Sadly, this is our final blog post from SA. Caitlin is hoping to continue blog updates once in a while after we return.
During yesterday's afternoon tea, the owner of the lodge named Pippa showed up and said she was going to join us on the evening game drive. We figured that this put a little extra pressure on the ranger and thus ensured a great evening of animal tracking. Before leaving Caitlin and I agreed that we hoped to see lions and a giraffe again, as those are the only large animals we have come across only once. Texan delivered. We saw a Giraffe along with a few Zebra early on in the drive, then just before we stopped for sundowners came across the same lion pride we watched eat the buffalo 2 days earlier. First we found the two males, looking much thinner than before as they have not since the buffalo. Only shortly after find these lions Texon started driving away without saying anything. Caitlin was momentarily disappointed as we didn't get to spend more than a few minutes watching the male lions. Just down the trail we found one of the female lions with two cubs. I think this was Cait's favorite sighting yet, they were some very cute killer cats. As we followed these cubs and their mother, we came upon three more lioness. Texon stopped the car and they walked out of the bush, one by one, right up to our car. We were getting nervous, but they slowly turned to keep walking down the road. There really is no feeling quite like having such powerful, dangerous animals three feet away.
After following the lions for 20 minutes or so we headed to Texon's favorite sundowners spot looking over a watering hole. We had some drinks as well as buffalo wings while chatting with Pippa and the others about the lodge and our fond memories of staying there.
When we drove off it was dark and Texon drove us right up to the lions new location. It was pitch black out but we were able to view the whole pride settled in for a night, with a spot light. What an incredible sight!
Back at the lodge, We were greeted By the staff with a "chameleon" a special drink of the night. They had set up a beautifully decorated table for two in front of the large fireplace, champagne and all! The evening followed with a wonderful dinner just for the two of us. Did we mention we LOVE this place?!
Sadly we missed our game drive this morning because it was pouring rain, the start of a 4 day floodwatch for Sabi Sands game reserve. We slept in and enjoyed our final breakfast and a relaxing morning. The time came to pack up and say our goodbyes. Cait was very tearful as we hugged all the staff, and of course Texon and Lots, our ranger and tracker. But, we assured them we would be back someday and we also promised them that our parents would be there in the next couple of years (that means YOU: Chris, sandy, Karen, and ford!) they are so excited to meet all of you! We quickly loaded in our car and started the first 2.5 hours (with cait crying) of our 30 hour trip home.
Now we are in Johannesburg about to board our flight to Alanta... 17 hours! Woof!
Lots of love to everyone... Can't wait to see you when we get home!
C&S
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Hakuna matata
As we sit on the deck writing this we are watching a large warthog about 10 feet in front of us mowing on some grass. What a ridiculous animal! All we can think of is pumba from the lion king...
Since we last wrote Vuyatela has continued to treat us well. This place is out of this world incredible. The service is impeccable and we are completely spoiled. After writing yesterday we hung out on our deck and watched the hippos and swam in our private pool.we went to the "gym" which has 2 bikes and a treadmill and did our own spinning class... Ha. We then came to the main deck for a 4 course lunch. One of the best things is that everything is included (meaning all meals, drinks, etc are included in the nightly rate). We have a minibar that is stocked daily that we can have anything from, and if we want something more we can just come up to the main house bar and a bartender will be there ready to serve us. What's more ridiculous is that we are now the only people here! It's pretty amazing, we really lucked out.
After lunch Caitlin headed down to the "rubbing post" for a massage (yes it is actually called the rubbing post). We then Hung out by the pool and made our way to the main deck for yet another course... Tea and cake, before heading out for the evening game drive.
The evening drive got off to a good start with another leopard, we were sure we would not be lucky enough to see this animal again. Leopards are very hard to spot, particularly this time of year with the tall grass. We followed it for a half hour or so off road then got back on the trail to continue the game drive. Saw some more animals, thought nothing new, stopped for sundowners and snacks on a cool rock formation, then hit the trail once again in the direction of the lodge for dinner.
Last night's dinner was especially good, not only because of the delicious meal but they set up tables around an outdoor fire (called th boma) for us all to sit at. it was also the other guests last night so we enjoyed a final meal with them before saying our goodbyes. We should mention that dinners are also fun because our game tracker, Texon, eats with us, so it's another great opportunity to pick his brain about animals and other aspects of bush life.
This morning it started rain around 6, a half hour or so after the game drive began. This
one got off to a slow start since most of the animals were trying to take cover somewhere,
but we eventually came up to a herd of 8 elephants, three of which were babies, one just a
few days old. Adorable......
We also had a very very exciting find.... Caitlin spotted (and now she thinks she's an expert!) two cheetah. Apparently cheetah are rare here, but we had th opportunity to sit 8 feet away from these two for fifteen minutes. It was incredible.
Gotta go to tea... More later! This place is awesome!
Since we last wrote Vuyatela has continued to treat us well. This place is out of this world incredible. The service is impeccable and we are completely spoiled. After writing yesterday we hung out on our deck and watched the hippos and swam in our private pool.we went to the "gym" which has 2 bikes and a treadmill and did our own spinning class... Ha. We then came to the main deck for a 4 course lunch. One of the best things is that everything is included (meaning all meals, drinks, etc are included in the nightly rate). We have a minibar that is stocked daily that we can have anything from, and if we want something more we can just come up to the main house bar and a bartender will be there ready to serve us. What's more ridiculous is that we are now the only people here! It's pretty amazing, we really lucked out.
After lunch Caitlin headed down to the "rubbing post" for a massage (yes it is actually called the rubbing post). We then Hung out by the pool and made our way to the main deck for yet another course... Tea and cake, before heading out for the evening game drive.
The evening drive got off to a good start with another leopard, we were sure we would not be lucky enough to see this animal again. Leopards are very hard to spot, particularly this time of year with the tall grass. We followed it for a half hour or so off road then got back on the trail to continue the game drive. Saw some more animals, thought nothing new, stopped for sundowners and snacks on a cool rock formation, then hit the trail once again in the direction of the lodge for dinner.
Last night's dinner was especially good, not only because of the delicious meal but they set up tables around an outdoor fire (called th boma) for us all to sit at. it was also the other guests last night so we enjoyed a final meal with them before saying our goodbyes. We should mention that dinners are also fun because our game tracker, Texon, eats with us, so it's another great opportunity to pick his brain about animals and other aspects of bush life.
This morning it started rain around 6, a half hour or so after the game drive began. This
one got off to a slow start since most of the animals were trying to take cover somewhere,
but we eventually came up to a herd of 8 elephants, three of which were babies, one just a
few days old. Adorable......
We also had a very very exciting find.... Caitlin spotted (and now she thinks she's an expert!) two cheetah. Apparently cheetah are rare here, but we had th opportunity to sit 8 feet away from these two for fifteen minutes. It was incredible.
Gotta go to tea... More later! This place is awesome!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
bacon, eggs, and a side of monkeys, please!
Thursday, 1/13/11 at 9:45am:
Greetings from Sabi Sands private game reserve and Djuma Vuyatela lodge. I will try to express in words just how amazing this place is, but it might not be possible...
We arrived here yesterday after a 2.5 hour flight from Cape Town to Kruger Airport and a 2.5 hour drive from the airport to Djuma Vuyatela lodge. First I'll explain that Kruger National Park is located in the Northeast corner of South Africa, and is ginormous. Sabi Sands private game reserve is a private reserve, sort of within Kruger, but not associated with Kruger. Vehicles from Kruger can't go inside Sabi Sands, and vice versa. But, there are no fences, so animals can roam throughout.
Anyway, when we pulled up to our lodge we were greeted with warm facecloths and delicious lychee juice. We are two of four guests staying here for the next few days, and the last night we will be on our own. But, there is a full staff at all time. We were given a tour... the grounds are beautiful, amazing, gorgeous. A thatched-roof building comprises most of the indoor space, with a beautiful bar, sitting area, huge fish tank with local fish, and a grand fireplace with seating around it. A large deck surrounds the building, and the deck looks across the watering hole, where a hippo has been camped out since we got here. There are two other smaller thatched roof huts, one with computers and a television and the other with a gym. Everything here is decorated fabulously, with beautiful Afican artwork, mosaic tiles, and many photos. Our host then brought us to our villa, #1.
There are 8 private villas. Our villa is made up of two buildings, connected by a large deck and situated right on the watering hole. We also have a private plunge pool and an outdoor shower. When we first got here there were water buck hanging out outside the shower... incredible! Anyway, the villa is incredible.
At 4pm we made our way to the main house for tea and biscuits before heading out on our first game drive. We hopped into our completely open land cruiser with our new friends (the other couple staying here), from Arizona. Taxon is our driver and expert game tracker, and we also have a tracker in training who sits on a seat perched on the front of the truck.
This game drive was unreal. We saw so, so many animals, starting with a PRIDE of lions! These lions were absolutely demolishing a buffalo they had killed the day before. There were two males, three females, and two cubs, and we were no more than 10 feet away from them. These animals are just incredibly beautiful, and seemed completely unphased by us being there, so close. They were just taking turns chomping on this buffalo and when not eating, they were lying around and digesting. Honestly I could see a bit of Winston in all of them, as they stretched out and lay on their backs! The cubs were especially adorable. Photos to come (hopefully!).
Half way through the 3 hour game drive we stopped for sundowners and snacks. The guides set up a little table that flips up from the hood of the truck and made a little bar for us. They stopped in the perfect spot, right next to a pond full of hippos, plus one crocodile. On the way back to the lodge we saw some more animals, including 2 giraffes, wildebeasts, rhinos, zebras, antelope and buffalo (Our guide accurately described the buffalo as looking at you as if you owe the money). It is insane how close we were able to get to all of these animals and that we get to see them in their natural environment.
After returning we sat down for an awesome 4 course dinner before some final drinks and bed. We are liking this place..... Wild animals and lots of delicious food...
Today is our first full day on safai and it started with one of the staff members knocking on our door at 5am. We got up, found coffee waiting for us outside by the deck and got ready for the morning game drive. Only 15 minutes after being on the trails Taxon somehow spotted a leapard in the distance off to one side of the path. He turned into the bush and headed toward the animal. This female leopard was gorgeous, and just slinking through the bush around us. We followed her for about 25 minutes and then took off. We also saw a ton of zebra, more buffalo, and then came upon two hippos who had been duking it out over a watering hole. One was completely bloody... poor guy (we ended up seeing him again later making his way to another watering hole). In the middle of the drive Taxon stopped and made us delicious coffee.
A BIG treat today was completing our veiwing of The Big 5 (leopard, buffalo, lion, rhino, and ELEPHANT!!!!) Yes, we saw an elephant, and were about 3 feet away from it! He was by himself and just eating (apparently they eat 24 hours a day) and he came right up to our vehicle. Incredible! We have lots and lots of photos of him.
Another exciting moment was seeing hyena, which are tough to spot since they scare easily. We went back to the place where the lions had been eating the buffalo, and now vultures were all over what was left of the carcass. All of a sudden we spot a hyena emerging from the bush. He came right up to the carcass, grabbed a HUGE bone, and ran off with it (I thought of Enzo!). Another hyena came and did the same thing. Pretty awesome.
Anyway, we came back to the lodge to an absolute feast: a beautiful buffet of fresh fruits, meats, and cheeses, along with eggs made any way. Here's where the monkeys come in. There are monkeys everywhere. Sam and I both had some toast, and sam had just finished buttering and jamming his when I spotted an adorable monkey on the deck. Of course I started snapping photos and before I knew it he was hurtling toward as at top speed. I continued to snap photos while laughing hysterically, and he must have thought we were idiots, because he jumped right onto the table and grabbed the entire piece of toast off Sam's plate. Before we knew what happened he was out of sight. It was hilarious and I have an awesome photo of him in action. Don't worry about Sam... he had all the toast he wanted!
Welp, that's it for now. We are in LOVE with this land, this reserve, and especially this lodge!!!!
lots of love to you all!
Caitlin and Sam
Greetings from Sabi Sands private game reserve and Djuma Vuyatela lodge. I will try to express in words just how amazing this place is, but it might not be possible...
We arrived here yesterday after a 2.5 hour flight from Cape Town to Kruger Airport and a 2.5 hour drive from the airport to Djuma Vuyatela lodge. First I'll explain that Kruger National Park is located in the Northeast corner of South Africa, and is ginormous. Sabi Sands private game reserve is a private reserve, sort of within Kruger, but not associated with Kruger. Vehicles from Kruger can't go inside Sabi Sands, and vice versa. But, there are no fences, so animals can roam throughout.
Anyway, when we pulled up to our lodge we were greeted with warm facecloths and delicious lychee juice. We are two of four guests staying here for the next few days, and the last night we will be on our own. But, there is a full staff at all time. We were given a tour... the grounds are beautiful, amazing, gorgeous. A thatched-roof building comprises most of the indoor space, with a beautiful bar, sitting area, huge fish tank with local fish, and a grand fireplace with seating around it. A large deck surrounds the building, and the deck looks across the watering hole, where a hippo has been camped out since we got here. There are two other smaller thatched roof huts, one with computers and a television and the other with a gym. Everything here is decorated fabulously, with beautiful Afican artwork, mosaic tiles, and many photos. Our host then brought us to our villa, #1.
There are 8 private villas. Our villa is made up of two buildings, connected by a large deck and situated right on the watering hole. We also have a private plunge pool and an outdoor shower. When we first got here there were water buck hanging out outside the shower... incredible! Anyway, the villa is incredible.
At 4pm we made our way to the main house for tea and biscuits before heading out on our first game drive. We hopped into our completely open land cruiser with our new friends (the other couple staying here), from Arizona. Taxon is our driver and expert game tracker, and we also have a tracker in training who sits on a seat perched on the front of the truck.
This game drive was unreal. We saw so, so many animals, starting with a PRIDE of lions! These lions were absolutely demolishing a buffalo they had killed the day before. There were two males, three females, and two cubs, and we were no more than 10 feet away from them. These animals are just incredibly beautiful, and seemed completely unphased by us being there, so close. They were just taking turns chomping on this buffalo and when not eating, they were lying around and digesting. Honestly I could see a bit of Winston in all of them, as they stretched out and lay on their backs! The cubs were especially adorable. Photos to come (hopefully!).
Half way through the 3 hour game drive we stopped for sundowners and snacks. The guides set up a little table that flips up from the hood of the truck and made a little bar for us. They stopped in the perfect spot, right next to a pond full of hippos, plus one crocodile. On the way back to the lodge we saw some more animals, including 2 giraffes, wildebeasts, rhinos, zebras, antelope and buffalo (Our guide accurately described the buffalo as looking at you as if you owe the money). It is insane how close we were able to get to all of these animals and that we get to see them in their natural environment.
After returning we sat down for an awesome 4 course dinner before some final drinks and bed. We are liking this place..... Wild animals and lots of delicious food...
Today is our first full day on safai and it started with one of the staff members knocking on our door at 5am. We got up, found coffee waiting for us outside by the deck and got ready for the morning game drive. Only 15 minutes after being on the trails Taxon somehow spotted a leapard in the distance off to one side of the path. He turned into the bush and headed toward the animal. This female leopard was gorgeous, and just slinking through the bush around us. We followed her for about 25 minutes and then took off. We also saw a ton of zebra, more buffalo, and then came upon two hippos who had been duking it out over a watering hole. One was completely bloody... poor guy (we ended up seeing him again later making his way to another watering hole). In the middle of the drive Taxon stopped and made us delicious coffee.
A BIG treat today was completing our veiwing of The Big 5 (leopard, buffalo, lion, rhino, and ELEPHANT!!!!) Yes, we saw an elephant, and were about 3 feet away from it! He was by himself and just eating (apparently they eat 24 hours a day) and he came right up to our vehicle. Incredible! We have lots and lots of photos of him.
Another exciting moment was seeing hyena, which are tough to spot since they scare easily. We went back to the place where the lions had been eating the buffalo, and now vultures were all over what was left of the carcass. All of a sudden we spot a hyena emerging from the bush. He came right up to the carcass, grabbed a HUGE bone, and ran off with it (I thought of Enzo!). Another hyena came and did the same thing. Pretty awesome.
Anyway, we came back to the lodge to an absolute feast: a beautiful buffet of fresh fruits, meats, and cheeses, along with eggs made any way. Here's where the monkeys come in. There are monkeys everywhere. Sam and I both had some toast, and sam had just finished buttering and jamming his when I spotted an adorable monkey on the deck. Of course I started snapping photos and before I knew it he was hurtling toward as at top speed. I continued to snap photos while laughing hysterically, and he must have thought we were idiots, because he jumped right onto the table and grabbed the entire piece of toast off Sam's plate. Before we knew what happened he was out of sight. It was hilarious and I have an awesome photo of him in action. Don't worry about Sam... he had all the toast he wanted!
Welp, that's it for now. We are in LOVE with this land, this reserve, and especially this lodge!!!!
lots of love to you all!
Caitlin and Sam
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Cape town is awesome!
Hello hello!
Well, today was a Great day. Sam insists that I begin by telling you how much I embarrassed myself (and him) at breakfast in our hotel by swinging the iPad across the table and hitting a plate so as to literally fling the plate across the floor, shattering it into many pieces. I think all 80 people in the room were staring at me, and I had about 4 waiters trying to clean it up. We had a good laugh and got over it, but Sam and I agreed that you really can't take me anywhere. My mom is rolling her eyes right now, Im sure!
After breakfast we went Down to the waterfront to do "safari errands." I had made a comprehensive shopping list, though Sam questioned why we needed to go to the flip flop store and why necklaces were on the must have for a safari. Anyway, we got our shopping done and ate sandwiches by the harbor, watching all the funny tourist boats go by.
After enjoying lunch by the water we went back to the hotel To change and then on to the base of table mountain for a hike. Table mountain is a wide, steep mountain with a very flat top that stands right over the city of Cape Town. When looking at it, it's hard to magian where one could hike up to the top without having to climb up a totally vertical face but sure enough, there was a trail. A friend of mine had compared the hike to the "stair master from hell" and half way up Caitlin declared she agreed with the statement. It was a nice hike, not more than a couple hours but steep the whole way. There is a cafe on the top, where we got a beer and wine then took a tram down the front of the mountain, this gave us an amazing view of the city as well as the coast extending north and south. This is a beautiful city.
When we got back we were ready for dinner, so we got ready and walked to a place called the Africa Cafe, which was suggested in Cait's guidebook. we had so much fun here. It was basically a 12 course meal, but served family style. Each dish was from a different part of Africa. Everything was delicious but we especially liked the chicken drumsticks and sprout salad... Yum! One thing we've realized is that south Africans LOVE their avocado (nicknamed avo) and if you didn't know, this is caitlins favorite food. Partway through the dinner someone asked Caitlin if she wanted her face painted, and of course she said yes. They psintedndots and lines all around her eyes and she laughed the whole time, naturally messing up the artwork. We got some great photos, and caitlin got a lot of stares. Fun night all around!
Tomorrow we are on to kruger national park, where we will stay at the Djuma Vuyatela, in sabi sands game reserve. We can't wait!
Lots and lots of love
Caitlin and Sam
Well, today was a Great day. Sam insists that I begin by telling you how much I embarrassed myself (and him) at breakfast in our hotel by swinging the iPad across the table and hitting a plate so as to literally fling the plate across the floor, shattering it into many pieces. I think all 80 people in the room were staring at me, and I had about 4 waiters trying to clean it up. We had a good laugh and got over it, but Sam and I agreed that you really can't take me anywhere. My mom is rolling her eyes right now, Im sure!
After breakfast we went Down to the waterfront to do "safari errands." I had made a comprehensive shopping list, though Sam questioned why we needed to go to the flip flop store and why necklaces were on the must have for a safari. Anyway, we got our shopping done and ate sandwiches by the harbor, watching all the funny tourist boats go by.
After enjoying lunch by the water we went back to the hotel To change and then on to the base of table mountain for a hike. Table mountain is a wide, steep mountain with a very flat top that stands right over the city of Cape Town. When looking at it, it's hard to magian where one could hike up to the top without having to climb up a totally vertical face but sure enough, there was a trail. A friend of mine had compared the hike to the "stair master from hell" and half way up Caitlin declared she agreed with the statement. It was a nice hike, not more than a couple hours but steep the whole way. There is a cafe on the top, where we got a beer and wine then took a tram down the front of the mountain, this gave us an amazing view of the city as well as the coast extending north and south. This is a beautiful city.
When we got back we were ready for dinner, so we got ready and walked to a place called the Africa Cafe, which was suggested in Cait's guidebook. we had so much fun here. It was basically a 12 course meal, but served family style. Each dish was from a different part of Africa. Everything was delicious but we especially liked the chicken drumsticks and sprout salad... Yum! One thing we've realized is that south Africans LOVE their avocado (nicknamed avo) and if you didn't know, this is caitlins favorite food. Partway through the dinner someone asked Caitlin if she wanted her face painted, and of course she said yes. They psintedndots and lines all around her eyes and she laughed the whole time, naturally messing up the artwork. We got some great photos, and caitlin got a lot of stares. Fun night all around!
Tomorrow we are on to kruger national park, where we will stay at the Djuma Vuyatela, in sabi sands game reserve. We can't wait!
Lots and lots of love
Caitlin and Sam
Monday, January 10, 2011
jam packed cape day...
Well hello!
We had the most amazing day today! Though we woke up late, we still managed to see so many things. We first went to Capetown central, where we found Greenmarkt Square. This market is full of stand with Jewelry, paintings, and other crafts. Sam and I developed some great bartering strategies and ended up with fabulous souvenirs. After the market we drove down the coast, with the ultimate goal being Cape Point. This was the most incredible drive. We were literally on the edge of a cliff for the majority of the ride. Thankfully Sam was driving! We also stopped in Houts bay, thinking we would get a nice lunch. We grabbed some fish and chips and I insisted on a beach picnic. We wondered why no one else was on the beach, and immediately realized why. The second we sat down we were hit by some windstorms with tons of sand, and the seagulls flocked around us. We were both pretty disgusted but SAMs tactic of throwing sand at the gulls held them off for the 5 minutes we needed. We left Houts bay in a hurry, ready to see the rest of cape.
Next we stopped in Simonstown, to see the penguins. Oh.my.god. The penguins!!! Betsey Reiche, you would not believe this place! We could not stop thinking about you (betsey loves penguins more than anyone) and we literally swam with them. We were at boulders beach, in the penguins natural habitat. They just hung out while we swam, hiked, and beached around them. We took about 8763374 photos, we will try to upload tomorrow!
After penguins we went to cape point, cape of good hope. This was a very cool spot with amazing views. After a good hike here we started driving back to cape town. On our way we came upon a bizarre scene in the road... About 15 baboons, adults, children, and even a tiny baby baboon, were hanging out in the street. Amazing!
We made our wAy back to cape town and stopped to see the sunset on chap mans point. We had a great dinner where we truly tried not to be tourists.... But of course (poor Sam!) I couldn't resist bringing out my guidebook!
Great day, can't wait to see more tomorrow!
C&S
We had the most amazing day today! Though we woke up late, we still managed to see so many things. We first went to Capetown central, where we found Greenmarkt Square. This market is full of stand with Jewelry, paintings, and other crafts. Sam and I developed some great bartering strategies and ended up with fabulous souvenirs. After the market we drove down the coast, with the ultimate goal being Cape Point. This was the most incredible drive. We were literally on the edge of a cliff for the majority of the ride. Thankfully Sam was driving! We also stopped in Houts bay, thinking we would get a nice lunch. We grabbed some fish and chips and I insisted on a beach picnic. We wondered why no one else was on the beach, and immediately realized why. The second we sat down we were hit by some windstorms with tons of sand, and the seagulls flocked around us. We were both pretty disgusted but SAMs tactic of throwing sand at the gulls held them off for the 5 minutes we needed. We left Houts bay in a hurry, ready to see the rest of cape.
Next we stopped in Simonstown, to see the penguins. Oh.my.god. The penguins!!! Betsey Reiche, you would not believe this place! We could not stop thinking about you (betsey loves penguins more than anyone) and we literally swam with them. We were at boulders beach, in the penguins natural habitat. They just hung out while we swam, hiked, and beached around them. We took about 8763374 photos, we will try to upload tomorrow!
After penguins we went to cape point, cape of good hope. This was a very cool spot with amazing views. After a good hike here we started driving back to cape town. On our way we came upon a bizarre scene in the road... About 15 baboons, adults, children, and even a tiny baby baboon, were hanging out in the street. Amazing!
We made our wAy back to cape town and stopped to see the sunset on chap mans point. We had a great dinner where we truly tried not to be tourists.... But of course (poor Sam!) I couldn't resist bringing out my guidebook!
Great day, can't wait to see more tomorrow!
C&S
More on yesterday....
Caitlin here. Sam and i are wondering what we have to do so that Sam can own a similar car collection and I can dabble in horse racing (mrs. Ruperts hobby). And yes mom, I agree, the reiches do need another few buildings on middle road, so why not a car museum?
Anyway, after this amazing stop we went to stellenbosch, another wine town. Don't worry dad, we didn't try too many more wines, but we did go to the Spier estate, where some americans told us we could find excellent merlot. Well, maybe our palates just aren't as sophisticated, but we liked the Cabernet better (this wine was also rated best bang for your buck... Dont know what that says about our taste but sounds right up our alley!)
After Spier we drove about 25 minutes to cape town. What a city! Our hotel is located by the waterfront which we I'm mediately checked out. There are many piers, a long boardwalk, and lots of restaurants, markets, shops, and performers. We loved it! We also went to the fabulous aquarium where Sam got in line with the little kids for the nemo tank. he was, of course, way too tall, but I got some greAt photos nonetheless.
We had a delicious dinner at the waterfront and headed back to the hotel for some r&r.
Anyway, after this amazing stop we went to stellenbosch, another wine town. Don't worry dad, we didn't try too many more wines, but we did go to the Spier estate, where some americans told us we could find excellent merlot. Well, maybe our palates just aren't as sophisticated, but we liked the Cabernet better (this wine was also rated best bang for your buck... Dont know what that says about our taste but sounds right up our alley!)
After Spier we drove about 25 minutes to cape town. What a city! Our hotel is located by the waterfront which we I'm mediately checked out. There are many piers, a long boardwalk, and lots of restaurants, markets, shops, and performers. We loved it! We also went to the fabulous aquarium where Sam got in line with the little kids for the nemo tank. he was, of course, way too tall, but I got some greAt photos nonetheless.
We had a delicious dinner at the waterfront and headed back to the hotel for some r&r.
Today was another amazing day... Started off with a solid breakfast at the hotel before heading to the vineyards for some morning wine tasting. We went back to Chamonix to buy some wine, the one at the top of the long hill, though drove this time. From here we headed to The Antonij Rupert estate, I want to be like this guy when I grow up.... This is a vineyard/horse farm that has the most beautiful grounds we have seen yet, all right at the foot of the dramatic Drackenstein Mountains. We started our tour here with the auto museum. You would not believe this guy's car collection; I guess there is some money in the tobacco industry.... There were four barns that have been converted to gorgeous showrooms for the car, displaying 80 cars altogether. Everything from Model As to old racing Bugattis to a shiney new Ferarri ENZO! As you can imagine, Caitlin was pretty psyched about the Enzo. There are apparently a total of 340 cars all in the same perfect condition on the estate and they cycle them through the museum. I cannot imagine what this collection is worth...... After drooling over the cars for a while we went on to try some of the wines. There was a great lady there who explained the wines to us and why some years were better than others, etc. It's a very interesting business. The Rupert estate was my favorite stop yet.
Next we start heading down the R310 toward Cape Town.
Next we start heading down the R310 toward Cape Town.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Becoming a wine connoisseur in a day...
Hi readers! What a day we had. We woke up feeling ready for some exercise, so decided to rent bikes. This town, Franschoek, is beautiful and the perfect place to explore via bike. We rode down the country roads past many wineries and accidentally ventured into a very bad part of town. Other than this one corner of the town it is one of the best stops yet. The town itself is on a few main streets, with vineyards all around. Beyond the vineyards are steep mountains, the views in every direction are just amazing. Will try to get to a Internet cafe in the next day to upload some photos.
Anyway, after our bike ride we headed to Boschendal Vineyard, about 15k away from where we are staying. This vineyard was amazing... We had then most incredible lunch there, a buffet with delicious meats, fresh veggies, and other delights. I should mention that we have been trying to avoid water here, including vegetables washed in water, ice, and anything else that may have touched water... This is a tough task and results in a serious lack of nutritious foods. With our lunch we also had a great blanc de noir, a very popular rose wine here. After lunch we did the renowned Boschendal wine tasting and pretended to be very sophisticated while tasting about 5 different wines.
After returning to our hotel we hopped back on the bikes and rode to another vineyard, called Chamonix. We were first turned away and told we were too late, but Sam batted his eyelashes and they made an exception for us. We had also biked up a ridiculously long and steep hill and were seriously sweaty, so I think they felt badly for us. We tried s fantastic pinotage, a special south African varietal, as well as some white wine and an apertif. Yum! I was in a very good mood riding DOWN the hill... What an amazing view!
Sam here... Next we rode a few miles to Mont Rochelle vineyards, and we found a new favorite view and some new favorite wine. I'm pretty sure Caitlin declared each place we stopped her favorite view and each vineyard we tried to be the new favorite. The best wine at Mont Rochelle was called Miko, named after the owners who were the first black owners of a vineyard in SA. We had another good cruise downhil from this hillside vineyard on our bikes before hitting the hotel pool. We Tried the local pizza at an outdoors restaurant for dinner. Also had a Caprese salad (mozzarella, tomato, basil) with olives which was awesome. Had never seen olives included in this before but I recommend it.
naturally Sam talked a lot about the food... Anyway, we had a really great day eating and drinking our way through this gorgeous town. We're looking forward to our next adventures in Cape Town!
Lots of love
C&S
Anyway, after our bike ride we headed to Boschendal Vineyard, about 15k away from where we are staying. This vineyard was amazing... We had then most incredible lunch there, a buffet with delicious meats, fresh veggies, and other delights. I should mention that we have been trying to avoid water here, including vegetables washed in water, ice, and anything else that may have touched water... This is a tough task and results in a serious lack of nutritious foods. With our lunch we also had a great blanc de noir, a very popular rose wine here. After lunch we did the renowned Boschendal wine tasting and pretended to be very sophisticated while tasting about 5 different wines.
After returning to our hotel we hopped back on the bikes and rode to another vineyard, called Chamonix. We were first turned away and told we were too late, but Sam batted his eyelashes and they made an exception for us. We had also biked up a ridiculously long and steep hill and were seriously sweaty, so I think they felt badly for us. We tried s fantastic pinotage, a special south African varietal, as well as some white wine and an apertif. Yum! I was in a very good mood riding DOWN the hill... What an amazing view!
Sam here... Next we rode a few miles to Mont Rochelle vineyards, and we found a new favorite view and some new favorite wine. I'm pretty sure Caitlin declared each place we stopped her favorite view and each vineyard we tried to be the new favorite. The best wine at Mont Rochelle was called Miko, named after the owners who were the first black owners of a vineyard in SA. We had another good cruise downhil from this hillside vineyard on our bikes before hitting the hotel pool. We Tried the local pizza at an outdoors restaurant for dinner. Also had a Caprese salad (mozzarella, tomato, basil) with olives which was awesome. Had never seen olives included in this before but I recommend it.
naturally Sam talked a lot about the food... Anyway, we had a really great day eating and drinking our way through this gorgeous town. We're looking forward to our next adventures in Cape Town!
Lots of love
C&S
Friday, January 7, 2011
Great Whites and Pinot Tage
Good Evening,
Sam here, reporting for the first time. As Caitlin has kept you informed about, we have had a blast in South Africa. Though everything has been amazing so far I think today has been the best. For one, I am feeling 100% and Caitlin didn't get whatever I was sick with, but we also had some great adventures. The day started with a 5:30 wake up before we headed to Gaansbaai to cage dive with Great white sharks. Sorry Chris, but we had to......and it was amazing. We got in a cage in the water about 20 minutes off shore and got to see 8 sharks underwater, ranging from 9 to 12' long! The sharks were amazing and we met some nice people, incuding a mother and daughter from Chicago, the first Americans we have come across since being here. After swimming with the killer sharks we headed off on our 2 hour drive into the mountains towards Franschhoek, the heart of South African wine country.
When we arrived here, Caitlin was thrilled to see that our hotel room has ac, and everything has been amazing since. We explored the town, got a great lunch at a little street side cafe and enjoyed some relaxation time by the pool. After enjoying the afternoon we went to dinner at a restuarant that is inside a cave on a local Vinyard. Great wine, amazing food and such a cool spot. We look forward to exploring the area some more tomorrow.
Sam here, reporting for the first time. As Caitlin has kept you informed about, we have had a blast in South Africa. Though everything has been amazing so far I think today has been the best. For one, I am feeling 100% and Caitlin didn't get whatever I was sick with, but we also had some great adventures. The day started with a 5:30 wake up before we headed to Gaansbaai to cage dive with Great white sharks. Sorry Chris, but we had to......and it was amazing. We got in a cage in the water about 20 minutes off shore and got to see 8 sharks underwater, ranging from 9 to 12' long! The sharks were amazing and we met some nice people, incuding a mother and daughter from Chicago, the first Americans we have come across since being here. After swimming with the killer sharks we headed off on our 2 hour drive into the mountains towards Franschhoek, the heart of South African wine country.
When we arrived here, Caitlin was thrilled to see that our hotel room has ac, and everything has been amazing since. We explored the town, got a great lunch at a little street side cafe and enjoyed some relaxation time by the pool. After enjoying the afternoon we went to dinner at a restuarant that is inside a cave on a local Vinyard. Great wine, amazing food and such a cool spot. We look forward to exploring the area some more tomorrow.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Hermanus
What a great day! Sam woke up feeling much better so we decided to explore this beautiful town. After a yummy breakfast (light for Sam!) we headed just a few hundred feet to the Old Harbour where we went for a long kayak. We saw penguins (yes betsey- your favorite!) and cape fur seals who were no more than 2 feet from our kayak. There was a breeding whale out in the bay too but we couldn't see it. After the kayak we drove a few miles up the hemel en Arde valley road, that winds up a mountain. Many gorgeous wineries line this road but we were headed to heaven. Yes, Heaven... A restaurant highly recommended by Fodors and our kayak guide. This restaurant was just as the name implies... Incredible views, wonderful wine, and great food. It was also ~110 degrees outside and the restaurant had no a/c (definitely a common theme here) but we enjoyed it nonetheless. We came back and walked around Hermanus and found our way to a perfect little art gallery, where we found a special keepsake of our trip. To top off a great day we swam in the pool and had a great dinner outside by the bay. Sam has made me promise to let him do the updating tomorrow... stay tuned... We have a fun adventure planned!
Sick day! And driving... But read this anyway!
Welp, I guess it was inevitable that after all the people getting sick atnthe wedding and all the warnings of not eating weird foods or drinking the water here, one of us would get sick. And the winner is.... Sam! Poor Sam. After a brief run through Plettenberg bay on Wednesday morning Sam felt awful. He managed to eat the delicious breakfast provided by our guest house (anyone who knows him is not surprised)... But he was really in a state afterwards. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you're Sam and always manage to see the positive in everything!) this was our big driving day. We had to drive our little rental car from plett along the coast about 5 hours to Hermanus. Sam started the drive but I could tell he was really shaky. Did I offer to drive? Yes. Do I know how to drive a manual? No. But Sam took me up on this and promised I would be a fast learner. Mind you we were driving on the opposite side of the road... But I agreed to give it a shot! Flashbacks to the first time Sam tried to teach me to drive a stick shift in bar harbor... All went fine until I reached a hill and stalled, started crying, waved about 20 cars past me, and had to switch seats with Sam. Oh well! Trying to be a good wife I was going to learn to drive manual!
I will spare you the terrifying details but we finally got driving and sick Sam got sicker as I lurched my way along the garden route of s. Africa. I also almost killed a motorcyclist (I maintain that he was going too fast) and almost forced a Mercedes off the road (I feel sorry for my mom if she is reading this... Probably her worst nightmare!).
Well with a short stop in mossel bay (where i ate lunch and Sam lay on the ground to get some fresh air and recover from my driving) we finally made it to Hermanus. What a gorgeous town! It's very European (Dutch) with a beautiful old harbor and incredible cliffs (prime whale watching territory). We are staying in a very cute guesthouse where Sam immediately headed for bed and I began making dinner and adventure reservations. Sam managed to rouse at about 9:30pm when we headed out for a night on the town! Just kidding... We drove to 7-eleven to get him Ginger ale and applesauce (I called my mom to ask her what to do!). I also turned on the TV to find that the only thing on was a movie called The Perfect Getaway, about a couple who honeymoons in Hawaii (sounds ideal?) but encounters a serial killer who only kills honeymooning couples. Really ridiculously awful and just perfect for me to watch.
Lights out but will update soon! Hope Sam feels better in the morning!
I will spare you the terrifying details but we finally got driving and sick Sam got sicker as I lurched my way along the garden route of s. Africa. I also almost killed a motorcyclist (I maintain that he was going too fast) and almost forced a Mercedes off the road (I feel sorry for my mom if she is reading this... Probably her worst nightmare!).
Well with a short stop in mossel bay (where i ate lunch and Sam lay on the ground to get some fresh air and recover from my driving) we finally made it to Hermanus. What a gorgeous town! It's very European (Dutch) with a beautiful old harbor and incredible cliffs (prime whale watching territory). We are staying in a very cute guesthouse where Sam immediately headed for bed and I began making dinner and adventure reservations. Sam managed to rouse at about 9:30pm when we headed out for a night on the town! Just kidding... We drove to 7-eleven to get him Ginger ale and applesauce (I called my mom to ask her what to do!). I also turned on the TV to find that the only thing on was a movie called The Perfect Getaway, about a couple who honeymoons in Hawaii (sounds ideal?) but encounters a serial killer who only kills honeymooning couples. Really ridiculously awful and just perfect for me to watch.
Lights out but will update soon! Hope Sam feels better in the morning!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
2nd day... Jet lag!
Well I find it very ironic that in her toast to us Alison mentioned that Sam and I always wake up early and carpe diem... Because today we woke up at 1:15pm! Yes, we slept for 15 hours, which really didn't help our jet lag. We also missed that 12k race I mentioned in the last post (at least we gave a $50 donation to the nationalmsea rescue institute!). Another big miss fopr the morning was the much anticipated breakfast at our guesthouse. You can imagine how bummed Sam was about this.
Anyway, we decided to carpe the half day that we had left and headed into town for some coffee. We quickly learned that iced coffee = coffee milkshake (we have made this "mistake" twice st this point). We went back tonthe gorgeous beach where we took our first swim in the Indian ocean... Brrr. We also saw some adorable beach dogs which made us really miss Enzo! ( mom and dad- Enzo update please?!)
After the beach we headed East in the car where we happened upon Old Nick, an incredible crafts village with way too many awesome South African crafts for a girl to handle. I tried to buy a hat but we quickly realized that my head was too big to fit in any of them. We are going back tomorrow with angift buying plan... Get excited! We got our second iced coffee and got back on the road.
We ended up at Bloukrans Bridge, the worlds highest bungee jump.... It is CRAZY! Major props to my cousin Jay who did this jump. Sam and I felt cool just asking whether there was space for him to jump tomorrow, but no... All booked! Cue: sigh of reliefs from moms.
We then went to Storms River Village where we are told the adrenaline junkies hang out. Looked pretty tame to us because all we did was have a sundowner at the Marilyn Monroe Cafe... Home of the Elvis Festival Africa. Who knew?!
We drove back toward Plettenberg and stopped at a great restaurant for dinner.
Will try to upload pics now! Miss you all!
Anyway, we decided to carpe the half day that we had left and headed into town for some coffee. We quickly learned that iced coffee = coffee milkshake (we have made this "mistake" twice st this point). We went back tonthe gorgeous beach where we took our first swim in the Indian ocean... Brrr. We also saw some adorable beach dogs which made us really miss Enzo! ( mom and dad- Enzo update please?!)
After the beach we headed East in the car where we happened upon Old Nick, an incredible crafts village with way too many awesome South African crafts for a girl to handle. I tried to buy a hat but we quickly realized that my head was too big to fit in any of them. We are going back tomorrow with angift buying plan... Get excited! We got our second iced coffee and got back on the road.
We ended up at Bloukrans Bridge, the worlds highest bungee jump.... It is CRAZY! Major props to my cousin Jay who did this jump. Sam and I felt cool just asking whether there was space for him to jump tomorrow, but no... All booked! Cue: sigh of reliefs from moms.
We then went to Storms River Village where we are told the adrenaline junkies hang out. Looked pretty tame to us because all we did was have a sundowner at the Marilyn Monroe Cafe... Home of the Elvis Festival Africa. Who knew?!
We drove back toward Plettenberg and stopped at a great restaurant for dinner.
Will try to upload pics now! Miss you all!
plett and 2nd day!
Upon arriving in Plett sam and I drove around trying to find our hotel.
Without a map we managed to arrive at our destinatio , Cottage
Pie Guesthouse. What an adorable old Dutch style b&b! Our rpo
wasn't ready but we changed into bathing suits and headed to town for a to go lunch. Here Sam decided that we weren't exhausted enough and really
needed an adventure... He signed us up for a 12k race along the beach, at 7am
the next morning!!! The guy running the show told us it was all locals and that we could hop a ride in the back of his truck. Oh, and by the way, part of the race involved swimming! Ford Reiche would be proud.
Anyway we went to the beautiful beach next. We both got a little burned and learned that swimming in the Maine ocean hardly prepared us for the African seas!
After the beach we headed into town where we stopped at a number of restaurants and bars for "sundowners" (cocktails) and some dinner. Thankfully by now we have learned that the exchange rate is actually 6.6 Rand to the dollar... Phew!!
More tomorrow! Xoxo
Without a map we managed to arrive at our destinatio , Cottage
Pie Guesthouse. What an adorable old Dutch style b&b! Our rpo
wasn't ready but we changed into bathing suits and headed to town for a to go lunch. Here Sam decided that we weren't exhausted enough and really
needed an adventure... He signed us up for a 12k race along the beach, at 7am
the next morning!!! The guy running the show told us it was all locals and that we could hop a ride in the back of his truck. Oh, and by the way, part of the race involved swimming! Ford Reiche would be proud.
Anyway we went to the beautiful beach next. We both got a little burned and learned that swimming in the Maine ocean hardly prepared us for the African seas!
After the beach we headed into town where we stopped at a number of restaurants and bars for "sundowners" (cocktails) and some dinner. Thankfully by now we have learned that the exchange rate is actually 6.6 Rand to the dollar... Phew!!
More tomorrow! Xoxo
1st day
Hi all!
On our first day we woke up in cape town and immediately hopped on a flight to George. George is closer to the east coast and is on the Indian ocean. We got in our tiny rental car (it is manual so sam is the only one that can drive, woohoo!) and headed east. I unpacked the trusty guidebook to see where we could stop on the way and found Knysna (nice-na). We pulled into this gorgeous beach town and parked in knysna quay, a shopping and eating village (awesome!). We treated ourselves to a second breakfast and quickly learned that "elf bread" = health bread = wheat bread. Cool! At this point in the trip we thought the exchange rate
was 2.2... Yikes! South Africa is more expensive than Boston... What's a shopping and eating lover to do??
Soon we headed east along the coast, called the Garden Route to our next stop: plettenberg bay , called Plett by the locals!
On our first day we woke up in cape town and immediately hopped on a flight to George. George is closer to the east coast and is on the Indian ocean. We got in our tiny rental car (it is manual so sam is the only one that can drive, woohoo!) and headed east. I unpacked the trusty guidebook to see where we could stop on the way and found Knysna (nice-na). We pulled into this gorgeous beach town and parked in knysna quay, a shopping and eating village (awesome!). We treated ourselves to a second breakfast and quickly learned that "elf bread" = health bread = wheat bread. Cool! At this point in the trip we thought the exchange rate
was 2.2... Yikes! South Africa is more expensive than Boston... What's a shopping and eating lover to do??
Soon we headed east along the coast, called the Garden Route to our next stop: plettenberg bay , called Plett by the locals!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Here we are!
We are in Cape Town now and woke up to the beautiful Table Mountain. We are back at e airport and headednto George where we will rent a car and drive to Plettenberg Bay!
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