Blogs from Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 7

Often places within Africa are hampered by their appalling roads, especially in some National Parks. Mana Pools unfortunately is no different with a long 2 hour trip on a dirt road that transforms your vehicle into a shuddering machine. The drive however is well worth it. Over the years my family and our family friends have had our fare share of getting stranded on a game drive due to the vehicle overheating, or in most cases being stuck in puddles in the wet season from November to March. My father in face was given the name “Puddle Jumper” as we would intentionally choose to go through the puddle as opposed to around it. On one such occasion we set out for an early morning game drive, departing at roughly 6:30 am from the comfort of our ... read more

Wow, I can’t believe that 6 days have passed since my last post!! Over those six days, I have worked three and been off three. I was on one more day, off for three, and then I worked 2. The last time I posted, I was so excited to have held a penguin, and while my affection for them has continued to grow, the “penguin holding” novelty has worn off. I have held them a LOT. In fact, on September 10, the day after my last post, I was literally assigned to be a “holder”. Basically, after a penguin is washed from being oiled, he/she needs a really good rinse. They are slippery and wiggly, as well as looking for opportunities to bite, so they need to be held tightly. There are women who have been ... read more

" Kaapse Klopse" : my night in the city of cape town came alive as i celebrated new year in a raucous carnival that is not seen elsewhere! Thousands of musicians, singers and dancers geared themselves with there painted faces to perade and march through the streets, showing of there talent by a series of dance, singing and costume competitions, at the green point stadium.... read more

My visit to Sea Point was COMPLETED with a walk along the stunning sea side promenade. I had a fantastic time in the filtered seawater pools built on the beach front together with a fun windy walk along the beach front, with a milky lane for a small snack and the beautiful view of the atlantic ocean. To top it of the amazing african warm sunset along the coast.... read more

After waking up the first thing that we do is go to the roof terrace for a panoramic view of the area. On the way up we notice the drawings on the wall of the Manor throughout its history. The views from the top are beautiful and we enjoy the cool and sunny weather until we have to go down for breakfast. Today we have more time to examine the interior decorations which are quite interesting. We wander around until we find the breakfast room where for the first time in some time we can order something different than eggs - crepes and pancakes. Before leaving the room we enjoy the views from the terrace... read more

This is the last morning in Africa outside of Cape Town and we eat our eggs (what else?) on the terrace overlooking the bay. Unfortunately the cat doesn't do a repeat visit of the laptop bag while we check the weather forecast and are a bit dismayed by the fact that there is a 50% chance of rain for the day. As we start to move the luggage to the car we see a bit of movement in the foliage next to our door and checking a bit more carefully we discover that a penguin overnighted there and is unhappy that we discovered him. He does all kind of movements which should be threatening but we think are quite cute. Now we know why we heard donkey-like noises all night in front of our door. photo=729055 ... read more