Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Things to do in Cape Town

There are tons of things to do in the surroundings of Cape Town. First of all there are of course the obligatory wine tastings. Cape Town is surrounded by tons of wine farms, and each and every one of them offers wine tastings for as little as R20. That’s about USD 2.

Somerset West, where we are currently staying, is situated in the middle of the Winelands and thus there is not more than five minutes to the nearest winery. Most of the farms also have great restaurants and they all offer magnificent scenery. As it is now time for the harvest, old stocks must be cleared out, why one can find quite a few bargains out there. Normally, though, we prefer to shop at Lars’s store (www.morgans.co.za) where one can find an excellent selection of wine at prices lower than at the winefarms. Lars’s company is also worth a visit alone. =)

One of the vineyards, Slayley (www.slaley.co.za), is now also getting in to coffee. Apart from making their own blends, they also serve magnificent espresso and lattes (among other things) and will soon also host coffee tastings. Well worth a visit!

Apart from wine, the Western Cape offers a magnificent nature. I have written before about our trip to Cape Point, but one does not have to go to a park to see spectacular sceneries. The mountain range going through the Winelands, the magnificent Helderberg that we see from Frank’s house, the beautiful bay in which Strand and Gordon’s Bay is located… they are all things that we get to admire and appreciate everyday.

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Just as the rest of South Africa, the Cape Town area offers some really nice zoos. Near Paarl is the Drakenstein Lion Park, a sanctuary for mistreated lions, born in captivity.

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

The park currently holds about 20 lions, coming from zoos all over the world. The lions can’t be released back into the wild, but have found refuge in the park, spending their days in their large enclosures.

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Near the lion park is a small place called the Butterfly World. It didn’t look like much from the outside and we hadn’t read anything about it… we simply found the waypoint in our GPS and decided to have a look. Inside the place was stunning and we walked around for about an hour looking at the incredible amount of different butterflies flying around. And also a flying dog.

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

After a while we realized that the butterfly enclosure only was one of several parts of the facility and we made our way in to the bird enclosure. Apart from birds there were also monkeys, iguanas and duikers.

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

I soon found a really cute bird and as it seemed rather curious and friendly I decided to chat with it for a while.

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

We did however have a slight disagreement on how long said chat should be, so when I decided to venture on, the bird (some kind of parakeet) simply flew over and landed on my head. There it sat until I decided it was time for it to fly off and tried to scoop it off. The result? I got bitten in a finger and one minute later it was back again. I simply had to accept my fate and spent the rest of the time in the enclosure with the bird on my head and back. Kind of nice, actually.

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

But there are also numerous events around town. Every Sunday there’s an outdoor concert in the nearby Helderberg Nature Reserve and a few weeks ago Lars were kindly offered us tickets to the J&B Met, a horse race sponsored by the whisky J&B. The event is the largest horse race in South Africa and was as much as fashion show as a betting event, since most of the several thousand spectators tried their best to win the “Best looking couple award”; a trip to Mauritius.

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

 

It was great fun to see the races and all the dressed up people, but a few hours in the scorching sun took its toll on my nose… Seem to get a lot of that on this trip… But, it was a great day out!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Time flies...

More than a month has passed since I last wrote… and what a month! We arrived at Frank’s place in Somerset West, some 45km from Cape Town, on the second of January. We were greeted by Frank and shocked by the sudden change in standard of living; last night we spent in a tent and now we were going to sleep in this… mansion? The guest room was so immaculate I dared not nap on the bed, but lay down on the floor instead… I quite simply felt too dirty.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

After a short nap, at least it felt short, we climbed into Frank’s Discovery and set course for his favorite restaurant; Henri’s. Visiting Henri’s once again proved what we had figured out a good 2.5 weeks earlier: South Africa is a wonderful country. The most expensive main course, ostrich fillet, cost 125 Rands and all meals tasted absolutely wonderful. It’s quite amazing what little price difference there is between a decent restaurant and a great one!

A few days after our arrival Frank took us to the Tyger Valley Shopping Mall where he a few weeks earlier had met a Swede, Lars, running a wine store. Lars immediately invited us to try some of his wine and after a couple of bottles he also invited us to a barbeque. With the Swedish track and field national team. It turned out that Lars for the last couple of years had helped them organize their training camps in Cape Town, and as the ongoing camp was coming to an end everyone was invited to dinner. The event was all great fun, especially for Kina who had to explain to me afterwards who the people we’d met were.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

The next few weeks primarily circled around trying to get Frank’s Disco ready for their trip. Him, John and Tony were mere weeks away from their departure, but the car was still to be finished. We followed Frank around to all of Cape Town’s 4x4 and outdoor stores, gave him pointers and tried to help him figure out what he should have done with the car. A few days before Frank was to go to the UK he had his plan all set up and the car was handed over to Cris at R&D Offroad. Frank then left for his 10-day trip, leaving Kina and me alone in the house. We cannot stress enough how extremely grateful we are for his amazing hospitality. Not only did he offer us stay as long as we’d like in his house, he also trusted us to stay in it alone while he was away. Very nice of him!

When Frank was away we got an email from the Brazilians (www.mundoporterra.com.br) whom we had driven through Sudan with. Roy and Michele had now reached Cape Town and we decided to meet before they had to leave for Namibia. We had time to meet a total of three times while they where waiting for their visas for Angola. They did however not get said visas, but decided to try to get them in Namibia instead. We are now keeping our fingers crossed, hoping they will get them.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Between our meetings with the Brazilians we also had dinner with Charlotta and Lenny, a Swedish/Dutch couple whom we’d met first in Kenya and then later in Malawi. They were staying in Stellenbosch so we were practically neighbors. It was great fun to meet them again and we decided to celebrate us reaching civilization by having an ice cream marathon at Mc Donald’s. Great fun!

Lenny told us we had to stop by at a penguin watch point on our way down to Cape Point the day after. He described the penguins as looking completely lost standing in 35-degree heat, digging holes in the sand. He was right. They looked hilarious! And also really cute.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

We had seen a few penguins when we a couple of days earlier had visited the Two Ocean’s Aquarium down by the Waterfront in Cape Town, but this was magnificent. Hundreds of penguins were swimming, running around, nesting or just standing around in great congregations. The tourists got to walk around on raised walkways, allowing us to see the penguins at close range, but still not getting so close we’d disturb them.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

The Two Ocean’s Aquarium is worth mentioning a bit more, by the way, as it is a beautiful installation well worth a visit. Placed just by the sea it offers a great selection of the wildlife present in both the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, as the two oceans meet nearby.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

There was a huge tank holding among other things sharks, rays and sea turtles, and also a lot of smaller tanks, a great penguin compound and a special frog exhibition. All very well presented and great looking.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Back to Cape Point, where the drive along the coast is a sight on its own. As we reached the park we first drove down to Cape Point, which is different to Cape of Good Hope, and neither of them is the southern-most tip of Africa.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

From the well-filled parking we walked a path, climbing up to the highest point on the Cape Point Cliffs, some 250 meters above sea level, stopping at several viewpoints along the way. On the top a lighthouse was built, but it had soon proved useless since its high location resulted in it being covered by clouds most of the time.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Thus a new lighthouse was built a couple of years later, located at 89 meters above sea level, edging just at the southernmost cliffs of Cape Point. The view from the cliffs at Cape Point was absolutely breath taking, offering the magnificent sight of the ocean pounding the cliffs hundreds of meters below and also a plethora of different birds nesting on the steep cliffs. Magnificent.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

Från Off the Map - Africa 2

After a short lunch we took the car over to Cape of Good Hope, where we took the ceremonial picture of Bumblebee parked by the large sign. As we were about to leave the whole place seemed to get swarmed by Swedes. In about 15 minutes 11 Swedes in three different groups approached us. Amazing. We can only wish we had thought about putting up the Swedish flag a few months earlier, as it sure seems to work.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
So far the beginning of 2009 has been a lot slower than the end of 2008. On the 30th of December we left surfer hot-spot Jeffrey’s Bay and went to a quiet backpacker hangout in Nature’s Valley called Wild Spirit. Our new accommodation offers spectacular views over a valley stretching all the way down to the ocean and also a plethora of things to do in the vicinity.
On New Year’s Eve we decided to try a few of the local sights and gave ourselves a full itinerary as we decided to visit four of the five local animal refuges. We started the day with a visit to recently built Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness centre, where we got up close to cheetahs, servals, caracals and African wild cats, not to mention the leopard tortoises and meerkats.

We entered all enclosures as we were guided around the entire establishment during the course of 90 minutes. The knowledgeable guide, friendly animals and beautiful surroundings (and enclosures) resulted in us having a great time. The chocolate cake (called ‘death by chocolate’) we had in the café before we left sure helped as well… it was magic.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2


Från Off the Map - Africa 2


Our next stop was the 12-hectare Monkey Land, a huge sanctuary now being the home of a wide array of different monkey species. The guide who took us around the jungle was probably the best guide we could ask for, and also quite impressive when it came to spotting small monkeys in the dense jungle. It was an amazing experience getting so close up to the monkeys, while walking through what felt like any normal jungle, save the perfect walkways and really cool suspension bridge.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2


After Monkey Land it was time for us to monkey away and get some lunch. We stopped at the Peppermill Café, where we after the ostrich burger and smoked salmon pasta realized that this was about to be a really good day. Great nature experiences and amazing food… what more can one ask for? That’s right! Snakes!

Från Off the Map - Africa 2


Lawnwood Snake Sanctuary is a rather small establishment, but it offers at least as much knowledge and enthusiasm as the aforementioned refuges. We were lucky enough to be guided by the owner himself, who soon happily draped himself in mole snakes while juggling a couple of not-so-happy puff adders. What was most impressive was how shy the snakes were; even after they were provoked they rather took off than attacked. Before leaving we had learned a lot about snakes (and that St Lucia, where we spent Christmas, is one of the snake densest areas in South Africa) and also gotten to drape ourselves in corn snakes and boa constrictors. Amazing!

Från Off the Map - Africa 2


Från Off the Map - Africa 2


Från Off the Map - Africa 2


Från Off the Map - Africa 2



The clock had struck 4PM before we left Lawnwood and the weather had suddenly gotten cold, but we had one stop left before we were done: Bird Eden, the world’s largest aviary. The same guy who built Monkey Land also decided to build a massive cage around the valley next to the Monkey Land, and then filling said cage with thousands of birds. I don’t know what impressed me the most; all the wonderful birds or the amazing work that had been put into the park. The aviary covered an area of 2 hectares, and the drop from the top of the cage to bottom of the valley was immense.

Från Off the Map - Africa 2


Från Off the Map - Africa 2


Just before leaving the aviary a grey parrot took a liking to my right shoulder and promptly refused to leave. Kina and I both did our best to persuade it to fly back to the railing where it sat before, while also trying to comply with the “no touching-rule”. After being bitten quite a few times and angrily hissed at we decided to call for help and as one of the employees approached the bird carrying a stick it decided that the battle was lost and took off. I kind of miss it, though.

Instead of lobster for dinner we put some spare ribs on the braai, and were soon covered in BBQ-sauce as well as getting the full attention of the two residential dogs. Beer and Smirnoff Spin substituted the champagne and midnight was substituted by 10PM… Yes… we fell asleep long before the clock struck twelve, but were awakened by Kina’s 92 years old grandmother who called us at midnight to wish us a happy new year. I have never felt so boring my entire life… Out-partied by a 92-year-old.

New years day has been slow, with us doing a whole lot of nothing. Tomorrow we are going to drive 600 kilometers to Sommerset West, where we are going to stay with our friend Frank who we met in Kenya. Frank is going through the final preparations for his own overland trip, taking him from Cape Town to Kenya and later all the way to the UK. Hopefully we can be of any assistance in case he needs any help. I think he’s got it all covered though… he’s also got a Land Rover.

=)

www.tenikwa.co.za
www.monkeyland.co.za
www.birdsofeden.co.za