Monday, March 25, 2013

Home Sweet Home



After a long and uneventful drive home, we made it back to Durban. It was pouring with rain - surprise surprise! My kitty was very happy to see us back and didn't leave our side.
What an incredible trip! I'm so lucky to have experienced all that in one go. I have plenty of ideas of where to go and what to do so if any of my foreign friends want to visit, I am more than happy to help plan, or at least give ideas, to a trip of a lifetime!

Everyone should go to Africa at least once in their life!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Noupoort



Today we are leaving Cape Town and heading to Noupoort. We had a such a wonderful time and enjoyed Cape Town very much.

See you later Table Mountain!

We headed through the Swartberg Mountains which are over 2000m high and are the tallest mountain range in Western Cape.

Wine, Glorious Wine!


It was a stunning drive.

We stopped in Worcester for fuel and Padkos that Lauren had very kindly made for us. We were very spoilt!


We saw Baboons climbing the rocks.

We went past Ceres which is where the famous juice is made! We always had Ceres on the yachts I worked on so it was nice to see where it came from.

Most of the way today, was through the Karoo. Long, straight roads, with nothing but desert on either side. There was the road, the railway and power lines going along next to each other for miles and miles. The land was incredibly dry and we saw nothing apart from a few cows and sheep. Even farmers houses were scarce (or not visible from the road).
When we got to Beaufort West we were amazed at how many hotels and B&B's there were. It was as if it was a very touristy town but we couldn't figure out why, as there was nothing there. I can only think that people driving long distance must stop for a night then carry on as we couldn't see anything else to do there! If anyone knows of something else in the area, please let me know!
One thing I did notice was the ridiculously huge round-about...it was so big, there was even a building in the middle of it.

We saw many termite hills, some with big chunks missing where the aardvarks had taken a bite. And we saw Springboks! I got to take some pics this time:


Eventually we made it to Noupoort! We are staying at Mark's workmate's house, even though he is at work. His wife was incredibly hospitable and made us feel very welcome. They have 7 dogs, including 2 great danes, 4 cats, meerkats, ground squirels, birds, pet crows, chickens...

So I was in my element playing with all these furry creatures!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

The Brass Bell

Today we went on a family outing with Lauren. The first place we stopped was Hout Bay which is a picturesque fishing harbour. We watched seals play while we had a drink and enjoyed the view.


Mark watching the seal waving


The Maori - a shipwreck that is now a dive site


View at Hout Bay

After that we took the scenic Chapman's Peak Drive. This road was closed for a while because rocks were falling down on cars etc so they did it all up and it is a very stunning drive.



On the way, we go on a road that goes under the mountain.



We then went to The Brass Bell for lunch. The Brass Bell is a restaurant that is built under the sea and the waves crash onto the windows.

We had a delicious lunch of fresh oysters for starter and yummy pizzas.





The Brass Bell

After lunch we headed to the Waterfront, which is pretty much identical to Auckland's Viaduct and watched some Super Rugby. Thanks Lauren for being our tour guide for the day! We had a fabulous time - and the Sharks won!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Paternoster



Last night we went up the West Coast to Paternoster. It is a quaint little crayfish and snoek fishing village.




We stayed at the Beach Camp which is in a Nature Reserve. Very cute A-frame bungalows and they have tents that are already set up for people. Good if you like camping, but don't have the gear.
They are very eco-friendly and dont use electricity by choice. It was a bit expensive but very nice and relaxed.



On the way to Paternoster, we saw the usual cows and sheep with a few zebra mixed in, ostriches and i even saw my first Springbok! We couldn't stop and take a photo though so I hope I will be able to get one on the way home.


Paternoster Lighthouse: The only manned lighthouse in South Africa

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Die Strandloper

"The Beach Walker"

Today we went to Die Strandloper with Mark's Cousin Lauren. It is a public holiday in South Africa today so it was quite busy there.


It is a little shack where you sit with your feet in the sand and eat as much seafood as you can possibly eat. There is no menu, you just get whatever they make. Today there was 7 courses + 1 desert and coffee course. Everything is cooked on a braai, including the bread.


Ladies cooking the mussels

First course: Garlic Mussels, and Mussels in wine

These were so delicious and when you get there you are quite hungry so you end up eating a lot. Mark went back for seconds which is a bad idea because you get very full and can't eat the later courses!


Mullet

Mark usually uses Mullet for live bait and not eating so he was surprised it actually tasted good!


Fish Curry




Snoek and Kumara (sweet potato)

Potjie pots


Lamb stew - the only non-seafood course. Note the mussel shell is the cutlery as they don't have knifes and forks!


Smoked Angelfish and Stumpnose


Save the best til last: Crayfish!


Desert: Koeksisters and coffee