After waking up early but not to an alarm clock, we had a leisurely breakfast, we took lots of time to pack up…. stressing whether we could get all our stuff in without going overweight. After, we just hung around the lodge until our ride came to take us to the airport. Priority boarding is awesome. Walking poles work wonders. We take off at 6:35pm …. from the runway, only ten minutes after posted departures time…. that must be German time cuz it sure as heck is not South African time…. lol.

Between the time we left the ground in Cape Town until touchdown in Victoria, it was supposed to have been over 38 hours but turned into 42. That’s not including the hours that we were up and the time to collect our bags on arrival and get home. Do you think it was any wonder we wanted to do as much as we could while there??? But…. I would love to see more of the wild animals ….and the beautiful country that South Africa is and share it all with my grandkids …. at some time when they can appreciate it.

Some last thoughts I’d like to share…. this country has so many natural resources, so many natural wonders, breathtaking beauty, incredible animals that the country is trying desperately to protect and are way ahead of most other countries when it comes to protecting and conserving their water supply (they have been in a severe drought for a number of years already. They only seem to have low flush toilets, taps that automatically shut off and they expect people to save the cold water when taking a shower before it gets warm for example & and many other initiatives. By the way, I only ever saw one non-western style toilet). All this yet there is so much money spent on security in the form of guards and razor wire or electrically charged wiring atop solid fences. Entries are locked at all times. You have to have a key or get buzzed in. People will walk on the street during daylight hours but never, never walk at night even if there are several people. It’s a pity to not be able to take a stroll in the cool of the evening after being out for dinner. Taxis have a very lucrative business let me tell you. What shame! What a shame! Will it ever change? I do hope so.

That’s the end of my story for this trip. I hope you enjoyed reading it.

After breaky at this “sweet” guesthouse, we head to the cable car to top of Table Mountain. We all had the option to hike up and/both directions. Peter the oldest of our group was the only one that did it…. and in both directions. Amazing!

The views are spectacular and the plants are different then any other place on earth.

The program was to shop after…. at old market but everyone wanted to go to V&A Waterfront. The Watershed market where we wanted to go…. was closed. So disappointed. Thousand of people in there….. all eating.

By the way we have travelled 4300 kms on our trip around South African. Our guides Brian and Shandle were absolutely fabulous the whole time. I would totally recommend taking a trip with them and Sunway. Excellent value for the money. I think they they were anxious to get the hell away from all of us though. From there we got a taxi over to our other lodge where we stayed before….Blackheath! They welcomed us back with open arms…. such a fab place! I’d recommend it too.

Off to the point…. Cape of Good Hope. Beautiful, beautiful drive along Clifton(rich, rich area), Green Point & Hout Bay… which means “wood” bay. The Dutch cut down all the Outeniqua trees at Hout Bay. It is now a big fishing port, Nice beach too.

Chapman’s Point road (road to Cape Point)started to be built by Italian prisoners during WW2 … finished in 2004.

Oh, my, oh my!!!! What a drive….. and you may think Amalfi coast is scary???? You should see this one!!! Spectacular!!! The road is literally cut into the mountainside.

Simon’s Town is protected from winds so first British now ZA navy here. Second harbour built after Cape Town.

At Boulders ….part of Simon’s Town, we stop to see African Penguins…. oh so cute….. little about 40-45 cms. 2 breeding pairs left in 1982… now over 3000.

Now moulting and some laying on eggs. March-April…back in water after growing back their fur/feathers. Their cycle of breeding has changed seasons.

Cape Point …. extreme line-up to get into it. Zebras, if we see them are different than others we’ve seen. The ones her their stripes do not go all the way under the belly. We see fynbos…. white shrubs and king protea…. different as well.

Posts at the point erected by Vasco de Gama and another by Bartholomew Diaz… both Portuguese…. before the Dutch got here.

Everyone except J and I walked up to the lighthouse at the Cape…. and everyone except Martina, Katrin and the two of us walked down to the Cape. Glad we didn’t. Very treaturous steep hike down.

It is not the southern most point on the African continent but the southwestern most ….where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic meet.

Past Fishoek on our return to Cape Town…… West Town Lake at Strand… fresh water lake…. upper class community….. very nice!

Passed by the prison where Mandela spent the last 7 of years in prison…. not much to see other than razor wired fences….not much different than a lot of the places in this country, particularly this city.

Dinner Marco’s African Restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner some ordered carpaccio of springbok, Crocodile,& ostrich. Others had springbok as a main, Serengeti plate with Crocodile & ostrich and/or kudu. I had roasted lamb and munucho(they click their tongues when saying it)….. African dish made with beans and maize. Lots of wine being drunk.

Leave 8:40 from Beeeea….utiful Hermanus. I could certainly come back here. Very very well cared for, not too much barbed razor wire. Funny though….on the cliff path, there was “security” sitting on benches ever so often.

The residents of Betty’s Bay have to have very good insurance because the rocks on the side of the mountain keep falling down onto their homes.

Strand …name of city with skyscrapers across False Bay.

Into our very “Sweetest Orange Guesthouse” (in Cape Town)… eclectic then to dinner at Karibu in V & A Waterfront

Very busy little town… Nice!

Leave 8:40 but had to stop at pharmacy for drugs for Anne’s bite on her lip. Looks like a bad Botox job…. lol!

Beautiful drive along water except the hillsides are covered with miles of burnt trees.

Sedgefield… fresh water lake for fishing, cabins in woods, golfing… playground

So many highways throughout the country, have very wide paved shoulders. Slower vehicles drive on them so faster vehicles can pass. They could just make them another foot wider and call it another lane.

Place called Wilderness… lovely…. water activities like canoeing on right in fresh water. Left side is beautiful beaches on ocean. Garden route ends. At George…. pointed out a windy road in Outenigua Mountain Route 66…. great for motorcyclists.

No hitchhiking allowed on highway ….. fences to prevent it but it doesn’t stop people. Reason it’s not allowed cuz been cases of people being abducted, robbed and killed. So…. suggested if you do take a ride, take picture of licence and send msg. by WhatsApp at the time, to friend as a precaution.

Around Mossel Bay they start farming wheat, canola and maize (corn) …. ostrich farms….. also an oil refinery.

Olives grown.

Beautiful beautiful town of Hermanus. Went for very long walk along the cliffs into town….. a distance of maybe 7 kms. Later went into town to an upstairs restaurant overlooking the waterfront. Very nice! Ended it with Amarula toasts with everyone….. from Jeanette ….. in celebration for her birthday the day before.

Beautiful view looking out over our balcony at Lagoona Inn, to the Lagoon of Knysna.

Here for the day so touring around here.

Unbelievable number if KFC’s everywhere in ZA.

The forest fires they had here caused swathe of devastation through the forests plus over 1000 homes were destroyed. It happened in June of this year, their winter ….they think arson but they have been in a drought for a couple of year so didn’t have their normal rains.

9 + Brian went hiking along the rugged shoreline at Storms River Mouth and to a beautiful waterfall. Shandle, Jeanette and myself went for canopy tour..,.. zip lining. We had so much fun. Zip line …91 metres longest, 20 metres above forest floor &.10 lines. (650 Rand…65CAD… incl. light lunch after. How does that compare to home?).

Blue gum trees at tsitsigamma village…… huge.

We then went back to pick the others up. It is so gorgeous but I am glad we didn’t do the hike. Apparently it was extremely rocky, rugged and slippery. We got our work out though with a 600 metre uphill climb from the end of the zip line. We were under the understand that the others had got lunch before we finished zip lining but no.. their food wasn’t here yet. Same outfit as at Addo…… “Cattle Baron”. Never such slow service…, wouldn’t recommend.

Stopped at the worlds highest bungy jump. We watched as about 3 took the plunge. No thank you!!! Before going for dinner at “Dockside” at the Waterfront everyone got to check out the stores. I got tired of the shopping thing (no room for anything anyways) so I saw a bench and sat down…… thought I would wait for everyone else. Brian and Shandle came by and started to laugh…. pointed at the sign (that I hadn’t notice) that said “For tired husbands”…. asked if I was the husband….. not….. lol!!!! Apparently inside that same store was another sign that said “No

grumpy husbands allowed”. Too funny!

Leaving our log cabins in the forest in Addo at 6:15 am. ….for our last game drive….. in the sunshine.

Rabbits,Kudus… when fully grown their horns are about 1 metre, family with offspring …..Red Hartebeests, Zebras…. lots and lots and lots…. some babies. Heard a lion roar. White tailed Mongooses……Stand erect like Meerkats. Comment ….. warthogs are most religious because they get down on their knees before eating & when running they are “Radio Africa” cuz they run with tails straight up…. lol! Egypian Geese, Hadedah Ibis

Herd of water buffaloes but too far.

Red Hartebeests….. young ones their horns shape like a heart hence the name. As they get older they curl out and back.

Huge herd of elephants at a waterhole…. a couple playing… then another, in the water trying to drown each other…. quite the performance. They were having fun. Quite a number of the female with no tusks causes by interbreeding. Bringing some males in from Kruger to mate and fix the problem. There was a big male secreting from its male organ looking for a female to breed with. Then the zebras came, an African Spoonbill, plus, plus…

Haven’t seen any Black Rhinos, Leopards or Cheetahs. I’d really like to seen another lion but ….. that’s nature. You cannot magically make the animals appear.

Spekboom….Drought resistant (succulent) plant… elephant food (leaves) esp. in Addo can live up to 200 years

Leave park after pit stop, fuel etc at 10:15 ish. Growing oranges.

Wind turbines on way to Port Elizabeth.

On outskirts of Port Elizabeth….Huge, huge cemetery that goes on and on. Sign on side of road…“Hijack Hot Spot”… then tin shacks then RDP…. homes built for poor people… have solar panels on roofs.

Big factories, ships in ocean, sand dunes and seashore, break water to protect the shore from waves and Oceania sitting at the dock. They also assemble vehicles here. One of major ports for distribution to rest of country. Freeways….oleander in the centre medians. Like on I5 in California.

Stopped at Tsitsikamma NP to see Big tree…Yellow Outeniqua 36.6 metres high….approx 1000 yrs old.

This on the great migration of elephants from centuries ago.

Staying at beautiful Lagoona Inn in Knysna. Across from Lagoon. We went to a lovely restaurant for dinner in the “Waterfront”. A little more pricey than usual for here but not compared to home.

Leaving Benmore Lodge chalets for Addo at 6:50. Before 50 metres someone wants to stop to take pictures of giant snail so of course so did I. The weather is starting out to be sunny…. yeah!

When Kwa is preceeding a name as on a billboard along highway,it means that it is “belonging to” as in KwaZulu means belonging to the Zulu.

Change of vegetation.. now lots of cacti, aloes the size to trees, prickly pear and some kind of cactus maybe 20 feet tall and look mine that has a nasty attitude.

Different kind of “Traffic Calming”…. so said the signs….double sets of plastic seed bumps, maybe a foot apart…. on the highway. Never in my life have I seen more speed bumps than in this country. They are everywhere but this was the worst. It’s enough to make a person crazy never mind screw with your back.

Near Port Elizabeth Brian said as we turned off the highway that we will have about an 8km African massage then we will be back on paved road … lol! Oh my it was f..n rough.

190 elephants were killed in one year til only 11 were left. Now 600+

11 zebras, blue herons,Egyptian geese at watering plus other birds.

Warthogs….all males.

Lots more zebras. …. baby and mothers can recognize each other by definite stripe markings.

Kudus, Ibis

Oval spider webs can catch small birds.

At the bird hide, Katrin and I saw male mating Southern Red Bishops. They colour up more than usual when trying attract female.

This morning we awoke to no rain but it didn’t take long before it started again. Looking out from the balcony of the guys place after breaky, there was 2 wildebeests also known as brindle gnus.

In the late 1920’s a hippo named Hubert (named that after a year of people watching it on the move) walked from Mkuse to Kei Mouth and beyond, a distance of over 1600 kms. It was renamed Euberta when discovered it was female.

We were dropped off at the beach town of Kei Mouth at about 9:45…. to be pIcked up at 2. Coming down the hill ….what a view of the ocean(Indian) with white caps & white sandy beaches. As we got out of the truck we see a very rocky shore with pounding waves. It kind of reminded me of Tofino storm watching. It’s blowing but only misting….. later quite pouring. Our bright yellow ponchos got use today….. finally.

Dec. 17/17

Leave Lotheni in Drakensburg Mountains at 6:35am. Within 5 minutes Brian spotted a jackal. Would you believe along the side of the high mountain road growing wild, yellow calla lilies.

It must be laundry day at the Zulu villages we passed…. ladies walking along with baskets of clothes piled on their heads…. down to the river scrubbing on the rocks. It seems to me that instead of house numbers, each family unit paints all of their houses one colour so if you wast to invite someone to you’re home, you tell them the colour not the house number.

Big cattle and dairy businesses. We had the most severe “African massage” coming out of the mountains. Everyone clapped when we got back on paved road…. better but still with big holes inter-disbursed with speed bumps again.

Shortly after a bushy,bushy stop & coffee on the go, we leave KwaZulu province and enter East Cape province. Almost immediately there is another checkpoint with oodles and oodles of police. Make work project??? But they are checking for papers for carrying many passengers as well as checking for poachers….. especially during summer/Christmas holidays. Also so many radar traps everywhere you go.

Leif was saying that in Sweden they have a solar hot water …. don’t have to have sun cuz radiation goes through clouds. …cost about 350 Euros plus exchanger.

Went through Mt. Frere….. so extremely busy…. Sunday…… Everyone dressed in their Sunday going to meeting/church best! But….. the town was disgustingly filthy with garbage dumped everywhere.

Stopped at Mthatha for groceries and of course the pit stop. University here that Nelson Mandela. Rough neighbourhood…. guard warned us about taking money from cash machine!

Stopped for lunch at 2:05… finally at a memorial marker for Mandela.