Last Week in Africa

Our apologies for not posting for a while.  We have not had any connectivity at a number of locations and have been so busy that we just have not had time to go through our pictures.

Following our stay at Kwandwe, we spent 3 nights at Ngala, which borders on the Krugar Nature Park.  While there we saw a number of young animals including the 4 month old hyena below and five week old leopard cubs.   We have a number of other pictures of young giraffes and elephants to show you but we'll have to wait until we are home.

We also saw giraffe's fighting.  They were battling for dominance to see which of the males below would be able to mate with the female nearby...who didn't appear to really care what was happening.  They lean again each other and strike with their necks.  As our Ranger explained, it is rather gentlemanly as one giraffe waits for the other to get his barrings and enables him to take a swing before moving on.  These battles can last for a day or more until one of the giraffe's gives in and walks away.

The following pictures are from our next few days in Hermanus and Rob diving with the sharks.  The coast around Hermanus, including False Bay, is the best place in the world to see whales from land.  The whales come to the bay to mate from September to May each year.  We saw a few breach and were able to get this picture.

Finally, Rob did go diving with the sharks.  I stayed on the second level of the boat far away from any jumping great whites.   As you can see from the following pictures, they look a little scary up close.  

We will share better pictures once we've had a change to go through all 1200 but as usual, have to run for a plane shortly.

See you all soon!

The Animals and Our Friends at Kwandwe

We have just spent four nights at The Great Fish River Lodge in the Kwandwe nature reserve.   It is very difficult to describe our experience.  It will do my best but will likely have to tell you all about it in person once we are home.   It was absolutely magical.

We saw lions mating 10 feet from our jeep.  We saw elephants mating which is extremely rare.  Our ranger, Doc, had never seen this in the 10 years he had been working as a ranger and said that it was the one thing he hoped to see in his life.   That experience left all of us in awe.

We also saw young lions playing and practicing how to kill and young elephants practicing locking their tusks and fighting.   And, that’s just the start.  We’ve taken about 800 pictures so we had to choose what to share with you.

The Kwandwe nature reserve was created 10 years ago to restore the area to its original state with the animals roaming the way they had hundreds of years ago.  Seven farms were purchased over 22 000 hectares and animals were slowly introduced.    The villages on the land were all allowed to remain there many of the people work in the reserves and lodges.   On the 22 000 hectares there are only two lodges and two houses.  In the houses, you can bring your family or friends and have the entire place to yourself.   At full capacity, we were told that the reserve can host approximately 130 people.   So, there are not a lot of people at any time and visitors get a very intimate experience.  Not quite as intimate as Rob and I.   We were actually the only guests at our lodge for one night and we were the only guests with our Ranger and Tracker for 5 game drives.  Not only was it amazing to be by ourselves but we became good friends with Doc, our Ranger, and Siza, our Tracker.  We laughed and joked as they told us stories about their families and boyhood stories of growing up here when it was still farm land.   We told them about Canada and answered all of their questions about snow, what our houses are like, etc…

We have placed a number of pictures below because we are catching a plane shortly to head to the next lodge, Ngala near Krugar.   It is owned by the same company and we have been asked to say hello to some people who now where there and had previously worked with our friends at Kwandee.   Rob and I have both talked about lowering our expectations for the next park because we know it will likely not compare to what we have just done. 

We are having an amazing time and feel very blessed to have been able to meet Doc and Siza and get to know them, how much they respect the owners of the reserves, and how much the reserves have given back to the communities. 

Hiking in South Africa

We have just spent three days in Plettenberg Bay, which is a beach resort town located along the Indian Ocean.    On our first day, we decided to go on a hike given that we hadn’t really been doing anything but eating, driving, and drinking wine.

There is a nature reserve, Robberg Nature Park that jets out into the ocean.  Guests at our guest house recommended that we go on the hike and it was strongly seconded by the owners. So, after breakfast, Rob and I headed out for a morning hike.  We had been told by the couple at the guest house that the hike took 3.5 hours and the owner said she estimated 2 hours.   We assumed they were talking about the largest of three hikes that loops around the peninsula.  The longest hike was 9.2 km and 3.5 hours sounded reasonable. 

Our first indication that hikes in South Africa are not quite like others was the trail map.  In two locations it was marked with skull and crossbones.   There were various warnings about high-tide and strong winds.  It was a very nice day so we set off on our way. 

Shortly into the hike, we caught a glimps of several of these little guys...they are called daissies.   They are very similar to rabbits but have very small ears.

Since the park is situated on the Indian Ocean there are hundreds of seals who play in one particular part of the trail.  There are so many that you can smell them from the trail.  Here’s a picture of some of them playing and laying in the sun. 

After we had passed the seals, the trail became sandy.  One portion of the area called Whitsand supplies the sand for the miles and miles of beach making up Plettenberg Bay.    As we were hiking through this portion of the trail, we came across a snake in the middle of the path.   When we hike, Katie always goes first so she can see the trail (not possible with a six foot door in front).   Katie almost stepped on the snake and recoiled quickly when she saw it.   We both starred at it and pondered whether it was alive and if so, whether it was poisonous.   Rob “bravely” threw a rock in its direction to see if it would move.  It lazily slithered half-way under the brush along the trail.   So, it was alive but we still didn’t know if it was poisonous.   We waited a few minutes and then finally decided to jump on a rock and around the snake.  Here are some pictures of it.

Once we returned to our guest house, we asked the patron if they knew what kind of snake it was.  They certainly did – it was puff adder.   They are a very common, deadly snake but they are also very lazy.   Apparently you practically have to step on it for them to attack.  Lucky us.

When we arrived at one of the portions of the trail that was marked with skull and crossbones, we completely understood why.  You can’t really tell from the picture below but the waves from the ocean had been high enough to make the rock ledge wet and the trail was very slippery.  

The hike was wonderful and when we got back and told the guest house owners that we had done the entire trail and that it took us 4 hours, they were flabbergasted.  They said that “no one” does the entire thing and that they had only meant that we do the half trail.   Oh well – we loved it and had a great time.

Now, we are off to the game reserves.

Encountering Endangered Species...and Enjoying a Little WIne

What an amazing day.  We started off with a wonderful breakfast at our accommodations, River Manor.  The rooms and grounds are absolutely lovely.

We then walked around the town and then headed out to the wineries for lunch and some tastings.   We had lunch at the second oldest vineyard in the region, Spier.   It has become rather commercial but we were able to take in the best parts of it.   The winery has invested in sound environmental practices to help preserve water, which is extremely important in South Africa.  They have also donated sections of their land to animal conservation efforts.  There is a Chita program on-site as well as bird sanctuary.  We took both tours and were quite happy that we took the time.  

We learned quite a bit about Chitas and were told that Chitas are actually in danger of becoming extinct.  There are now approximately only 15,000 Chitas in Africa, with 1,000 in South Africa and 3,000 in Namibia.   They are often hunted because they threaten various livestock and are therefore killed to protect farmers’ living.   They currently have approximately 10 Chitas in the sanctuary because these animals have either been injured or could not survive in the wild.  The group now provides specific guard dogs for the herds to various farmers.   The group raises the dogs, donates the dog and food to feed them for a year to the farmers to protect their flocks, and if the farmer is pleased with the results they accept full responsibility for the dog.  In addition, the farmer must sign a document saying they will not kill chitas or the dogs that protect their flocks.   

Next, we moved on to the bird sanctuary.  There were two options, one to walk around and view the various birds and a second to participate in an interactive experience with the birds.  Given that it the second was about to start, we chose to go with the interactive option – and we are really glad we did. 

We were able to meet an eagle, a snow old, a spotted owl, an American vulture and two African vultures.  We learned about their habitat, the reasons why they endangered (many injured or poisoned due to lack of education in the population or simply dying off due to lack of food).   Here are some pictures of Rob and I feeding the birds.  They were amazing up close and because they were tame and used to humans, very gentle.

Finally, we met these two amazing vultures.  We were not able to feed them because they are so large (check out their wingspan) but they were amazing to watch. 

 Finally, we walked around and met a number of the other birds.   Katie was very impressed with this eagle.  He is so majestic that he looks unreal.

After our exciting adventure, we thought we should actually venture out and visit some vineyards.  Our host at the Manor Inn suggested we visit two wineries, the first Rust De Verde that only produces red wines and Waterford that is one of the other oldest estates in the areas.  

Rust De Verde as amazing for so many reasons.  It was based in a quaint setting.  And, the wine was fantastic.  We ended up buying two bottles of their Shiraz. 

We also visited the Waterford Estate.  This was also based in a beautiful yet very different setting.   However, they offered something different.  They paired their wine tasting with a chocolate tasting.  We had a few tastings of their white (one that Katie liked, Rob didn’t really like any), and then had two reds.  The first, a Shiraz, was paired with a dark chocolate and the second, Cabernet Savignon, with a salty dark chocolate.  The third was a very sweet desert wine paired with milk chocolate – needless to say, neither Rob nor I finished it.

We ended the day at dinner at Umami, a fantastic restaurant that offers wine pairings taster menus or a la carte.

The next day, we headed to the semi-desert area where Ostrich farms helped the town make its fortune.

Your Not in Kansas Anymore

We are currently in the wine region in a town called Stellenbosch.  We made reservations at a very famous restaurant called La Petite Ferme that is located in a nearby wine farming town called Franschhoek.  Lunch was lovely with Ostrich Capaccio followed by Smoked Trout for Katie, while Rob had Porchini Mushroom Soup and Slow Roasted Lamb.  We had a glass of wine to go with our meal but wondered if the wine had something special added as we drove home.

The patron of our lovely accomodations, Justin, suggested that we take the Pass back to Stellenbosch if we had the time as the views of the mountain ranges are stunning.   We did have the time so we chose to follow his suggestion. 




As we climbed the mountain range we were quite suprised to come across this fellow:

We stopped to take a few pictures and he turned to get a better look at us too.



We were so suprised to see a baboon on the side of the road that we hadn't looked around.   When we turned back to the road, we saw a whole village of baboons through our windshield.

How many baboons can you count?  We saw at least 30.   Babies on their Mom's backs.  Three little ones wrestling at the side of the road.  But, the biggest suprise to us was when we saw a young one try to climb on its Mom\s back and it was turned away.   When we got backo our hotel and looked at the photographs, we realized why.   If you look closely, Mom is nursing a baby and that was obvioulsy her focus. 

Wow!  We are in the wine region.  We haven't even gone to see the animals yet.  We can't wait.

We'll write again soon.

Mandela....Mandela

On Sunday morning, with a grey sky and threatening rain, we boarded the ferry to Robben Island.

The Island is 10 km off the shores of Cape Town and is where both political prisoners and criminals were imprisoned during apartheid.   The island had been used as various prisons by the colonial Dutch and English rulers, a leopard colony, a strong-hold during the second world war, and finally as a political prison starting in the 1960s.  Mandela was imprisoned in 1962 and spent 27 years on the island. 

The tour was given in two stages.  The first was a bus tour explaining the history and various structures on the island including the town, where 200 people currently live, relics from the second world war, and various prison buildings.   The second part of the tour was given by an ex-political prisoner and as our first tour guide pointed out, it must be very difficult for these men to come back to the island where they had been so injustly imprisoned and walk through those same hallways so that people can understand what happened.

During the first part of the tour we stopped in the village.  The Robben Island museum workers have a choice of either living on the island or of commuting back & forth each day.   Since people live there, they have a school house for grades one through seven and it currently has 18 students.   There is also a church so that residents can worship.  The Church is open to the public one day per year, on Valentines day so that people can get married.   Last year they had 23 marriages on Valentine's day and our guide said he attended and the minister was on the mark when he stated, "Given that marriage is a life sentence, it's very appropriate to be married on Robben Island."

The highlight of the first part of the tour was when one of the other visitors asked the following question to the tour guide: "Do you think the English and Dutch Colonialists were the first terrorists?"   The bus went quiet and the tour guide attempted to answer.  Once he was fiinished, an older gentleman with dreadlocks asked if he could answer the question.   He responded by saying that being a terrorist is in the eye of the beholder and that he had been considered a terrorist.  He went on to say that it wasn't correct to be upset with what had happened because the actions were done in ignorance.   His words were much more eloquent than my paraphrasing and it really stood out.  

We were able to catch up with this gentleman later during the tour and spoke with him briefly.  We expressed our appreciate for what he said and the sentiment within which he spoke.  He told us that he works for the government on the mainland and is in "reconciliation and conflict resolution".   He went on to say that you need to understand where people are coming from and how their experience shapes their viewpoint.  One of his parting comments what that, "it doesn't really matter how you got into the water, but it's how you get out that counts."

The second part of tour was guided by the gentleman in the picture below.  I cannot pronounce his name, let alone spell it, so we'll just call him Mr. K.    Mr. K was imprisoned for five years on the island from 1986-1991.  He had been given a 17 year sentence and as he said, he was not affected by the five years because he had set his mind to 17.   He explained that he had been part of the African National Congress (ANC), which was the underground movement fitting against apartheid.  He was imprisoned for being in the ANC, for working as military and moving various weapons and arms through the underground.   He mentioned a number of countries that he had either been imprisoned by our deported from before finally landing on Robben Island.   They included Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, Russia and others.

He showed us the cell where they lived, including Mandela's cell below, the common area and the washrooms.  He also showed us a number of items outlining how segregated the various prisoners were.  First, prisoners were classified by skin colour, with Blacks receiving the worst treatment, and Coloured (defined as mixed race or anyone non-white) receiving slightly better.  On the card below, it shows the food that was allocated to Blacks and Coloured and you see a marked difference.   Whites were not imprisoned on the island. 

Mr. K. also showed us where the guards had found Mandela's working copy of The Long Walk to Freedom, hidden under these grapevine trees.  For writing the book, he was given 4 years of something (we didn't understand exactly what). 

One of the surprising facts is that the prisoners were able to apply for education rights.  Meaning, they could study during the evening hours after they had performed 8-10 hours of hard labour in the quarry.   Mandela and the other prisoners coined this as "their university".   We learned that the current President of South Africa was imprisoned on the island at a very early age and received most of his education this way -- pretty remarkable.

It was a wonderfully enlightening morning and we really enjoyed learning more about the history.  

We also saw some african penguins, which are indigenous to the island.