We're spending this winter away in Australia altough, with unusually milder weather so far in Niagara on the Lake, there is less of an incentive to escape the typically harsh cold and snowy conditions. Before leaving, we did experience the Ice Wine Festival in Niagara which spanned a 2 week period in January and various events were hosted by a number of communities in the Region. For those who are unfamiliar with Ice Wine, it's a very unique product that is made from frozen grapes which obviously gives Canada some advantages over Vineyards in other countries. It's a very good product for Export and the Industry has enjoyed growing demand, particularly in Asia and USA. In order to meet the Niagara's VQA (Vintners Quality Assurance), grapes must be harvested in -8 degrees Celcius temperatures which raises ... read more

A few days ago, I officially joined the ranks of Senior Citizenship (although Debra would say I joined quite some time ago). To help commemorate and celebrate the occasion, Debra surprised me by commissioning a special painting to be done by Laurent Lafleur, an artist who's work we've admired for a long time. He has a studio in La Malbaie, a small quaint village in the Charlevoix area. For those who don't know, Charlevoix is a beautiful region in Eastern Quebec, not far from New Brunswick, on the north coast of the St. Lawrence Seaway. It has some of the highest mountains (not as high as the Rockies) in the Canadian shield and as such, the area offers dramatic scenery. Because of the natural landscape, it has attracted, for many years, Artists from all over the ... read more

As indicated in an earlier Blog, Debra insisted we return to Hermanus to explore, more extensively, this community. In addition to playing golf at the very scenic golf resort of Arabella and the impeccably manicured Hermanus golf club, we enjoyed the majestic views along the shore trail that borders downtown. We stayed over 2 nights at a very comfortable B&B, Dorpshuys Hermanus, that was nestled in a very quite neighbourhood within a15 minutes walk of downtown. Two yummy dinners, a little shopping and touring some smaller communities such as Stanford, completed our 3 day adventure to this very popular area of the Western Cape. For those interested, there are some lovely properties in this resort area that could be purchased for appx $300,000 CDN. Got my hair cut while in Hermanus, $8.00 CDN plus tip. Not ... read more

We've now settled into a routine. Have had 2 golf lessons, played 2 rounds of golf and going to the gym for our regular work outs including some nice walks along Strand Beech. Our friends Harry and Susan invited us again for a lovely lunch at Hartenberg Winery after which we visited their friends Nicole and Guy who live high up in the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve. Guy works in the reserve and has just retired. It was a very pleasant visit. Nicole served some tea/coffee, desert and some Koeksisters, which are a South African sweet that is addictive. (That's all I need is something else to add to the caloric intake)!!! They are made similar to a donut in texture and have a sugar glaze on the outside. When travelling outside of Canada, they're the next ... read more

Every trip has some disappointments and for us our accommodations for two days in the Etosha area was below expectations. Anderson Camp was quite old and not updated so compared to the other accommodations, it was below standard although the cost was similar. It did have a good location and with an electric fence, we were able to view close up, quite a few animals that came to the watering hole. They also had a neat underground tunnel (hide)where you get very close. We decided to do a "self drive" through the Etosha Game Reserve and in hindsight, probably would have enjoyed it more with a guided tour. It's a big area and if you're unsure as to where the game are located, a lot of time is spent driving. It was also the rainy season, ... read more