Posing

Safari Ostrich Farm

This farm was kinda a waste of time. It might have been interesting if we had stayed to the end to see the ostriches race. As it was we just saw 2 ostriches, heard a bit about them and went to the totally run down and almost empty ostrich museum.



This is Jack the Ripper.



His mate is Susan the Stripper.



This is to show how strong the eggshells are that they can withstand Calvin's weight!

Cango Caves

We decided to go to the caves in the end and see what all the fuss was about. It was impressive, but not fantastic enough to be the highlight of the trip. Still, we did enjoy it. The guide was humourous but told his jokes with a totally deadpan face so sometimes we took a while to appreciate them!

Cango Wildlife Ranch

The entrance to the Wildlife Ranch. Seems like a dodgy entrance! :)



We saw some sleepy crocodiles which wouldn't perform their stunts. They were supposed to jump into the air and grab a chunk of meat out of the trainer's hand. But they refused. You could also opt to swim with the crocs, in a metal cage, of course.



This white tiger (no, there are no tigers in Africa in the wild) was obliging enough to do his stunt. He climbed to the top of the pole to get the meat there. One could also go into the lion's and tiger's and cheetah's cages to touch them and get your picture taken. Talk about up close and personal. As long as it doesn't become 'up close and dinner!'



They had some ginger tiger cubs that were about 4 weeks old.



We also saw a wallaby (again, not an African animal!!), lorikeets, arowanas, lemurs (those were so active and funny), meerkats, vultures, Hilda and Henry the pygmy hippos, white lions etc.

Featherbed Nature Reserve Cont.

The view of Knysna with the sun glinting off the water of the lagoon.



Knysna Heads. This stretch of waters is so treacherous that apparently, Lloyds of London will not insure any ship that sails through there!



Sophie woke up when we reached the look out point because of the sun on her face.



Once she woke up, she went into this sling with her Daddy.



This part of the walk was so scary. It was a sheer drop on to the rocks below with no hand rail to hold on to! Plus carrying a wriggly Sophie....

Featherbed Nature Reserve

Still about our South African Adventure....
This should be before the previous post. While still in Knysna, we visited the Featherbed Nature Reserve. This was the second best part of our whole trip. The weather was lovely and the view was breath taking.



We went across the Knysna Lagoon on the Rivercat Ferry. There was a very nice guide who gave a hilarious and interesting commentary as we crossed to the other side of the lagoon.



The entrance to the nature reserve.



We took a 4X4 jeep up to the top of the reserve. Sophie fell asleep on the way.



Then we hiked down to the bottom. It was an hour's walk along the side of the cliff. Sophie slept through the first part. Gosh, she was heavy!

La Pension, Oudtshoorn

Finally the last place we visited was Oudtshoorn. After taking ages to drive there from Knysna, and getting into an accident on the way, plus having to drive along a very windy mountain road; it was with great relief that we reached La Pension. The owners, Errol and Venita were so kind and welcoming that we felt so at home.









There was a lovely breakfast. We were the only guests that night, so we got full attention! This fruit salad was made up of a quarter of a sweet melon, chopped mango, a strawberry, yoghurt and muesli. It tasted as good as it looks.

Knysna

We drove up along the coast to Knysna (pronounced Nice-na) where we stayed one night. This time we stayed in a self-catering apartment with one bedroom and a living/kitchen area. No sumptous breakfast laid on but it was quite nice to have the space which meant that we could still watch tv and read after Sophie was asleep. When there was just one room we all had to go to sleep at the same time.



We stayed at Knysna Quays along the Knysna Lagoon. This was the view from the balcony.



Only a double bed so it was a bit cramped.



Sophie having her breakfast in the kitchenette. She must have looking for something cos she was saying, "Where?".

Cape Point

Cape Point or the Cape Of Good Hope is supposed to be the place where two oceans meet - the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans. It is said that if you swim in the waters on one side of the point, the waters are cold, and on the other side, even colder.
We drove quite a way along a windy road then parked about two thirds of the way up the peak. The rest of the journey had to done on foot, or in Sophie's case, on back, Daddy's back!



This was the road we drove along.



Almost at the top.



Keep going, Daddy!



The pointed-most part of the point. You can't walk all the way down there. The funny thing was, there was a signpost at the peak which gave the distances to various places from Cape Point, and it was nearer to the South Pole than to Singapore!



Tourists were lining up to take a picture with this signboard. At first we didn't want to take a picture there and do what everyone else does, then in the end we subcummed to 'tourist-ism'.

Guinea Fowl

This is what the guinea fowl look like.

Around Cape Town

We were told that we just had to go to the West Coast National Park because the wild flowers there were the best they have been in 10 years. Of course, with a tag line like that and an attractive website (I checked it out first online), how could we miss it? But as you can see from this photo, where were the flowers??



It was much better weather when we went to Boulder's Beach where Sophie and Daddy chased a penguin around and under a rock. If you look carefully, you can see the penguin under the rock. And, yes, there are penguins in Africa; called, surprisingly, African Penguins!





Later, we went to Kirstenbosch Gardens which had a lot more flowers! I wish we had allowed more time for this garden for it's the kind of place I really enjoy. Good for the soul!



Sophie is into birds, so she liked the guinea fowl (oh, and the penguins were also a huge hit)

Game Drive

Going for the game drive on the jeep, a little bit afraid that Sophie would fall off (it was really bumpy) or get eaten by the lion.



Elephant. (For the benefit of those who weren't sure or who failed kindergarten.



Burchell's zebra a.k.a. Plains zebra.



Rhino a.k.a rhinocesaurus. I know Calvin will tell me tonight if I spelt this wrong. Spelling is not my strongest suit.

Garden Route Game Lodge

We drove 4 hours last Monday from Cape Town to Albertinia where we stayed the night at the Garden Route Game Lodge. This was by far the most expensive of our accomodation but for about SGD300 we got one night's stay, dinner, breakfast and 2 game drives. It was also by far the nicest place we went to and we throughly enjoyed it. The room, the service and the food were excellent.





The view was wonderful! It was so beautiful. Very low vegetation, not many trees or tall bushes. The native vegetation in that area is all low and bushy.



Sophie enjoyed bathing in the long bath.



Our meals were held in a 'Boma' - sort of like a large hut with a thatched roof made out of reeds. The food was cooked (or maybe just warmed up) on traditional large African pots on coals. Sophie got to sit in this high chair which attaches to the table with hippos on the handles! At dinner time, Sophie was asleep in the room so they set up a table for us just outside our room so we could get our food from the buffet in the nearby Boma and sit outside the room where we could hear her if she woke.