Blogs from Somerset West, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa
A sense of achievement...
Published: January 22nd 2009Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Somerset West
January 22nd 2009
Thursday 22nd R25 for entry and R5 for a route map and we were all set to begin the long slog up the Helderberg Mountain! We spoke to the woman at the information desk and asked how long it takes to summit the mountain, “6 hours,” came her reply which took us both by surprise as other people had said it only took them 2 hours to get to the top. Not only this but she also told us that the other day a couple had got lost trying to reach the top and didn’t return to the bottom until nearly 1am! There were many different routes. Pink is the only route which takes you to the top and green is the next highest, which splits from at the base of the rock face. We decided ... read more
11 cramped hours later.... South Africa!
Published: January 18th 2009Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Somerset West
January 18th 2009
First couple of days in South Africa... Well me and Lucie arrived at Cape Town int airport just before 9am after a long and restless flight for me and my legs! The car hire company we used had failed to realise that we'd be on an international flight and so were waiting to pick us up at domestics! After about 30 minutes of waiting we were finally greeted by Cecil (the driver) and taken to our car, a shiny bright white Mitsubishi Lancer. Half an hour later and we were on our way up the N2 to Somerset West. It was a gorgeous day, hardly a cloud in the sky and pretty warm having come from pouring rain in Dorset. We're staying at the Firmount Guest Suites for the next 5/6 nights, they are really cute ... read more
Cape Town ...the homeland
Published: April 16th 2009Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Somerset West
January 16th 2009
The Intercape was fantastic as we got to sleep through the night (from J-Bay). Craig's dad (Trevor) was picking us up at the Somerset West petrol station at 6:00am. Unfortuantly for him we arrived 3 hours late and we had no signal until we entered Cape Town. It was really exciting as Craig was seeing his house in Penhill for the first time and I was meeting the family. After unpacking and introductions we went to the local Shabine....time to chill out and open a cold beverage. We tried to surf as much as possible but the waves were not that great mostly non existant. We had hired a car (vomit comitt)and we really got our monies worth by spending (sometimes) 2.5 hours driving around looking for waves. My parents arrived on the 22nd Dec so ... read more
sailing and kloofing
Published: January 19th 2009Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Somerset West
January 9th 2009
Dec 23: went body surfing in the early morning in Strand. the beach was beautiful and the water not too cold. (well, I was wearing a very thick full body wet suit so it was all cozy) walked on the beach from Strand to Gordon's Bay. found a beautiful shell, a dead shark about 3.5 ft long, and touched a dead chiton which made my fingers numb. I wanted to take the chiton with me because it was so beautiful, white with green shades, about 4 inches long, 1.5 inches wide and 1/3 inch thick. the flesh was still attached so I decided not to take it. I'm regretting it now. got to Gordon's Bay and walked around. I immediately loved this place. If I had to live in SA, I'd be here. found a small ... read more
Those who can't do... (Darrell)
Published: December 13th 2006Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Somerset West
December 12th 2006
3 Days to go 'till we're teachers! After three and a half weeks of classes, homework, textbooks and all those things we left behind years ago, Cathy and I are once again getting used to the whole school thing. Except that this time we return to fight for the other side! The truth is that both of us have really enjoyed the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course we've been doing. The course is run over 4 weeks (100 hrs) and during this time we've had the chance to prepare and teach 6 one-hour classes to foreign students. The students have been really great and we've met some fantastic people, some of whom we will hopefully be able to visit during our travels. Not an aweful lot has been happening because of the full-time ... read more
August 18th 2006
We arrived at Phil's folks house in Somerset West the day before Phil's birthday. Steve, Michele & the kids came round for the weekend to catch up & help celebrate Phil being 34 years young. The rest of the week was spent lazing around with the exception of one day when we took a drive up to the West Coast Nature Reserve to see the flowers. They bloom for about 6 weeks of the year and it is quite spectacular to see so much colour in what is normally a barren area. All the flowers track the sun during the day, so it's not uncommon to be travelling through a field wondering what all the hype is about when you turn around to be confronted with a sea of colour. Wednesday 23rd was spent preparing for ... read more
