South Africa, Africa

This is a long post, but it was such a fantastic trip, and I had sooooo many photos/experiences I wanted to share with you, I didn't know how to make it shorter!
You better grab a cup of coffee, sit comfortable, and get ready to go on an amazing trip with me to:
Cape Town, South Africa.

This is Table Mountain, in Cape Town, taken from the boat as we were leaving to go to Robben Island.
We actually did go to the mountain, planning to go up to the top, wanting to see the phenomenal view everyone talks about.

When we got there, there were not many clouds in the sky -


but there was a huge lineup of people also wanting to see the amazing view.
Funny thing is, (irony perhaps?): most of them were Asian, and not only Asian, but from

Singapore! Oh my word, how funny is that?! I think all of Singapore was there... we felt like we'd never left.

Because the line was so long and I knew I'd have time, I decided to run back to the car and get my sweater; by now the clouds were beginning to roll in, and I figured it might be a good idea. I am just so graceful - the little speedbumps they have on the road going up... well, they slowed me down! Did a real number on my knuckles.     /._.\

That is the view of Cape Town from the base of Table Mountain, as I was heading to the car for my sweater; still a beautiful view, even from such a  "low" vantage point.

Well, by the time I safely retrieved my sweater, and got joined Dean back in line, the clouds had really moved in. The cables going up into the clouds, are the ones the gondola takes up to the top.. wha, what's the point in going up, paying all that money, and seeing - cloud. I can see that from here!
So, we didn't go.

I have to introduce you to Casper, the friendly kitty! Oh my word, I love him!
He is just a doll; a big fluffy, snuggly, purry, furry, cuddle doll!

And I did NOT mind giving him all the snuggles and loving he was wanting  >^_^<
He's so CUTE!

There was a chair in our room, and I told him he could come and nap in that chair any time he wanted to, and that I would keep it free of items at all times just for him!

  ❤ Oh, I just love him! ❤

This is the view from the boat we road as we left Cape Town to go to Robben Island - quite pretty.

I found this sign, posted inside the ferry house, rather humorous!

Perhaps even a bit ironic?
It was actually posted more than once in the area we had to go through to get onto the boat, heading to the Robben Island Museum. Robben Island is where the prison, which held the "offenders" during the South African apartheid, were held.
I found it VERY interesting! Disturbing actually.

On the boat, and ready to head out to the prison island; a beautiful day, with wonderful sunshine, and a refreshing breeze.

These sea-lions were shy... staying at a distance and just waving at me from afar!   Silly sea-lions.

Let's get this party started.

Anchor's up, and we're off.

Robben Island:

The church on Robben Island was built in 1895 by, and for, the use of the lepers. Initially there were no pews because the lepers could only stand, or lie.
The island was originally where all lepers were sent, until 1930 when they were transferred to Pretoria, after which all the building on the island, except the church, were destroyed.

Graves of those who died with/from leprosy, right across the road from the church. At one point there were over a thousand lepers on the island.

A lighthouse! 

I always love a lighthouse.

Oh, and look, a bird.

Nothing like a bird ... or two, or more!

A view from the rest point (also known as a tourist trap shopping opportunity) during our tour.
Very beautiful - mostly,

perhaps discluding the dead rat just laying around - silly rat.
He looks small in the photo, he's about the size of a two month old kitten actually; not huge, but not small either.

After the driving portion of the tour, we came to the gates of the main prison, where our on foot tour began.
Very nice, welcoming gates, don't you agree?

The prisoners in this location were allowed to do a bit of gardening if they wanted to - this was the appointed area.

I was lagging a little behind, (big surprise, I know) I wanted to get a shot of the door going into the prison building with no people around; just as I took it a man peaked out - looking to see if everyone was inside.
I thought it was appropriate, as it turns out he was a prisoner here in this very building, and now he's guiding the tours! Wow.








Let's go inside, shall we?
















The man doing the tour, a former inmate, is a gentleman named Itumeleng Makwela, (say that fast five times 0-0). He seemed to me to be a very kind, sweet man. He spent seven years in this prison, and one of his fellow inmates was Nelson Mandela - who spent 18 years imprisoned here.

Mandela's cell was the fourth window from the corner, as seen here in the courtyard where he used to play tennis, apparently very well.

He would accidently hit balls, with notes tucked inside, over the wall - getting messages to other inmates.

↖ This was Mandela's cell - very small! It contained only a floor mat, blanket, mini pillow, benchish/table, and toilet bucket. His only possessions.

Itumeleng talked about the sports which were played in the prison, and the importance of these games to the inmates. He said, "After apartheid, South Africans had a chance to show the world we were good at sports," he said this with pride, and great conviction. He spoke about the importance of children and people playing with different people from other cities and tribes; this was never allowed during the apartheid - you couldn't even play with your neighbour if they were the same tribal race, (let alone colour) as you!

Itumeleng finished, by saying: "When I watched the World Cup opener, it gave me great pleasure to see everyone together. It was the thing many, many people wanted to see for the future of South Africa. I wish everyone could have seen it. A lot of people died here so that could happen. That's why Robben Island Museum is here. We forgive, but it reminds people what happened should never happen again."

That is so true!
And yet, while we were in South Africa, I could see so much of the unspoken segregation and racism is still very much alive; both on the side of the whites, as well as the blacks. It was sad actually; it hurt my heart to see that racial inequality still existing to such a degree. A very large number of the white people look down their nose at the black, and the blacks (with money) have a major dislike toward the white people. It's on both sides!
This is what I saw; perception is reality, thus, this was reality from my view point. Very strongly.
*boo

A dismal place. A dismal past. A dismal present... shame on us, all of us; you included.

A few more of my favorite photos from the visit:

This is a semi circular buried bunker with four gun ports showing, just above the ground surface.
Sneaky.

Water well.
It used to be functional.
Now it's just a nice picture.






There were so many nice photo shots, which made the history of this place a little more pleasant.

How to make a trip perfect:

take a beautiful location, add a wine tour, and do so - 

on HORSE BACK!

Happyhappyhappy - happy dance.

Yes, that is perfection   >^_^<

Oh my goodness, it was so amazing.

Dean had said to me before we headed to South Africa "Hey, wanna do a wine tour on horseback?"

I immediately thought it would be a dozen people all head to tail riding along a worn path... no thnx, I'll pass.

He booked it anyway.

Got to the designated vineyard (early) in the morning, and saw no-one around with horses. Bummer. So we wandered around a bit.

Then I see a lady coming with three horses, so I whisper to Dean "Wouldn't it be amazing if that was our tour, and we were the only two!?!!"  His response: "Dream on my love".

I did a wee happy anticipation dance, and said I was going to go ask anyway; ta-da - I was in fact correct...  I had to calmly, walk back to Dean to inform him of this.
Calm indeed, hardly.   ≧◉◡◉≦

She, Elaine, asked if we had much/any experience riding; I said I had some, and Dean had a bit; Dean found this rather funny for some reason. 

She handed us our helmets... yes, helmet, NOT. Dean said in his father voice "Put. It. On!" That was the end of that conversation; on went the stylin hat... *grumble

She matched the horses well! Dean's was cautious when needed, but willing to run when necessary. ⊙_☉

Mine was well behaved, and wanted to go; I was good with that!  ʘ‿ʘ

Riding through the vineyards was amazing - it was SO beautiful!

The trip involved riding cross country through one vineyard into another, Remhoogte Wine Estate, where we sampled five or six different wines, my favorite being the 2012 BUSHVINE PINOTAGE, yum . From there we backtracked, taking a different route, (still through the vineyards) to sample wines from this first location.

While we were not in the actual vineyards, between the rows of grapes, we did take the opportunity to "frolic" a bit. 

So-much-fun!      ≧✯◡✯≦

Actually, in this photo, I think that's Dean trying to catch up with us... we may, or may not have, taken off somewhat - leaving him a wee bit behind. 

It's okay, I knew where he was at all times!

Actually, he held his own, and even enjoyed it, (perhaps not quite as much as me ◐.̃◐ ).

SOOO-MUCH-FUUN!  ≧ʘ◡ʘ≦

This is Elaine Palvie, Equine Sport Centre, she is the owner/instructor of the business, along with her partner.

Elaine grew up in the area, so had firsthand knowledge. She led our tour, and did such a good job - I really enjoyed chatting with her about the area, the vineyards, the horses, and whatever else came to mind.
Wonderful young lady; I absolutely recommend doing this tour with her!

Our final destination was a very nice vineyard, Morgenhof Estate, where we sampled four nice wines, and a port (yum)

After all that wine, it seemed the prudent thing would be to put a wee bit of food into our bellies. So we did.

It was very nice.

There were chickens walking around, as well as a few other beautifully feathered foul.  ＾▽＾
They felt they too should partake in our light lunch.

Here are just a couple of my horseback views during the tour/ride. Such beautiful countryside!

I really enjoyed my horse... yes, I did get weepy a few times during the ride; quiet, private tears.   ╯﹏╰,

A few zebra, just hanging out down by our first vineyard stop.

Zebra with some friends:
Thompson's Gazelle - "tommie"
(I think, but what do I know...)   ツ

Another "tommie" was hanging with his friends, a few Water Buffalo; that's kinda cool.
Those suckers are big!    ʘ_ʘ

I am SO thankful that I had the opportunity to experience this; so thankful that Dean didn't listen to me, went ahead and booked it; so thankful that he knows me so well, and treats me like the royalty I am... (*hahaha royal pain)

Thank you Dean.  

We decided to drive down along the Cape Peninsula, to Cape Point, back around through Cape of Good Hope and back. Good decision; what a stunning, interesting drive it was.

Fish Hoek and Kalk Bay on the Cape peninsula were a couple of little towns we paused in to check-a-look at a couple of shops and stops.

Cool change-rooms, right on the beach - makes for great photos.

Can't help but notice the flag flying on this beach; I think it means "swim here to feed the sharks".

No thnx.

Don't know what it is actually supposed to mean, but I saw a few of them along this long beach, and no one was in the water; yes, it was a chilly day, but still, just a coincidence do ya think?
Disconcerting.

Then we came to Simon's Town. This is where everyone stops at Boulders Beach to see the penguins.
We stopped at a nice restaurant for lunch, located before that beach, then strolled down to the water right beside the restaurant.

Well, look who we found hanging out, trying to avoid the crowd at Boulders Beach, just like us. 

We got our own semi private penguin time.

It was better this way, and probably smelled a lot better too; tourists can be stinky in crowds don't you know?! Hahaha, penguins too.

Penguins in their natural habitat - check √  How cool's that?! Didn't think I'd be seeing penguins in Africa; lions, tigers, and zebras yes, but penguins, who knew?! Not me. Thought I'd have to go someplace cold to see them - this is so much better: penguins and sunshine! 

While we were in  the town of Stellenbosch, where we stayed at the most wonderful guesthouse: Penelope's Guesthouse, (I highly recommend it!) we found a piece of art we both liked, and decided to buy. It wasn't until after we made the decision, while Dean went to the bank, that I found out while chatting with the very nice lady we bought it from, that the artist of the painting we chose was actually her husband!  

She sells art work of a number of different artists, one of which is her husband. 

Cool that we chose something done by him. Actually, we debated between three different pieces, all of which were his!     

Nice.

I took this photo after Dean returned and we informed him of this as well.  シ

While walking around Stellenbosch, I saw this little tiny tiny tiny baby bird on the sidewalk, peeping and peeping for his mommy.
Oh my goodness, this made my heart so sad!

Look how tiny he is!
Can you even see him?
Look really carefully... he's there.
See him?

Okay, here's a close up - yes, that is how small he was!
Poor little guy!
Momma was freaking right out, and of course so was he.
I had to do something!
But what?

Step on him, and end his misery?

Yea, 'cause that's something I would do... not.   Of course I put him up in a tree, as high as I could reach, and left him there. Don't know what happened to him in the end - don't want to know; I did what I could.

During one of our drives, I got Dean to pull over so I could take a photo of the flower I kept seeing in the ditches (oh big surprise, I know).
This is the flower, it is a wild Crocosmia, and I really like it; it is very pretty growing in little patches here and h=there along the roadside.

Now the neat thing about this flower, and this story is:
It was about a month later, I was scrolling through facebook, and one of my few friends posted a photo of a flower, asking what it was.
Three guesses what it was ヅ
Good guess! Yes, it was a Crocosmia, but not wild. Didn't know you could grow them in your garden... in zones like I have now that is.

I think I am going to get me one of those for my now garden.
Happiness.

(this photo is not a hybrid "tame" one, it is one of the many I took during our trip)

Cape Point.

Daytrip to the point and back; what a beautiful day! Sky was beautiful, view was beautiful, day was perfect.

The Old lighthouse,
Cape of Good Hope viewing area.
This was the first lighthouse, which was completed in 1859; it still stands today, as the viewing area, at 249 metres above sea-level. This is the highest section of the peak, enabling it to be the central monitoring point for the rest of the lighthouses on the coast of South Africa, (I think there are 45 lighthouses in total).   Cool.

Some believe when you look out across one of the outcrop peaks from the lighthouse viewing area, you are looking at Indian and Atlantic oceans splashing together. 

Apparently the true area is over 100km east of Cape Point, by Cape Agulhas. Either way, it is cool to know you are in the general location

The view from the lighthouse is pretty spectacular, regardless of which direction you look.

Looking back in the direction we came, see the beach way down below? We actually hiked all the way down to that beach, then all the way back up, then climbed up to the lighthouse.

Was awesome. 

It was a long, long walk down to the beach.
The view was amazing, there were wild flowers growing all over the place, and even some wildlife. At times you had a wooden path/steps, other times no path, and frequently it would have been better without the "steps" or path! Yikes.

But we made it in one piece - and WoW, the sand was amazing.
The water was COLD, but so beautiful to just wander along and watch.  So we did.

The wildlife we saw included these VERY BIG eland antelope.

At first (from far away) I thought they were large horses, then I saw horns... strange horses! Upon further investigation I discovered they were these guys.

Impressive.

Also impressive were the ostrich - whoa are they big!

The ones you see in this photo are a very long ways off, and we could see them wandering around, munching on the .... whatever it is ostrich eat - grass I assume, and perhaps bugs and such. These one probably eat kittens and small babies - they were huge.

I would imagine they taste good,  >^_^<  Mmmm, Bbq ostrich steak.

Time to hike back up - waaaaaay up, and head back.
The ending of a good trip; a very good trip.
No, actually it was a great trip; I learned so much, experienced many things, and just had a great time; very enjoyable!
I really hope to go back one day - it's a Good Hope.  *hehe   (couldn't resist; very punny ^_^)