Back in Hermanus to watch dozens of whales frolicking just off shore, and to enjoy the beautiful weather of early November. Mum and Dad arrived in CT on 28th October and have definitely brought the summer with them. The weather is glorious!
In Addo for Neil's birthday weekend - Neil relaxing by the pool on his birthday, a baby elephant (not Neil!) and mum enjoying a wallow in the mud at a watering hole. My camera has a good zoom - we weren't quite this close! The girls didn't get eaten by lions - we haven't actually seen any yet. We did another sundowner drive (gets very cold when the sun goes down as you can probably tell), and were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the very shy and elusive black rhino.
We visited two different parts of the winelands for Mum's birthday. Firstly a day touring Stellenbosch and Franschhoek (photo is of the Hugenot memorial in Franschhoek). Despite being quite dismissive of the idea of stopping to do much wine tasting, Mum and Dad quickly got into the idea. We stopped at three vineyards randomly - the big multimillion rand business of Graham Beck (delicious fizz), the tiny boutique red wine only makers at Grangehurst where the cheapest bottle was R160, and the mid market, good value and very drinkable Avontuur. For Mum's birthday dinner, we got a babysitter and headed down to Constantia Uitsig, one of the oldest vineyards in the country with a superb restaurant. It was such a beautiful evening for such a wonderful setting.
We're also in the process of moving into a fab new house - hopefully our last move. We've signed a lease until end of June next year - yes, we've decided to stay the full year and continue to really explore and experience this amazing country. So Mum and Dad have been helping us move across from one side of Rondebosch to the other, and are staying there this week whilst we pack up the old house. I'm in Kenya at the moment anyway, so poor Neil has been left with most of the packing. The new house is nestled right at the foot of the mountain, a five minute walk from school, and has a pool and lovely garden. The girls' rooms are downstairs and double doors go out onto the pool deck so the minute they get home from school, they're straight into the pool. On Sunday, having got back from PE mid afternoon we headed to the new house for Dad to christen the braii - he looked so at home barbecueing away on the deck.
We visited two different parts of the winelands for Mum's birthday. Firstly a day touring Stellenbosch and Franschhoek (photo is of the Hugenot memorial in Franschhoek). Despite being quite dismissive of the idea of stopping to do much wine tasting, Mum and Dad quickly got into the idea. We stopped at three vineyards randomly - the big multimillion rand business of Graham Beck (delicious fizz), the tiny boutique red wine only makers at Grangehurst where the cheapest bottle was R160, and the mid market, good value and very drinkable Avontuur. For Mum's birthday dinner, we got a babysitter and headed down to Constantia Uitsig, one of the oldest vineyards in the country with a superb restaurant. It was such a beautiful evening for such a wonderful setting.
We're also in the process of moving into a fab new house - hopefully our last move. We've signed a lease until end of June next year - yes, we've decided to stay the full year and continue to really explore and experience this amazing country. So Mum and Dad have been helping us move across from one side of Rondebosch to the other, and are staying there this week whilst we pack up the old house. I'm in Kenya at the moment anyway, so poor Neil has been left with most of the packing. The new house is nestled right at the foot of the mountain, a five minute walk from school, and has a pool and lovely garden. The girls' rooms are downstairs and double doors go out onto the pool deck so the minute they get home from school, they're straight into the pool. On Sunday, having got back from PE mid afternoon we headed to the new house for Dad to christen the braii - he looked so at home barbecueing away on the deck.
