Ostrich, hippos and dolphins in just one day

Another early start - this time to drive a few hours along R62 to Oudsthoorn - home of the Ostrich. The drive there was another little slice of perfection and we arrived at Outdsthoorn in time for the morning Ostrich show. This involved holding eggs as ostriches tried to peck their way out, holding day-old chicks, standing on ostrich eggs, feeding ostriches, stroking ostrich feathers and riding ostriches. Oh, and did I mention the ostriches? There were twenty or so people on the tour and when the guide asked for a volunteer to ride the ostrich I decided to put myself forward. They helped me up "ha, ha, ha, what jolly good fun - photo please" and I felt quite comfortable. They cover the ostrich's head so that it stays calm and stays still. But not for long. The guide took the hood off the ostrich, and before I knew it I was about 40m away on the other side of the field - I don't even remember how I got there. Terrifying. Needless to say I was the first and last volunteer to ride the ostrich. Those big furry birds sure can run. Mike could not be persuaded to give it a go. Too heavy apparently. Hmmm.
Next stop..... wait for it.... a private game reserve for lunch overlooking a watering hole. We kept waiting for someone to come and escort us off the premises - this place was seriously high class. As we sipped a cool beer and shared a starter of delicious kalamari and devoured a 300g ostrich steak, a mother and baby hippo wandered by at the other side of the lake. After lunch we got chatting to one of the staff and he showed us around the private lakeside tents. The lunch cost us the princely sum of ten pounds a head.
Later in the afternoon we arrived at tonight's accommodation - a three story beach house with a 360 degree balcony on the top deck. As we chatted to the owner on the deck more whales and a school of dolphins swam in the bay just 50m from the house. We settled down for a cup of Rooibos and a sunset.

Sunday in the little Karoo

We woke up at 6am and headed off to the Bloupunt Trail, a 16km 'stroll' up a 1300m mountain and back. An early start seemed prudent.
Needless to say it was a huff and a puff to get to the top and there was lots of scrambling over rocks and climbing ladders. When we reached the summit we were rewarded with a howling gale and amazing views - awesome.
The hike back down included three detours to secluded waterfalls and meadows of gorgeous 'fynbos', that's flowers to you and me. We saw dassies (the giant rats again), and klipspringers (small deer) on the way back. We saw no-one on the entire trek and even the animals were surprised to see us. For the final hour of the trek with almost every step I disturbed a frog baking on the stones and the 'plop plop' of frogs leaping into the stream as we walked by was lovely.
We finished the day at the only restaurant in town that was open eating giant steaks and drinking some of the local red.
Another beautiful day in paradise....

Click here for photos of the first week.

Breaching, fluking, lobtailing and sailing

On Saturday we woke early and set off through a bracing dawn to Hermanus, home of all things Whale. The sun shone and the haze slowly burned away as we headed around the ocean road. I was trying desperately hard not to get my hopes up for a whale sighting and when we arrived at Hermanus I almost didn't look at the sea for fear of being disappointed. There was no need to be so cautious.
As we approached the rocks in the mouth of the bay a southern right whale was just a few metres off shore and countless other whales swam around just a few metres further out. Twenty or so early-morning whale watchers stood in silent awe as the giants of the sea skirted the shore. Twenty not-so-silent children and me exclaimed at every movement - a glimpse of a head (breaching), a flick of a tail (fluking or sailing), and then finally we were rewarded with the closest whale performing a great big belly roll right in front of us (belly-flopping - ha ha). Mike had to hang on to me for fear I'd fall in through excitement. We topped off a lovely morning by drinking lattes at a very swanky cafe on the cliffs and planning the next couple of weeks.
As if a morning of whale watching wasn't enough we found a restaurant serving giant bowls of seafood to live jazz. Neither of us can quite believe we are able to do all this on our backpackers budget.
We left Hermanus in the late afternoon and drove a quiet road inland to Montagu in the Little Karoo - a sleepy, remote farming town. The drive there was overwhelming, as we crossed each ridge another breathtaking vista unfolded in front of us. Newborn lambs skipped in the afternoon sun, birds took flight as we passed by and the greens of the countryside with the snow capped mountains behind were almost too much to believe. We met maybe two other cars on a two hour drive.
We arrived in the late afternoon to our farm stay at 'De Bos'. A Cape Dutch style farmhouse was nestled amongst pecan trees. For ten pounds a night we had two adjoining rooms and en suite bathroom in an old barn. The owner showed us around "you can play with the puppies, but don't let them into the yard as they chase the chickens. If you go round the back of the stable the peacocks are performing at the moment so don't miss that. In the end field are our ostriches - they have chicks with them at the moment so be careful about approaching them.....". Needless to say, we both melted into a little puddle on the floor - this was just too much for us after a day of perfection.

When it rains...it is bloody cold and quite irritating actually

Yesterday was a complete washout. We crawled along the N2 towards Stellenbosch, past seemingly endless townships with tarpaulin roofs providing little respite from the downpour. We stopped briefly at a tourist information centre and I sprinted in through golf ball sized raindrops to get a map. When I returned we sat in the car to look at the maps and a second later a stream or river nearby burst it's banks, rocks and undergrowth hurtled towards the car on a torrent of brown slurry and Mike had to pull a wheelspin to get out of there, and fast. I was already starting to imagine the headlines 'Ill equipped and wreckless tourists from Great Britain washed to sea during the worst storms in 50 years'. While I let my imagination run wild, Mike concentrated on getting us there safely.

Today however, the sun shone again and we set off with "Tiritiri", the world's most offbeat tour guide on a wine tour. To be honest, my wine education has not really improved. I vaguely remember something useful about Pinotage this morning before the best of the wine region disappeared in a blur of singalong guns'n'roses and endless quaffing. This was wine tasting South African style - no spit bucket, just "swallow and follow" and on to the next one. There was also a lot of cheese. Mike took the same approach to the cheese tasting as he does to a hotel buffet breakfast. He had to be forcibly removed.

We're now sitting in the youth hostel bar deciding what to do next.....drinking on seems to be the best option. Toodle pip.

Our African furry (ish) friends

Another day, another post. The result of free internet, and lots of excitement.

Today involved baboons, seals, penguins, dassies, sore bottoms, a Nissan Tiida and two horses.

Let's start with the horses. Fuelled by an excellent dinner of crocodile carpaccio and ostrich steaks last night we got up at 6am and hit the road in our new wheels. I had heard about a beach ride just south of Cape Town that I just had to do - white sand and a spectacular backdrop. Mike has never ridden before but he was up for it so we booked a two hour ride first thing this morning. Thanks to the awful weather of the previous few days we were the only people to have booked and we had a private ride on 'Roxxy' and 'Fritz' on an almost deserted beach. The sun shone, the sand twinkled and we were allowed to let rip. Our guide from Imhoff Farm was excellent - she gave Mike so much confidence and by the end of the first hour we were allowed to go off for a canter (I was allowed to go on ahead and the canter turned into a gallop - all I could do was shout 'whoop whoop', with my heart in my mouth, as the beach disappeared under Roxxy's hooves). Mike loved it and we're looking into a 2-day trek in Lesotho the week after next.

Next we headed to Cape Point and went for a lovely walk through the national park where we bumped into snakes, dassies (strange giant-rat creatures with no tails who are related to elephants) and lizards along the trail. We trekked down to a deserted beach. 250 steep steps down and then a scramble down a near-vertical sand dune to get onto a beautiful powder-soft beach. Just as we got to the foot of the cliffs a seal plopped up the beach and settled in for a sunbathe - we were able to get within just a few feet of him and we sat and watched for a while. Next stop - via a slight delay on the road as a family of baboons cavorted by - was the penguins at Boulders Beach. What a lovely day.

Sometimes it rains in Africa

When I pictured Cape Town, I imagined white sandy beaches, bikinis and flips flops, water sports and sunshine. OK, so it's spring, but the guide books said mid-high 20's and slightly changeable weather. Instead we've had to drag the hats and gloves out of the bottom of our packs, dig out the rain coats and enjoy an interesting climate that combines the wetness of Wales and the changeable nature of say Cornwall (rain one minute, sun the next and wind that would freeze the proverbial extremities off a brass monkey).

Would this damp our enthusiasm? Not a chance.

Yesterday we took a township tour. Interesting to learn about the history of the townships and to see how vast they are, but the tour felt quite sanitised. One excellent aspect of the tour was that the guide Njongo was from a township and he had been sponsored through college to train as a guide. He sang for us in the car on the way down to the townships which was beautiful. The highlight for everyone was a visit to a day care centre. 25 or so angelic children sitting in a circle singing softly with a matronly teacher beaming at them. She said something to them in the amazing clicking language of the townships and the next thing we knew we were mobbed. It was like a scene from Gulliver's Travels. Mike's bag was trampled to the ground and he had three tiny people on his head and one wrapped around each thigh before you could say "click click". I felt teeny hands grabbing at my camera, my hair, my belt and before I knew it the kids were actually climbing me. It was hilarious. After our mauling session the kids sang for us - it was totally charming.

In the afternoon we planned to climb Table Mountain or Robbin Island - both were closed because of the weather. Today we awoke again hoping to do the same - again high winds. So we hooked up with two other travellers and decide to climb up and down the mountain. Zero visibility from the top and we were soaked to the skin, but lots of fun nevertheless and from half way up we got a great view of Cape Town.

Tomorrow brings a trip around the Cape Peninsula and horse riding..... the shark diving is TBC.

Oh Vee count - 0 (not a chance it would survive this rain!)

Oh Vee, Oh My

A tent. It's not really that much of a big deal is it? A few sheets of nylon, a zip to get in, a couple of sturdy pegs, some poles, and voila! A home to call your own. This is why rather than opt for the North Face Super-Snail, All-weather RX2107 I opted for the little known, brand 'Oh Vee'. No-one has ever heard of it. The Oh Vee website is under construction. It sells - brand new - on ebay for less than £50 and it has a spec that rivals the best on the market. Curiosity gets the better of me. I just have to have it.
We set it up in the living room for a test run. The poles seem to be suffering from a rare form of osteoporosis, the pegs are made of lead and the tent itself really has to be seen to be believed. It's wonky. A large label proclaims 'Made in China' to those lucky enough to make it inside.
I give it two sleeps, Mike reckons 'at least' twenty. So, we have decided that for each night the Oh Vee accommodates us, we will donate £1 to my friend Boo's charity - the Lepaura Clinic, part of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya. Watch this space. The Oh Vee Sleepathon begins next week...
http://www.ohvee.co.uk/