Ele says hello to Lisa while I was driving. 😄

 

Addo Elephant Park

 

 I have to skip ahead to share these amazing pics! I’ll add some video soon. 

We turned the corner on our drive in Addo this morning and ran into these guys!
 

I was a little worried

They had to adorable babies play fighting, an adolescent and the two adults

Western Cape

First night in the rig! Bontebok National Park

We're headed to Addo Elephant park this morning leaving from St. Francis Links golf course in St. Francis Bay. Over the last two weeks we've spent  time winding our way through wine country and down the Garden Route with our first stop camping at Bontebok National Park. The park was a quiet and easy camping site--power, water, shared kitchen, laundry, hot showers, etc. We unloaded for our first night's braai, had our wine, popped the roof-top tent and went to sleep. All was good, though the first night was freezing cold, and the second not much warmer! 

One of our daily companions next to the braai at Bontebok

This guy was ambling along into the trees. There are signs throughout the park to drive slow for the turtles.

Before we left Bontebok, we took a drive through the park. 

We saw some Cape Zebra, Hartebeest, Bontebok and at least one eagle, but I didn't have the telephoto lens handy 😞.

 

 

More from the Western Cape next...

Franschhoek Continued

We spent a week in Franschhoek-- the "French Corner"-- so named for the Huguenot farmers and wine-makers who settled in the area. Our friends Nic and Gill treated us to braais (Braaibroodjie!), days out adventuring, and evenings talking over glasses of wine. It was amazing. We visited wineries -- Avondale, Boschendale, and Babylonstoren. Richard and Nic got some golf in, while Gill and I had some nice, relaxing walks through fynbos trails near the Franschhoek dam with Lucy and Siri (flower girl and best man at the wedding). 

The town of Franschhoek is lovely, welcoming, and beautiful with its white-washed Cape Dutch architecture and small shops along the main street--Huguenot Street. The Terbodore coffee shop around the corner was one of our last visits before getting into the rig and heading out. We picked up a Bialetti coffee maker for the road. Terbodore really was the "Big Dog Cafe" with an entirely mellow, huge Great Dane lounging on the couch--not really caring if we bought coffee or not. I didn't even notice him until we were leaving. I really should have gotten a picture. Nonetheless, I have plenty of Franschhoek pictures to share. 

Lucy

Siri

 

Water hazards on the golf course! 

An afternoon lunch and wine tasting at Avondale

Nelson Mandela freed 1990 from Victor Verster Prison/Drakenstein Correctional Center between Franschhoek and Paarl 

   

Time to take off on our camping adventure in Braaibroodjie (our affectionately named rig)...

Next stop: Bontebok National Park -- first night camping!

Stellenbosch & Simon's Town

  

             

From Cape Town, we headed off to Stellenbosch and stayed two nights at the Spier Winery. We enjoyed our first South African wine tasting together! 

Our rooms were spacious, and we had a wonderful veranda out back where we enjoyed evening drinks-- with our blankets! Fires in the morning and evening to warm up.

            

  

Our second day we drove to the U.S. Consulate to get our marriage application documents notarized. It was a bit of a drive. We left early to beat traffic. It was still dark as we made our way down R310. Driving a new road in the dark is a bit daunting, but we made it well before our 8 a.m. appointments. Papers notarized! 

On our way back, we stopped in Simon's Town. I loved seeing the resident African penguins! I especially liked the big guy. 😊

      

    

The town of Stellenbosch was lovely (and busy!). We went our second afternoon and took a walk around town. Parking is crazy, but once you're out and walking it's very nice--lots of shops and restaurants, tons of coffee shops. You can really tell it's a college town. We stopped at Oppie Dorp for beer and a pizza. 

   

 Franschhoek September 10, 2021.  

The most beautiful place in the world to get married! We could never have done this without our friends. Nic and Gill made arrangements for our marriage ceremony and helped us navigate paperwork. They arranged with Rena and Jan for us to be married on their farm overlooking vineyards and the valley and mountains. Together Nic, Gill, Jan, and Rena made this the best day in the world with celebration, beauty, delicious food (cake! braai!), flowers, and six holes of golf after the ceremony! Does it get any better? 

  

Use the web version to see our embedded YouTube video with more pictures, or go directly to our YouTube channel. 

Cape Town

    

Time to catch up! It’s hard to believe we’ve been in South Africa for over 2 weeks now.

Sept 3-5, 2021 

We landed in Cape Town mid-morning on the 3rd. When we arrived, Michael from Bushlore met us at the airport with our rental car. It was nice to have things so seamless and easy after a long flight. We stopped at the Bushlore depot, signed our rental forms and headed into the city. Driving in Cape Town was stressful--too many cars, pedestrians and quick turns, topped off with driving on the left--but we only had to get to the hotel and then a few days later head to Stellenbosch. 

Our first afternoon in Cape Town we walked around the Woodstock neighborhood to have a look at the murals. There were very few people out. The weather was cold and rainy, but we managed to see a lot. 

   

Our second afternoon was a tour of the Bo-Kaap neighborhood--the historic center of Cape Malay culture. It's a heritage site with a museum, a vibrant neighborhood, and the oldest mosque in Cape Town--the Auwal Mosque built in the late 1700s. The houses, later colorfully painted, were originally leased to slaves and laborers from Malaysia and Indonesia. It remains a prodominantly Muslim neighborhood with several mosques, Malay restaurants, and spice shops. 

    

 

  

 

     

 

   

After our tour of Bo-Kaap, we found a gin bar tucked away in a courtyard behind a chocolate shop. The bar was lovely with finished wood and a winding staircase to the upstairs -- not advised to use if you are having more than one gin and tonic!

Before we left Cape Town, we went to the Old Biscuit Mill for a drink and to walk around the market. We found Amarula fudge!

       

Next Stop -- Stellenbosch

Seattle to Doha

It was a fantastic flight to Doha. Champagne, white table clothes, yummy food, a bed, pillows, pajamas and a plush duvet. Pretty much anything you could want. You’d never know you just spent 14 hours on an airplane!

Pretty cool— The divider between the two seats can be raised up for a fourth wall, and you can pull your door closed for complete privacy. (Richard was probably tempted to put the divider up a couple of times. I have to say, though, I tried very hard not to be *that* person when I was taking pics, but you really just want to marvel and indulge, right?)