I hope this place was as good as it looks and that they ordered the dessert in the photo.
Friday, April 16, 2010
blog update:)
So - an update!
We left that wonderful resort in Pezula and headed towards Franschhoeck , which is in the wine country. We stayed in a most wonderful villa (which seemed like it could have been in Italy) and it was the biggest room and sitting room we had ever seen. They brought us a tray of goodies and a bottle of champagne to welcome us! Not too shabby:)
\ All that being said, we didn't find too much to do there, though the town was quaint. We did go to one winery where we had fun but we found that one was enough, being the big oenophiles that we are! We did one nice walk there and basically toured around - went to the town of Stellenbosch which boasts a lovely university and is quite charming.
We then drove down the "Garden Route" to get to Cape Town, where we have been since Wednesday and we leave tomorrow for our last safari camp in Kruger Park ( by the way, this trip is very much like "If this is Tuesday, it must be Belgium!!!:) So much packing and unpacking - finally have it down to a science!
Cape Town has been fabulous! Our first day, we took the cable car up 1,067 metres to the top of Table Mountain, which is the highlight of the city. Absolutely gorgeous - we walked around the top of it for quite a while, looking at all the different views, and admiring the vegetation up there. Quite amazing - you kind of feel like you're on the moon! Following that, we went for a drive along the coast (imagine the Fort Lauderdale boardwalk going for miles but with bigger waves!) and had lunch outdoors looking at the ocean. FUN! Then our driver drove us thru the downtown area, pointing out places of interest, including the Cape Flats, where all the blacks were herded in the late 40's and 50's under apartheid rule. Unbelievable how this happened! Of course also saw where the other people live - so all in all, very interesting.
Yesterday, we were also with the driver and we had a full day Peninsula Tour - our destination was the Cape of Good HOpe, where we did a super walk but not so scary :) - down to the sea. You will have to see the photos( hope they come out!) to appreciate the beauty, and even then, who knows if it will come thru?? We drove thru some of the towns along the way, and then stopped at |Boulders Beach to see the "raft" ( new word for me!) of penguins. These little guys used to be called jackass penguins because they sound like donkeys ( no I am not kidding!), but that term ended up to be not politically correct! - so now they are called African Penguins. They are very cute indeed! OUr hotel is strategically located at the V and A Waterfront, which is a most happening place, so we have wandered around there a few times to get the feel of it. Lots of street entertainers that are fun to watch.
On our own today so we did very educational stuff! Walked to the Holocaust Museum, which was very well done, then had lunch outside in the Greenmarket, where there are tons of little stalls trying to sell all kinds of souvenirs and "junk". Beautiful day to sit outside and just watch what was going on. Then to the District 6 Museum - which is dedicated to the memory of those who were forced out of that District to live in the Flats - very interesting and sad. They are in the process of relocating these people but not nearly finished - not a very good commentary on what went on here. THe only difference between the people who institiuted these"forced removals"( as they were called) and the Nazis is that these people didn't kill - they just forced them out basically into ghettos and treated them as worse than 2nd class citizens.
After all that, here I am sitting in the beautiful hotel hoping that this blog goes through!!!
We leave tomorrow early as I said for Lion Sand in the Kruger park - we HOPE to fly home thru Heathrow on Monday night/Tuesday a.m. - not sure what the story is with this volcanic ask and everything.... will keep you posted if we have to make any changes in our itinerary...
Bye for now - better go pack!
x0x0x0x
Anne
ps still having the best time and can't believe we have only 3 more sleeps(in beds - 1 on the plane!)
We left that wonderful resort in Pezula and headed towards Franschhoeck , which is in the wine country. We stayed in a most wonderful villa (which seemed like it could have been in Italy) and it was the biggest room and sitting room we had ever seen. They brought us a tray of goodies and a bottle of champagne to welcome us! Not too shabby:)
\ All that being said, we didn't find too much to do there, though the town was quaint. We did go to one winery where we had fun but we found that one was enough, being the big oenophiles that we are! We did one nice walk there and basically toured around - went to the town of Stellenbosch which boasts a lovely university and is quite charming.
We then drove down the "Garden Route" to get to Cape Town, where we have been since Wednesday and we leave tomorrow for our last safari camp in Kruger Park ( by the way, this trip is very much like "If this is Tuesday, it must be Belgium!!!:) So much packing and unpacking - finally have it down to a science!
Cape Town has been fabulous! Our first day, we took the cable car up 1,067 metres to the top of Table Mountain, which is the highlight of the city. Absolutely gorgeous - we walked around the top of it for quite a while, looking at all the different views, and admiring the vegetation up there. Quite amazing - you kind of feel like you're on the moon! Following that, we went for a drive along the coast (imagine the Fort Lauderdale boardwalk going for miles but with bigger waves!) and had lunch outdoors looking at the ocean. FUN! Then our driver drove us thru the downtown area, pointing out places of interest, including the Cape Flats, where all the blacks were herded in the late 40's and 50's under apartheid rule. Unbelievable how this happened! Of course also saw where the other people live - so all in all, very interesting.
Yesterday, we were also with the driver and we had a full day Peninsula Tour - our destination was the Cape of Good HOpe, where we did a super walk but not so scary :) - down to the sea. You will have to see the photos( hope they come out!) to appreciate the beauty, and even then, who knows if it will come thru?? We drove thru some of the towns along the way, and then stopped at |Boulders Beach to see the "raft" ( new word for me!) of penguins. These little guys used to be called jackass penguins because they sound like donkeys ( no I am not kidding!), but that term ended up to be not politically correct! - so now they are called African Penguins. They are very cute indeed! OUr hotel is strategically located at the V and A Waterfront, which is a most happening place, so we have wandered around there a few times to get the feel of it. Lots of street entertainers that are fun to watch.
On our own today so we did very educational stuff! Walked to the Holocaust Museum, which was very well done, then had lunch outside in the Greenmarket, where there are tons of little stalls trying to sell all kinds of souvenirs and "junk". Beautiful day to sit outside and just watch what was going on. Then to the District 6 Museum - which is dedicated to the memory of those who were forced out of that District to live in the Flats - very interesting and sad. They are in the process of relocating these people but not nearly finished - not a very good commentary on what went on here. THe only difference between the people who institiuted these"forced removals"( as they were called) and the Nazis is that these people didn't kill - they just forced them out basically into ghettos and treated them as worse than 2nd class citizens.
After all that, here I am sitting in the beautiful hotel hoping that this blog goes through!!!
We leave tomorrow early as I said for Lion Sand in the Kruger park - we HOPE to fly home thru Heathrow on Monday night/Tuesday a.m. - not sure what the story is with this volcanic ask and everything.... will keep you posted if we have to make any changes in our itinerary...
Bye for now - better go pack!
x0x0x0x
Anne
ps still having the best time and can't believe we have only 3 more sleeps(in beds - 1 on the plane!)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Catching Up with a Long Post
Hi Everyone It's been a while - technical difficulties and all - but I will try to catch you up as best I can:) Safari 1 - Kings Pool - Botswana Absolutely beautiful venue with amazing amenities and service There were not many animals(except impala by the zillions) so we had to look for them! That proved to be very exciting as we set out at 6 am in a 4x4 jeep/tank that went crashing through the bush! Mowing over trees, wading thru water - it was an event! Our guide would look out over the side and check out the tracks - he could hear lions"calling" each other, so off we roared to look for the roarers:) Finally, we discovered 2 male lions - when I tell you that they were not 10 feet from us, I am not kidding! We were (a bit) scared, but our Odi assured us that if we kept still, they wouldn't charge, as they are used to the sight of jeeps and realize that we are not predators. On the other hand, if we stood up or heaven forbid, got out of the jeep - well, I guess I wouldn't be writing this! On another game drive, we tracked a leopard and finally found her - very exciting indeed. The biggest shockeroo was when we rounded a corner and came face to face with a 4-storey building ! - i.e. a huge elephant! I don't know who was more surprised - the guide, us, or Dumbo! It was fantastic - same deal, by the way - don't move too fast or you will twig the animal onto doing something you don't want it to do! Safari 2 - Little Mombo - Botswana This camp, which was also spectacular- had a lot more animals visible. We did have to go find the elephants, but when we did - we found a herd of them! We also saw a quite large pride of lions - about 6 females and 12 cubs - and the really amazing thing was that the moms and kids had a huge family reunion, which the guide had never seen before! They ran to each other and basically started what we would call hugging ! I hope the video came out - should be fantastic! In this camp, we also saw zillions of zebras, hippos in their pool, and beautiful birds ( in both camps). The food and accommodations in both places was fabulous, and we made fast friends with the staff in both camps! Then to Jo-burg overnight for a next day tour of the Apartheid Museum which was really informative and fabulous. A quick tour of Soweto followed - you should only see how the other half lives.... - followed by a place ride to George, whence we have started our drive down the Garden Route. Let me add that we have been on every kind of flying machine - from the 747 that got us here, to helicopters, 12-seaters - and 6-seaters - to get us to the camps! Totally exciting! So - on the Garden Tour, yesterday we did a hike that we were stupid enough/lucky enough to have survived! Actually the concierge did not tell us that we would be climbing up a rocky mountain overlooking the Indian Ocean where we had to actually crawl up the rocks - to say nothing of the experience coming down.... Well, I'm writing you , aren't I??? It was totally beautiful scenery if you weren't too terrified to look down from heaven any time the terrain flattened out.... We changed tns from Plettenberg to Knysna - we watched the world's highest bunge jum p site! Today we are the Pezula Resort. Our suite is large and opulent, overlooking the championship golf course on one side ( tho we are not playing) and the Indain Ocean on the other.We went for a 1-hour gruelling hike this a.m. - but it was thru a forest with no cliffs -then we were taken to a castle on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Dipped my feet in the beautiful, not too cold, but very clean ocean, and then went canoeing down the Noetze river for 1 hour which was totally delightful! Relaxed and had a massage ( what a treat- my legs were crying!) and now getting ready for dinner at this resort. What a gorgeous place! Tomorrow we start a 5-hour drive down the Garden Route to Franchooek - which is the wine country - we will be stopping at a few places along the way ( not sure what they are) So sorry I can't include some photos in this blog, but don't a) have the camera cable with me and b) wouldn't have a clue how to do it! Hope you are all well and that you're all caught up now Having a wonderful time! Anne
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Feeding the Beast
This is Anne's brother and I thought it was time to "feed the beast" with a blog post, pending Anne's first post from Africa. If she were to post, I imagine she would describe how wonderful the accommodations are in Botswana and how much she is enjoying showering outside with the elephants nearby and watching her. Or if it were me, I might describe the food.
This post will have to hold you until Anne has Internet service and is able to post her own thoughts!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
First Post
getting organized slowly...
(Photo of random suitcase added by Mark--also, check the comments for status updates.)
(Photo of random suitcase added by Mark--also, check the comments for status updates.)
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