it on film, but the visual was pretty spectacular.  After re-tying more fish heads onto the line and about 20 minutes later, we got out of the cage to let the next group have their chance.  This  actually gave us a better visual perspective of the Great Whites from the boat.  It was pretty cool to watch their fins cut through the water as they swam around the boat.  There was even one moment where we saw a shark about 100 yards away, swimming toward us.  The only thing we could see was his fin (tailfin, not dorsal fin) pop up occasionally out of the water, and because it was so calm, we could see his movement cut through the water, causing a "wave" as he swam toward us.  It was absolutely amazing.

But once the 2^nd group finished their time in the cage, we were in line to hop in again.  ‘Cause we wanted MORE shark time, baby!!

After another 15 minutes in the cage, way less shark activity than the first time, and another snap of the fish heads off the line from a shark, we crawled out of the cage and headed back toward land.  After the second round in the water, I found myself shivering a lot more than I had the first time.  Strangely enough, I didn't care too much!  I guess it was the adrenaline working.  :)  Once we got back on the boat and headed toward shore, we started to warm up, and soon found ourselves back at the Shark Lady storefront and was greeted with homemade vegetable lentil soup and fresh bread.  Perfect end to a cold, shark-infested morning!

(I will admit, the water was a balmy 60 degrees, which, surprisingly, was actually tolerable.  And since the water was tolerable, I can now brag that I went cage diving with Great Whites, whether or not I certify a new scuba diver. :)

Days 24-31-Last stop: George

 Our last leg of our African journey is a town called George, where Ron and Anya are from.  We spent our last week with Ron’s family, taking in the local sights and winding down after a whirlwind tour.

Some places we explored outside of George were places called Knysna and Cango.  Knysna was a gorgeous town off the coast, that had a beautiful waterfront and an amazing little trail that took you to the pinnacle of a marina entrance.  This area, on a high tide day, is impossible to pass through.  The waves were crashing all around (and this was during LOW tide!) while small sailboats were bravely steering their way out into the wild.  It was just another visual of our irrepressible Mother Nature.

Next, we went to the waterfront to enjoy a delicious lunch of fresh oysters, sushi and salad.  With a little wine and beer, of course. :)

Stalagmite in the Cango Cave, roughly 1.5 million years old

On our last day in South Africa, Ron and Anya took us to a town called Oudtshoorn, where the Cango Caves are housed.  These caves are approximately 3 miles in length, and are estimated to be over 80,000 years old (although some of the stalagmites and tites are estimated to be around 1.5 million years old!).  We elected to do the “adventure” tour, which meant climbing through passages aptly named “Lover’s Lane” (because you get so up close and personal to the walls that are squeezing you through), and “Devil’s Chimney” and “Letterbox” (this one because the only way out of the tunnel is to drop through a slit not much wider than yourself…head first!)

Overview of one of the rooms in the Cango Caves

 This was a really fun “last adventure of Africa”.  Especially going through the “Devil’s Chimney.”  We had to stick our right leg in first, then our left shoulder, and THEN our head, just to be able to fit into the tight squeeze.  THEN, we had to lift our right leg approximately 1 foot high onto a “step” to propel ourselves up into the “chimney”.  THEN, we had to find the foot hold for our left foot, and again lift our right foot onto another foothold at least a foot higher than the last.  The problem?  The entire width of the area was just big enough to barely fit, let alone trying to figure out a way to lift your leg perpendicular to your body and then push yourself up.  Thankfully, Ron went before us, and was able to help pull Anya up a bit to get the right footing, and Matt went behind me and was able to push my bottom up a little to get the same effect. 

Once we thankfully made it through the Devil’s Chimney and saw the daylight skies again, we ventured to our final touristy spot: petting cheetahs.

I’m not normally an advocate of caged animals being exploited so people can say they got to pet a wild animal, but Ron and Anya told us that this was a wildlife preserve to protect animals in the endangered species category.  And since this happens to be a very popular destination for both tourists and locals alike, we decided to financially support the preserve and pet a cheetah or two.

Actually, it was just me who went into the cage.  Matt looked from the safety of the railing above, while Anya went to cuddle with some lemurs and Ron took photos.  The preserve was more or less a zoo; with some of the animals being primed to be re-released into the wild (more like into nature preserves in the wild, but still fenced off to keep poachers away), most of the animals were not approachable.  But we were able to learn a little more about a few creatures of the wild: vultures, crocodiles, hippos, white lions, Bengal tigers and such.  All in all, it was a good experience, and a great last day in the “wild.”

Our last night was spent with Anya’s parents, who cooked us a delicious meal of roast lamb, potatoes, veggies and chocolate cake.  These two know my weaknesses!!

While we were sad to see the end come so quickly, both Matt and I were excited to get back to the states and begin our next chapter.  But that’s reserved for a separate blog. :)

Our last day together! :(

Going into the Devil's Chimney!

Glad I played Twister as a kid!!

Sliding through the Letter Box...

...and sliding out!

Me and Luigi, the cheetah

Waves crashing at Knysna

At Knysna

The Southern Most Point in Africa

Our 5 year wedding anniversary started with a trip to , which is the southern-most point of the continent of Africa.  It’s where the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean meet.  It was brilliant.  And WINDY.

The waves were crashing one after the other and poured into the shore, while the wind, blowing gusts easily of 40 knots, almost carried us away at a few different moments. 

It was absolutely amazing to see a part of the world that is unseen to so many.  And unknown to so many. 

We could only visit the area for a few minutes as the weather conditions were so rough, but the few moments at the southern-most point was fantastic.

Here are the photos.

Being carried away by the wind

Hang on, it's WINDY!

Happy Anniversary!!

The Indian Ocean's cold!!

Getting blown away!!

These waves were easily 15' tall

Day 23-Hermanus: Whales and Wind

 

We left Cape Town around noon on Thursday, September 26^th, after a walk around the Waterfront area.  Since our 5 year wedding anniversary is tomorrow, Matt and I made a little journey to a jewelry store to commemorate said day with a token on my finger: a Tanzanite stone.  Since we’re in Africa on our anniversary, it makes sense to mark the occasion with something that only comes from Africa.   

Fitting. 

Anyway, after we walked around a bit and stimulated the South African economy, we made our way through the winding mountainous/oceanic road toward a town called Hermanus.  We stopped here for the night for three reasons: 1)it’s beautiful and right off the coast, 2) it’s the perfect place to do our Great White Shark cage diving excursion, and 3)two more friends of ours from the BVI live here during hurricane season and invited us to stay with them for the night.

 Since our Great White Shark plans were put on hold due to the weather, we settled with the idea of a chill day/night taking in the sights and visiting with our friends.  The drive alone was fantastic; I would say it’s California’s equivalent of the Pacific Coast Highway.  Mountains to one side; ocean and cascading waves on the other.  Sprinkle in a few homes and tunnels along the way and you’ve got a fantastically awesome drive.  To make it even more enchanting, it was a cloudy/misty day so the gray skies made the green and brown stand out more. 

What we didn’t realize, until we arrived, was how windy it was outside.  The cage diving was cancelled due to inclement weather, and we could see why.  Easily 20 foot waves and wind that I’ve never experienced made it rather, er, windy for our liking outside.  We met our friends at a little restaurant just off the wharf and enjoyed a lite lunch and some wine, while watching whales in the distance breaching (humpbacks and Southern Rights migrate this time of year to mate).

Southern Right off in the distance

 After a bit, we journeyed back to our friends’ house, and had a lovely evening catching up and drinking wine.  It became windier, and as we settled into bed for the night we could hear the wind knocking into our windows! 

I’m REALLY glad the shark diving was cancelled!

Cape Town, Days 18-22: Eating, Drinking, A Trip to Table Mountain and a Wee Bit of Wine

Happy on our wine tour!

 We landed in Cape Town on Saturday, September 21^st after a fairly short drive of about 3 hours from Lambert’s Bay.  And we rang in our arrival with a classic pitstop:

HOOTERS.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this, but Ron and Anya are 100% absolutely addicted to buffalo sauce.  And the Hooters in St. Thomas has solidified their love of buffalo wings.  So since they’d been in wing withdrawal since leaving the islands in June, we decided to curb their cravings and make a bee line to some good ol’ American food.

Except their ranch dressing was pretty much sour cream and the buffalo sauce didn’t quite taste like the American version but in a pinch, it’ll do.

Anyway, after our stop to Hooters, we made our way to the hotel that will be our home for 5 whole nights!  A nice hotel called Fire and Ice, it is located right in the center of Cape Town.  Our first night we spent with Ron’s best friend Gavin and his wife Candace, and we did what we do best: eat and drink.  But it didn’t take too long to wipe us out so we called it an early night around 11pm.  And back to our cozy king-sized bed hotel room.  With a super awesome hot and powerful shower.  Oh YEAH.

The next night, after spending a beautiful day in wine region, we headed to Madame Zingara:  a Cirque du Soleil-esque show.  The only difference being it’s served with a 4 course dinner and we are encouraged to dress up funky and have a little fun with costumes and make up.  Being as I left my freaky costumes back in the states, I settled for a face painting and feather braid in my hair.  Actually, we all got our faces painted, except for Matt, who purchased a sombrero and mustache and became Mateo for the evening. 

Stay thirsty, my friends

The show was spectacular.  Filled with acrobatic amazement, singing, dancing, performing and audience participation, it was truly an awesome show and well worth the $25 per person.

Yep.  You read it right.  $25 for a four course dinner, show and drinks.  Okay, so Gavin (who works at a hotel) pulled a few strings to get us a show discount, but normally the price is $50 per person, which is unheard of in the states. 

I seriously might move here.  I could get used to these prices.

Oh, and the 4 course meal was delicious. 

On top of Table Mountain

The next day, Matt, Ron and Anya and I ventured up to Table Mountain, which is the flat-top mountain (hence, the name) located literally in the middle of Cape Town. Once again, another spectacular breathtaking view of Cape Town and the ocean.  When we got up there around 10am, it was pretty hazy.  As we were looking down and over the city, we could see the clouds lying over the surrounding mountains and beaches.  There are a lot of paths to walk, one being 45 minutes from the main area that overlooks yet another part of Cape Town, or you can walk up the mountain, which would take roughly 4-5 hours to hike up (we opted for the cable car).  Either way, we walked around the area on top of the mountain, which has been “pathed out” in between boulders and bush, making the area seem as if you’re walking through a garden at some large estate.  Matt and I could walk around this area for hours; we wanted to see the whole length of Table Mountain but we had to head to the ghetto.

Hanging in the ghetto

Not necessarily your first place to spend a day in the states, there are a few “townships” in Cape Town that have actually opened up their area for those of us who don’t belong, to eat and drink and buy a tshirt that says, “I went to the ghetto” kind of thing.  It was actually really cool.  Apart from the huge Italian tour bus that came in and made such a loud noise in the dining area, we got to hear some local African music from a couple of guys who played drums and sang, and we ate to our heart’s content of meat, pork, lamb and nshima.  With our hands.  It was spectacular.

After a week of overindulgence, we decided to make it an easy night food-wise and met some of our BVI friends, Jason and Paulina at a bar.  Of course, what started out as a “one drink” stipulation, we found ourselves sitting around with Jay and Paulina’s friends, and talked and had a couple more drinks than we had planned.  But it was a night of being around Cape Tonians in a local haunt, and once again reminded me of how similar we all are.

Luckily we didn’t stay too late; us old people started to get a bit outnumbered by the youngsters who started to infiltrate the bar around 10pm.  So we decided we’d had enough and made for our comfy bed back at the hotel.

Day #4 found us once again planning our day around food.  It was National Heritage Day, which is South Africa’s Fourth of July.  Well, since we’re here, we should do as the South Africans, right?

RIGHT!

We loaded our car up with more meat than Oscar Meyer’s warehouse and found ourselves in a large park that housed roughly 1000 other South Africans and sat around with more of Ron and Anya’s friends and proceeded to partake in National Braai Day.  This year, South Africa was attempting to break the world record of the biggest consecutive braai at one time (a record currently held by the Japanese, of all people).  So there was grill after grill after grill lined up where you could take your meats and go to town.  At one point we had 3 grills going with all the meat we had.  It was really cool to be a part of their day.

Back to the hotel around 7pm, full of food and beer, we made it an easy night and went to bed early. 

Because the next day was the day I’d been waiting for since we first planned this trip: WINE TOURS!!!

So far, what I’ve seen of Cape Town has not disappointed me.  This city is amazing in how the people who’ve developed it were smart and built around its nature.  The mountains, the hills, the trees and the vineyards are all a part of its charm.  And so the wineries of Cape Town are no more than 45 minutes away from the city’s center.

Luckily, Gavin was smart and hired a van to drive us around so we wouldn’t have to worry about driving ourselves after tasting wine all day.  We managed to make it to 4 wineries.  Since there were 7 of us, and we did 6-wine tastings at the first 2 wineries, we started to run out of daylight.  But we also treated ourselves to a delicious lunch, which lasted easily another 2 hours.  Since wineries close their doors at 5pm, and we only got started touring wine valley around 11am, our time was a bit limited.  But we made the most of it, and while our driver dealt with wine-tasters of 6+ hours, we found ourselves verrry humorous. 

We finished our last night in Cape Town eating a South African classic: Indian Curry.  By this point I think while we were all sad to head out the next morning, we were looking forward to having a wee bit of a food cleanse.

But no matter.  That’s tomorrow!

Days 17 & 18, Lambert’s Bay and Holy Crap it’s COLD!!

Wow, what a difference 60 miles makes in climate.  It’s absolutely freaking COLD once you hit the South African border.  Holy cow, we were soooo not mentally prepared for this one!!

Our time in Namibia has officially ended, to the sadness of all of us I think.  And that also means that our time camping has ended, as it is too cold to brave the elements in the northern part of South Africa (I may be a camper now and all, but I’m not stupid).  But, we still have so much to explore in South Africa, that leaving Namibia doesn’t feel as though our vacation is over; rather, it’s just another chapter in the story.  Nonetheless, I know our time in the desert is over (for now), and I feel a little sad to say goodbye to all the friends I’ve made so far: the 12 dogs we met at various campsites, the water otter, Bokkie Spit Braai the goat, lions, elephants, giraffes, springbok, leopards, cheetahs, zebras, the list goes on…

But, we’re on to another country, and that means more to explore!  So since our drive from the border of Namibia to Capetown is about another 600 miles, we decided to break up the drive and visit the west coast of South Africa.  Except we had no idea it was going to be so cold.

Our original plan was to stop in a place Namaqualand, where flora and fauna flourish in the spring.  Evidently it looks like a Monet painting.  But since we found South Africa to be a wee chilly for flowers, the flora and fauna called in sick and all we saw was buds.  Oh well.  Can’t say I blame them…

On our way to Lambert’s Bay, we made a pitstop in Springbok to replace the flat tire, and found a restaurant to sip on some hot chocolate and eat some cold-weather food while they mounted the tire.   Once the tire was ready, we made our way to Raston Guest House, where our rooms were waiting for us with (mostly) warm and cozy accommodations.  There were space heaters in the rooms, so once we plugged in the heating plate, loaded ourselves with blankets and closed up all extra doors to keep the heat in, we started to thaw out a little.  Luckily, our room had a bathtub so I was able to soak my chilled bones until my legs were rubber.  But I won’t lie; I was in absolute HEAVEN with a bed, a bath, a heater and a tv.

Our night was spent eating some fantastic seafood and we all went to bed fat and happy.  The next day, sunny but cold, found me in my cozy bed literally the whole day while Matt, Ron and Anya went exploring around Lambert’s Bay and socializing with the locals at a pub.  After driving and driving and driving the last 2 weeks, we were happy to not have an itinerary.  It was a very chill couple of days, which was good to have because according to Ron, once we hit Capetown we’ll be going and going and GOING. 

So as long as I have a bed to live in, I’m gonna take advantage of it!!