We are enjoying our photos again with our Shutterfly books.
Take a look. They were fun to make, fun to share, and fun to look at and remember.

Our Cape Town Book Designed by Kathy

Our Safari Animals Designed by Lisa

Our Joburg tour with Denis

Here's our Shutterfly site where all our original photos are stored.
You probably need and invite from us.  Just ask, we're open to inviting you.

Lisa & Kathy's Shutterfly Share site.

Back Home, but more to come!

Today we arrived back in Minnesota after a 23 hour journey (16 of those hours with our butts planted on a flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta!).  What an exhausting day.  We are glad to be done with checking, collecting and rechecking our luggage, security checks, long lines at customs, etc.  While it is so much fun to embark on the little adventures life makes available to us, it is also very nice to come home.

After we arrived at Kathy's house, we exchanged raw files of our photos and videos.  Over the next few weeks and months when organize our photos, edit our videos, delete the duds and the unfocused shots, we'll probably have many more stories to tell.  We haven't even shared any of the videos with you as we did not have the means to edit and upload.  In the future, look for videos of the animals in their natural habitat, more breathtaking scenery, cheetahs enjoying their fresh kill, and close encounters with elephants!

We've thoroughly enjoyed sharing bits of our adventure with you and will continue to add more neat stuff as time allows.

Cape Town Day 2 - Wine Country

July 25:  This day was much more relaxed than Tuesday.  We were "collected" at our hotel by our tour guide Rory around 8:45 after enjoying a leisurely breakfast.  Rory took us and 8 others east toward the wine country of South Africa.

Our first stop was in the town of Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in South Africa named for its founder, Simon van der Stel (Stellenbosch means Stel's forest).  The town is lovely with its canal lined avenues and amazing Cape Dutch architecture.

Canals lining the streets of Stellenbosch

Cape Dutch Architecture in Stellenbosch

Our first wine tasting was at the Estate of Lanzerac Wines where we enjoyed a wine and chocolate pairing.  L to R below: Chardonnay paired with lemon verbena chocolate, Rose paired with chocolate infused with actual roses (neither of us found this to our liking as the combination actually tasted like roses), Pinotage paired with chocolate covered cherry (our favorite on both counts), and Cabernet Sauvignon paired with a hot chili chocolate (also very yummy). Our last glass was reserved for a very special surprise -- a port that they have not yet named, but are testing out on various wine tasters.  This, too was very good!

Lanzerac Winery

Wine and Chocolate pairing at Lanzerac Wines

Our next stop was at the Allee Bleue Estate near the quaint town of Franschhoek (keep up now: Franschhoek means French Corner in the Dutch language, but located in South Africa. Sounds a bit like some areas in the U.S.).  This town was founded by the French Huguenots over 350 years ago.

On the grounds of Allee Bleue

At this winery, we sampled a Starlette Blanc, Isabeau, Starlette Rouge, Starlette Pinotage and a Shiraz.  All of these wines were as enjoyable as the weather that day which was a sunny 70 degrees (or 21 C for those who can even begin to understand the Celsius scale).  The nice weather allowed us to enjoy a nice lunch on the patio of a small cafe in Franschhoek.

Wine tasting at Allee Bleue

Our last stop on the wine tour was in the town of Paarl at the Anura Vineyards.  Here we sampled a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rose, Pinotage, Malbec, and Sangiovese. 

  

View of the vineyard at Anura

Of the 3 estates we visited, Lanzerac was our favorite.  It was well run, elegant and the service was fantastic.  Our guide offered so much interesting information about the wines in the region -- too much to remember it all!  One interesting fact to share, however, is that the Pinotage is a cultivar grown only in South Africa, and is its signature varietal.  A professor of viticulture at Stellenbosch University crossed the Pinot Noir with the Hermitage in 1925, hence the name Pinotage.

Our last day in Cape Town ended with a fabulous dinner at Tasca, a Portugese-Turkish restaurant on the waterfront.  Even though it was winter in South Africa, many of the visitors preferred to have their meals outside.  Nearly every restaurant had propane heaters throughout their patio dining areas and blankets to enfold their guests if the breezes from the water became too cold.  This was our first dinner without wine, but considering how much wine we consumed during the day, we opted for water with our meal followed by and after dinner cocktail for dessert (Wild Africa on ice for Lisa, and Cognac for Kathy).  Cheers to our final evening in South Africa!

View of the Tasca patio from above

Cape Town Day 1 - Peninsula Tour

July 24: Up and at 'em, as they say, time for a flurry of sightseeing. 

View from our hotel at breakfast.

On Tuesday, we took an organized tour of the Cape Peninsula which was packed full of beautiful sights, coastal drives, fabulous meals and breathtaking views.  At first, it was a challenge to accept the hustle and bustle that comes with this type of touring (especially after the low-key atmosphere of the bush).  But after experiencing 1 or 2 of the most breathtaking views of the day, we got into the groove and pushed on like good little touring soldiers.

Our tour started out with a view of Clifton and Campus bay. 

From there, we travelled one of the world's most breathtaking costal drives via Chapman's peak to Hout bay.

 

At Hout Bay, we took a short boat cruise to check out some seals that were basking in the South African sun.

Next stop, the southernmost place on the African continent, the Cape of Good Hope.  Here we had our picture taken by the sign as "proof" that we were there.

Ostrich at Cape of Good Hope

Traveling up a vernacular to some very high places was uncomfortable for Lisa, but the alien family sure enjoyed the ride.  

Once we were at the top, we both were uncomfortable with the height and the lack of things to hold on to.  Several good kodak moments were had at this elevation!  The view of False bay, where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Oceans start to blend their waters, was incredible.

Lunch was in Simonstown at a little restaurant called Seaforth.  Prawns and a Hansa beer - nothing better.

After lunch we strolled down to Boulders Beach to take a peek at the African Jackass Penguins.  Aren't they cute?



The final stop on our whirlwind tour was at the renowned Kirstenbosch Gardens where we saw so many spectacular trees, plants and flowers including the country's official flower, the Protea.

Protea -- The national South African flower.

Just a pretty flower.

Camphor Tree.

From Zululand to Capetown - July 23

Although it was sad to leave Zulu Nyala, we were looking forward to exploring another side of Africa. We headed out on a 4-hour road trip to the Durban King Shaka airport. From there, we caught a flight to Cape Town and checked in to very nice accommodations at the V & A Waterfront Hotel. Since most of the day was spent traveling, we opted for a nice dinner and a bottle of wine at the hotel, and settled in for some rest before our 2 days of extreme tourism.

Leaving Zulu Nyala.

People of Zululand

We found the people of Zululand to be beautiful and gracious people. Now that we're in Cape Town, we miss them.

When Lisa said Ngiyabonga (thank you) to the security guard at Durban airport, his eyes lit up and he shook her hand with the Zulu handshake of peace. It was wonderful to connect. Kathy and Lisa bought a book of Zulu sayings in Durban but can't seem to use it at all in Cape Town. 

Here's more Zulu lesson for you:
Hello -- Sawubona.
How are you all? -- Ninjani?
Yes -- Yebo

Zulu mom and her baby in Nompondo.

Two American sisters meet two Zulu sisters.

Two Zulu school girls at Nompondo.

Zulu 3rd graders in their classroom in Nompondo.

A Zulu "ancestor's house"

Zulu dancers at our resort.

Extremely athletic and fun to watch.

Finally, someone special to us...

 Philemon, our teacher and guide and favorite man from Zululand. Patient and kind, generous and peaceful. Full of love for the beauty of his land and animals.

Winter babies

Because it is winter in South Africa we heard that the views would be better with the leaves off the trees.  We assumed we'd miss out on viewing the spring time babies.  Were we ever delighted to be wrong....

Momma cheetah and her baby.

Baby elephant coming for our truck. Philemon our guide put it in reverse so this is the closest she got today.

Another baby and mom shot on a different day.

Baby baboon.  We watched them for a long time as they were incredibly cute.  If we figure out how to post videos, check back.  You won't want to miss them.

Baby rhino with mom at Phinda game reserve.

Baby giraffe.  Note the great scenery in the background.

Baby zebra. It was cute to watch when s/he was trying to stay on the road near us and her mom herded her off into the brush.

Lion cub pestering his dad who is ignoring him completely. Eventually the cub went on to other things.

Baby hippo riding on momma

The AFRICA BIG 5

When you go on Safari in Africa, you need to see the Africa BIG 5.
 
These were the most dangerous. Our list of dangerous animals today might feel different because of trucks and guns but the story says when a native hunted with a spear and these 5 would charge back on the hunter.  Others are dangerous but don't necessarily charge the person on foot. 

You might think you are seeing the animals through a great zoom lens, and yes we used zoom, but Lisa's camera only zoomed to 10X and Kathy's zoom was blurry when the truck engine rumbled or people shifted in their seats.  Know that were as close to every animal as you are to your bathroom from your bed.  For the big 5, Philemon our guide said to stay sitting so we don't break the profile of the truck and they recognize us as humans.  He said the "petrol" smell would cover our scent.

The Leopard
Let's get this one out of the way. No, we didn't check it off our list and probably won't today either.  It is a rare thing to see a leopard and we weren't one of the lucky ones.

The Cape Buffalo

The Cape Buffalo is usually just called Buffalo by the natives.  Sometimes from a distance we mixed it up with the Wildebeest.  Up close his size commands attention.

The Rhino
At Zulu Nyala, Phina and Hluhluwe-Impolosa reserves they have the White Rhino.  "White" is a misnomer. They are black in color. The dutch named them "wide" rhino for their fat lips. The dutch "wide" sounds like "white" hence the name.

The rhinos are in danger from poachers because of some liquid in their horn that the Asians sell for an aphrodisiac.  Our reserve, Zulu Nyala, had security on foot 24 hours to protect their rhino.

We were pleasantly surprised to see many babies.  As it is winter in South Africa we thought we wouldn't see them.

The Lion

Everyone knows the lion.  The pride we saw was large --10 or 11 lions: One dad, two moms and several babies.  They had already eaten so were only interested in napping.  See dad's big yawn.

Notice how the babies pestered their dad.
The Elephant
Zulu Nyala has 3 elephants - two females and one baby. We followed them until they came really close to our truck.

We hope to post a video section that shows Kathy so close to the elephant that you could feel her hold her breath.

First Game Drives -- July 18, 2012

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela.  We are proud to be in your country on your birthday.

Our first day on safari.  Check the "Just Pics" tab in the future for more photos from this day.

Sunrise outside our balcony.

Our first large game -- The Rhino. 

Poacher patrol protecting the rhinos from the theives who kill them just for the liquid from their horns. They leave the rest of the animal to die.  The reserve has 24 hour security.

Umbrella tree.

Wart hog.  Cute tiny butts - ugly big heads.

We visited Phinda in the evening where we saw lions and cheetahs.  Zulu Nyala doesn't have lions by choice because of the size of the reserve.  Everything is controlled on the reserves to make sure the environment can support the animals.

The animals at Phinda.

At Pinda, our truck didn't have a roof and the truck had a tracker who rides on the "bonnet" and watches for the lion's tracks.

Pride of lions -- 11 of them were resting in the sun a stones throw away from us.