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Franschhoek & Cape Town
When we last left Cat, we just finished a very pleasant stay in Hermanus. I think we were finally beginning to ease into what we consider "relaxation mode" for the trip, which is probably fast paced by other people's standards. Here is Cat's quick summary of the last few days...
"We had a great time in Franschhoek and ate some food/drank wine that was out of
this world. We stayed at a great bed and breakfast too... Yesterday was a
marathon shopping day, but I think we now have everything that we need."
I think the highlights in Franschhoek began with the beautiful guest house at which we stayed. The place was called the Coach House and it is run by a wonderful couple, who were friendly and very helpful. They recommended some of the wonderful places where we ate and organized a wine tour on horseback for our first morning. This was a special treat as it was only my second time on a horse and the first time for my mother.
This was another time where we gave my mother a great deal of credit. Never having been riding, we spent three hours, first going up the side of the mountain and then winding our way through trees and fields of grapes, she had the time of her life, even with a lopsided saddle. Overall we all agreed this is a fantastic way to experience the wine lands.
On the last full day, as mentioned above, we went on a whirlwind shopping tour through Cape Town. We got to see some different parts of the city from our first day, visiting the City Bowl area and Greenmarket Square, which was home to a myriad of handmade crafts. We finished up the day back at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. This time we visited the Blue Shed, another craft venue, where we were able to find an authentic African Drum to bring home. For for more details on what I got to bring home and the challenges of bringing items large and small on two airplanes over 20+ hours of travel, please contact me :)
The last day was capped off with a nice dinner on the Waterfront. This was a combination birthday dinner for my mother and send off for Cat. The next morning I drove her to the airport early so she could begin the Namibian Adventure part of her trip. My mother and I began our long, but pleasant trip home.
Namibia and Harnas
From all reports Namibia has been quite an experience for Cat. Here are some excerpts from her last email...
Here is what I like:
1. The animals are so fun (when they are being nice to you). I have been licked by a cheetah (good exfoliation) and the cheetahs purr constantly and will walk up to you purring. When you feed them you call to them and they run towards you. It is pretty impressive to have a giant cheetah run towards you.
2. I had 5 baboons crawling on me yesterday. I am a little skittish around them because they move quickly and suddenly and I know they can bite, but they are also cute. I had one up the back of my shirt for awhile, but not the one who knows how to undo bras!
3. The bat-eared foxes. We take care of the 7 young ones. You can't really pet them, but you can pet the 3 bigger ones and they are super cute
4. Lost the leopard. I want to go in with her, but I am nervous as she is getting more aggressive (they don't take her on walks anymore) so I am only going to go in with someone who knows her.
5. I have met some very nice people.
My group (1) takes care of: Cleo and Pride (cheetahs) 7 bat eared foxes, mice (which is weird cause one gets killed every Friday for the owl), Tumela the African Grey parrot, a bunch of cats (they are EVERYWHERE) Bubbles and Uma to white (when clean) fluffy dogs, Suki the 1/2 wild cat and Sule this rare spotted cat or sometimes called a black footed cat.
I will be sure to post updates as I receive them and will try to post a few pics in the near future.
-Joe
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