Wedding bells

Well, we finally did it! Ambereen and I got married on the beach in South Africa. It was a windy day and the beach was very crowded but we rolled with it (as we do with much of what comes our way). It was a very low key affair. We plan on celebrating back in the states with family and friends once we get settled.

Our honeymoon begins in a week with a trip to Victoria Falls, Chobe Game Reserve and Kruger National Park. Can't wait for that one!

Addo Elephant Park

I really wanted to see some critters on this trip and since we had purchased The Wild Card, which gave us free entry to all of the National Parks in ZA, Addo was on the list. We booked a place for two nights and found ourselves in a wonderful thatch roofed duplex with a view of the game reserve. We entered the reserve from the South gate and had to drive 37 km in an hour to make it before they closed the gate in 1 hour to the rest camp. The speed limit in the park is 40 km so you do the math. We're cruising along when all of the sudden we spot a herd of elephants on another road so of course we took a detour. I pulled over to observe when a large bull started walking our way. I didn't know what to do so I threw the car into reverse and started to back up. Ambereen was telling me to stop. There was another care backing up too so it got confusing! I did stop and the bull walked right towards us.

We ended up booking a morning game drive. It was cool but pricey and we later found out that we could have hired a Ranger to drive with us in our vehicle for a private drive at a fraction of the cost. Oh well, not everything we do ends up perfect just so you know. We did see some cool things including two lions who were lounging around the road.

After deciding to go on our own game drives we ended up at a watering hole (known as a pan) where a herd of elephant were hanging out. We parked and just watched for about an hour as people came and went until we were alone with many elephant. A few came up behind us along a path leading the the pan and we were surprised at how close they came to the car. We saw lots a babies including one who used the sign as a scratching post. Behavior he learned from his mom.

Two males ended up locking tusks right behind the car and I had to move or we could have been crushed!

Tsitsikamma National Park and Storms River

Our next stop was at Storms River along the Garden Route. One of the most spectacular parks we've been to. The crashing waves were spectacular and the park itself was first rate. Great accommodations in our forest hut and a lot of activities to enjoy. We booked a trip on a power boat which took us out into the ocean over huge swells and up the coast so we could see the beginning of the Otter Trail. We then came back and headed up the river a little way to view the spectacular gorge. After that we rented kayaks to paddle back up the river to see where the river met the sea and to swim in the warmer water.

Knysna Heads

I am going to kick myself in the ass for not keeping this blog up to date. My internet connectivity has been the problem as uploading photos is a killer. FB is not the best option either as it's hard to go back to review. So I'm going to try and recreate some of the highlights in the next few posts.

After a little planning we decided to take a road trip along The Garden Route to the Wild Coast. We drove the bakkie to George airport and picked up our rental car as the bakkie just isn't very comfortable on long road trips. We made it to Knysna Heads and stayed at Augusta Bay after scoring a deal online. We had the best room in the house with a spectacular view of the bay from our bed. It was amazing. And crazy busy as it turns out we were going during peak season. This would come back to haunt us later.

After cleaning up we went for a walk to the Knysna Heads.

Kitesurfing 101

I've wanted to kitesurf for years now - ever since I watched a show highlighting some of the tricks that can be done, namely jumping off the top of a wave, catching big air then landing and continuing on. When I was in Cape Town last winter (seasons are opposite so it was summer in Colorado) I tried to sign up for lessons but the weather didn't cooperate. I called as soon as I got back over a week ago and today was my lucky day. Julia and Pedro were my instructors and I had 6 hours for the first lesson.

I learned how to control a kite with a small trainer kite about 1.8 sq meters and then moved onto the inflatable trainer, which is 2.8 meters (something like that) and hooked into my harness. Like any cool sport, there is a lot of gear involved. Damn gear - I love it but why does it cost so much? Wetsuit, harness, sail, board, on and on.

I progressed rapidly through the kite drills and after lunch it was time to get into the water for the body drag drill. Basically I had to get the kite airborne then get into the water and let the kite pull me while performing figure 8's with the kite. It would have been a hell of a lot easier without the 3 meter waves crashing down on me. I tried and tried and tried...and tried. One of the owners came up and gave me some tips. I tried again. And again. I FINALLY managed to have the kite drag me about 50 meters. It was one of the most challenging things I've tried. My instructor Pedro kept telling me it wasn't my fault but the surf was too high. 4:00 finally came and we packed up and headed back to the shop across the street for the debrief.

All in all a great day. I am tired and sore and ready to go back tomorrow! Wish me luck....

Rocky Horror Show at The Fugard

Met Tariq and Iris for brunch then decided to head to the Table Mountain tram for a quick ride up as the table cloth phenomenon was in full force. Basically that means a cloud is blowing over the mountain and it appears as though there is a table cloth on the top. In this case the cloud blows over and form a cloud fall which dissipates quickly. It's a fantastic effect and we wanted to see what it was like on top. Ambereen had purchased a season pass last winter and forgot her pass while I didn't have my passport number so I was unable to purchase said pass. She negotiated a ticket for the trip after a 15 minute wait and I just bought a ticket as I could save the receipt and go back later in the week to buy the season pass as well. We got right on the tram and it was packed. What is it with these asian tourists who have their camera / phone / ipad up and taking pictures THE ENTIRE TIME? I mean, put the damn thing down and actually enjoy a few minutes of the experience for crying out loud...

Anyway, the cloud cover up top was intense - like a very thick fog - and it was blowing hard. It was also a lot cooler as we were suddenly 1800 meters above sea level. We didn't stay long as we scored cheap tickets to the Rocky Horror Show at The Fugard Theater thanks to Iris. It's an intimate theater and we had good seats. There was a great crown and although we got there a mere 15 minutes before curtain call we made it. The show was fabulous - much better than I had expected. Phenomenal cast, great costumes and the house band was tight. Frankenfurter was a riot. What a treat. The audience got into the show as much as they could but there are so many catch phrases, etc. that you have to be a student to catch them all.

Got home early to get some shut eye as I had a kitesurfing lesson scheduled in the am and I wanted to be sharp so goodnight.

London

Once again I had a smooth trip to Cape Town with a 15 hour layover in London. I arrived in London around 6 am and since my bags were checked through to Cape Town I bought a round trip ticket on the express train to Paddington. The train only took 15 minutes and was very comfortable. Once at Paddington I bought an all day ticket for the Tube. I made my way to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge but I got there too early, before the Tower of London opened, so I walked along The Queen's Walk to see some sights. It was an overcast day which quickly changed to rain. I am so happy that I brought my rain jacket and my backpack had a waterproof cover. My shoe selection sucked though. For some reason I thought that my Columbia water shoes were a great choice for flying but neglected to factor in walking for miles in London. My dogs were barking pretty quickly. I made it back to the Tower and had the place to myself for nearly an hour so I checked out the Crown Jewels with nobody else in the room. I also took a picture on the courtyard where Anne Boleyn was beheaded - Ambereen and I had watched The Tudors a year or so ago - and it was cool to see where so much history happened.
I continued on the Tube towards Westminster Hall & Big Ben. There sure were a lot of tourists taking pictures ;)

According to the map I was close to Buckingham Palace so I decided to walk instead of Tube it. I got a little lost as my map was not detailed enough but I was able to find someone to point me in the right direction. There are some great neighborhoods in that area. By the time I made it to Buckingham Palace it was getting late so I took a few pics and wandered over to the Hard Rock. I was going to buy a T shirt and a pint but they didn't have any bar stools at the bar and I was tired of standing so I left to head back to the airport. I didn't even scratch the surface of London but got a feel for the city and would love to go back some day and spend a week or two.

My flight to Cape Town was fine and I got in around 11:30 am. Ambereen picked me up and we went to her place where she dropped my off to go back to work. I started to unpack but had the urge to lie down for a few minutes. I got up at 5:40 pm! Where am I? What time is it?

Friday is a day to chill out. I'll take MyCiTi to the store and pick up a few things.

Saturday morning we'll hit the old Biscuit Mill for breakfast and some shopping - they have the best produce, honey, food, etc. Then we'll go to Kirstenbosch Gardens on Sunday.