For the last 2 weeks of our Africa trip we've basically been hanging out in our Boshof mansion and doing as Cape Townians do...
We had the opportunity to volunteer at Sport Science with some Comrades ultra marathon research (we later watched the actual 90 km running race on tv...what an amazing feat for the participants!)
On the weekend we went up to the Cedarberg Mountains and stayed in one of our current host's summer homes. This house is amazing...just look at the view
The house is made of rocks from the surrounding area, so of course blends in perfectly. It is full of windows and there is not another house in sight making for a perfect mountain getaway.
On the Saturday morning we went on a 6 hour hike through the thorniest of bushes up the mountain to this arch
We made good use of the camera timer once again (me, Graham and Anna)
...and got some amazing view of the surrounding area!
On the way down I unfotunately sprained my ankle pretty badly and had to walk down the rest of the way for an hour and a half on a sore, swollen foot and slippery terrain. I at least had enough sense to take a picture of these gorgeous straw-like flowers that were scattered along the path
We slowly made it to the bottom, while Graham ran ahead to get the car. I was escorted back to the house, while sipping Angel Tears (great South African wine...also a great painkiller), while Anna opted to run to help prevent the car from bottoming out on the rocky road
...Just another African adventure!
At least we got to come back to THIS fantastic house!
After taking a day or two to start to recover from my injury Anna and I decided it was time to go on a wine tasting tour. We headed to the Stellenbosch region (only one hour outside of Cape Town!)
Our first stop was Blaauwklippen where the winery is set against the amazing views of the Cape winelands.
The winding road to the wine tasting cautioned of Frankenstein mothers
...but that didn't scare us. We soon found ourselves in a chic winery sipping on the likes of zinfandel, shiraz, cab sav etc. We decided on the semi-sweet white, and enjoyed the scenery on the way out.
Our next stop was Annandale. We liked it because of the name, but also because they are one of the few winerys left that make wine the old way. We sampled 3 wines including a shiraz, a cab sav 1999, and a port. Since we had vowed to buy a bottle at each stop (and because the cab sav '99 has some humorous relevence), we splurged!
Next up was somewhere that served lunch. Now since we had been to a place with Anna's name in it...we chose the place that most resembeled mine...Avontuur.
Another beautiful estate, we enjoyed a great lunch (with wine of course) before heading to our next tasting.
Our last stop of the day was the Helderberg winery. Anna and I regressed a little before heading into the tasting
we tasted, we liked and we walked away with a shiraz and a pinotage
These were our purchases for the day
Mom I know you'd be proud
The final view on our way back to Cape Town
The next day Graham, Anna and I decided to go to Boulders Beach to check out the penguins. As we were driving past Muizenberg we noticed tons of surfers and decided that we ought to give it another go. We headed to a surf shop and got all the gear. I didn't get a board because of my ankle, but I definitely got a wetsuit!
I ended up trying out my ankle on Anna's board, and got a few wave rides!
We did make it to Boulder's Beach in Simon's Town and got to see some penguins!
On Friday Anna and I drove along the coast and of course had to stop for some amazing photo ops.
There was too much sun in our eyes to get the shot, so we made a plan...I wore the sunglasses, Anna turned her back, we set up the timer on the camera, and I was to countdown tell Anna to turn around and rip of my sunglasses before the picture took...
We weren't even close, so we tried it again...
After that we decided to check out the 12 Apostles hotel for some cappuccinos. The drive along the coast is absolutely breathtaking, and this hotel has one of the best views of the Camps Bay area.
Next up...the Waterfront
Anna and I did a bit of shopping (thinking about what we'd buy our mom's for their birthday's had we been home), had some beer (thinking of our Dad's on Father's day), and just enjoying the balmy weather.
That evening we went to the #1 rated restaurant in Cape Town: Madame Zingara's with Graham and Lucy. We all ordered 300g of steak with chocolate chili sauce...the best South African dish I've had yet!
We tried to get a picture of us all on our own
But the one the waiter took turned out much better
Saturday was yet another adventure. To make a long story short...a tiny cut I had on my finger got infected, my hand swole up and red tracks ran up my arm. I went to the doctor to discover I had cellulitis (a blood infection), got some antibiotics and am now on recovery mode. I just needed one last medical issue to burn the African experience into my memory and worry my parents!
All is well and early early tomorrow morning I'm on my way to London and beyond!
This is the weather I get to leave behind!
