Dam(n) It, or Rock The Cradle of Love

Water You Waiting For? (Gwen Stefani, Water You Waiting For?) or better yet,

I Can See For Miles and Miles and Miles and Miles and Miles... (The Who, I Can See For Miles)

So we improvised and decided to head to Hartbeespoort Dam, a weekend getaway spot for many Johannesburg residents. On the way, I saw road signs which I never saw anywhere else in the world (and I bet you haven't either). I would have had Abby stop the car so I could take a photo, but you'll understand why I didn't when I tell you the sign said "Warning: Carjack Zone Next 7 km".

Flat tire, no problem, we'll ride on the rims.

Anyway, we get to the dam. It is quite old, as you can see by the photos below:

Who Didn't Turn Off The Faucet?

Modeled After The Arc d' Triomphe, for no reason.

Obviously Not a Weekend When We Were There

Near the dam is a mountain that one can take a cable car up to. Since I have yet to spend enough money, we hadn't been carjacked, and it was a very pleasant day, off we went!

Very Trustworthy, made by the Swiss!!!

I can see the End of the World!!!

"I am Sailing, I am Sailing..."

Then it was off to the Cradle of Humankind. Not an actual place, mind you, but a general area where many bones of early man were discovered. But they do have a museum there to check out, which we arrived at 15 minutes before closing. So we did the special "Jogging Tour" of the museum, where we kind of bounced around looking at the different things. One bonus was all the schoolkids were already heading home. They even had a ride at the beginning about the four elements (no kids, not John, Paul, George & Ringo); that's right, Water, Fire, Earth, and, er...Jell-o©. I mean Wind.

Here is  photo from the ride:

I Feel So Blue

After, we walked outside, and as a bonus, we saw numerous locusts copulating. The male was on top of the female, and he was holding on for dear life.

Naughty Naughty

Reminded us of a song: 

Sex is natural,
Sex if fun,
Sex is best when it's one on one... (George Michael, I Want Your Sex)

We had more photos, but you get the idea. And if you don't, well then get your mind into the gutter.

The next day we went to the Apartheid Museum, which was quite interesting and had huge amounts of information (but no photos).

We then left for the Timbavati Game Reserve & Kruger National Park. Photos and videos should be up in the next couple of days.

Until then,

Enjoy your braai, and everything here is "Lakker" (great)!

-Steve

My Trunk Is Overstuffed

...Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band... (Credence Clearwater Revival, Looking Out My Back Door)

Well, there we were in Knysna (Nize-Na). It's peculiar in that the city surrounds a lagoon. After eating at a restaurant (East End Cafe, highly recommended), we went to the top of the cliffs where the water enters the lagoon from the Indian Ocean. Pretty "angry" waters:

The West End (Taken From The East End, duh)

The multi-million dollar mansions bored us, so we went down to the shore to get a close up of these angry waves:

Don't Get Caught In a Dark Alley With These Waves

The next day, it rained buckets as we headed further East, where we found the longest concrete arch bridge in the world that also was the highest bungee jump in the world (no, I will cage dive with sharks but I will NOT bungee):

216 Meters Down

Good Luck, Buddy

Then we went to an Elephant Farm out side of Knysna (also all orphaned, not stolen from their parents, etc.), where we got to meet the big pachyderms. They are quite funny; they know the only way they can get fed is if they stand behind this post. It was quite humorous to see them literally run to get behind it so we could feed them:

Feed Me!

Then, because we were the last group of the day, we got to escort the elephants back to their pens for the night. It's not easy filming while walking and trying to avoid elephant land mines, but I think I pulled it off ("I love a parade..."):

The next day we flew back to Jo'burg, and today we went to Hartbeespoort Dam, and also took the aerial up to the mountain overlooking the dam and mountains (photos to follow in next post). We also went to the Cradle of Mankind, the area where some of the earliest fossils of man's ancestors were found.

Tomorrow we head off to Kruger National Park for a week, where we hope to see the Big 5 (lions, buffalo, elephants, rhinos, leopards), and the runner-ups (giraffes, hippos, cheetahs, and any other animals that saunter by). No internet access while there, so it will be a week until my next transmission. And I promise to make it funnier.

Until then, remember to eat your braai, as we will be doing everyday at Kruger.

-Steve

Train Kept A-Rollin'/What's New, Pussycat?

On a train, I met a dame, I was handsome, she kind of looked the same... (The Yardbirds, Train Kept A-Rollin')

Well, we made the drive from Gansbaai and landed up in George, an extremely boring town of 180,000 people. The good thing is that it's a central point to do things more interesting than visit the George Museum (though I'm sure my dad would visit it in a heartbeat, being that's his name).

But George does have a railroad museum, which was quite cool, and something called the "Power Van", which is a retro-fitted version of those miners trams. Yesterday we rode it to nearly the top of one of the Oteniqua mountains. Not recommended for those with bad backs, but good for those who want to speed up the digestion of their meal.

All Aboard

It was a gorgeous day, but we didn't know they stopped for a picnic near the top, so we improvised with banana pecan muffins & warm water. Ummm, I have had better picnic food in the past.

I'm going off the rails on the Crazy Train...

See? Quite the gorgeous day

We ate at a Turkish Restaurant in George, which was surprisingly good, considering nobody who worked their or owned it was Turkish, let alone they find it on a map. But Abby had a Rose Water Milkshake, which was quite tasty.
____________

We move like cagey tigers, we couldn't get closer than this, the way we lovecats, the way we talk... (The Cure, Lovecats)

Now they call her the cat, and that's a stone fact... (Elton John, They Call Her The Cat)

What's New Pussycat, woh a woh a woh woh... (Tom Jones, What's New Pussycat)

Well, we went to the Cango Wildlife Ranch, where we saw some awesome looking cats, as seen below:

Brother & Sister

Lazy white lion sleeps 21 hours/day

Oh, and here's a snippet of Abby & me petting the male cheetah (orphaned and raised since they were mere deadly kittens). It's purring sounds like a vacuum cleaner, not sure if you can hear it on the video (47 seconds). Apparently they don't like eating men with white legs and growing foreheads...

Well, that's all for now, we are next off to Knysna (Nize-na), another town on the Garden Route.

Until then, Eat your braai!!!

-Steve

Thar She Blows!/We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat

Where in the world are the whales? Where do they wander way under the waves? (Steve Grimes, Whale Song)

Well, we took off yesterday from Cape Town, off to Gansbaai (Chanz-bay), home of diving with white sharks inside a cage (sorry, Kyle & Chris, no outside diving) and the premier land-based whale-watching in the world.

We caught some funky weather on out two-hour journey, as you can see by this snippet:

We arrived in Gansbaai around 5pm and right away we could see the whales from our balcony (they are Right Whales, called that because they were the right ones for whalers to catch as they floated to the surface after being killed).

Look just to the left of the pole

Can be seen a little clearer here

Amazing creatures. And for the record, I did not punch any whales. They are just so damn adorable, with those barnacles growing on them, how could I punch one?

I realize it's hard to see them in these photos, but check out the ones below (plus some more video); it will give you a better idea of how huge they are.

____________

You got fins to the left, fins to the right, and you're the only bait in town... (Jimmy Buffett, Fins)

Got up early this morning for the cage dive with sharks. How does it work? 5-6 people in 5mm wet suits float in a cage on the side of the boat while the crew throws tuna and/or mackerel heads in the water. When the crew see a shark (Great Whites only), they yell "Down!" and we duck under to see the shark.

We lucked out and saw SEVEN Great Whites; most were small, but a couple were quite big, including the big one that was estimated at 3.8 meters long, or about 12 1/2 feet long. Though I could swear it was 30 feet. But when one of those suckers leap OUT OF THE WATER in front of you, you would swear it was a school bus.

Unfortunately, my camera got hosed (water leaked into the housing), but I do have video that the crew took, and also other passengers took. Out of 12 passengers, two were from Arlington VA, two were from Gaithersburg, one was from Annapolis, and I'm from Alexandria.

I thought traveling 10,000 miles would get me away from all you people!!!

Good news, using free software, I was able to extract .jpeg from the video I bought; although the images are grainy, you can get an idea what it was like (taken from the boat, not the water):

Give me that mackerel head!

Yum Yum Chomp Chomp

This was the big one, unreal being that close

Hello, Ms. Shark

That satisfied my being in the water for the rest of my life trip. But we then walked down to the water later this morning and got some daytime whale shots and videos:

Hello Mr. Whale Flipper

Lolling on its back

Karate chop to the water

Some nice-looking tail

Well, that's all for now, off to the Garden Route, next report probably from George (Hello Dad) South Africa.

Eat your braai!

-Steve

Weather With You

Everywhere you go, always bring the weather, bring the weather with you... (Crowded House, Weather With You)

Ah yes, the best laid plans of men go awry...

Sunday was icky (an actual weather term) so we did the Jewish Museum (we are everywhere!!!) and the aquarium (very good, recommend it).

It was a gorgeous day Monday morning as we prepared to go to Table Mountain. However, although there were no clouds, there were gale force winds at the top, so using the cable car was cancelled, and we didn't feel like climbing a 3500+ ft mountain.

So, off to the Robben Island ferry. Ah, but the 11am just sailed and the 1pm was "sold out". Of course, we found out later they really aren't and when you press the agent, they will allow you to go on.

Off to Kirstenbosch Gardens we went (actually located on the side of Table Mountain). Quite impressive gardens, and weather was quite nice.

Pretty Flowers!

Then, the clouds started creeping down the mountain like Voldemort & The Dementors in the Harry Potter films. The wind started picking up severely, and I felt like Toto in the Wizard of Oz just before the tornado struck (not Dorothy, note).

We then headed to the Cecil Rhodes Memorial with a grand view overlooking all of Cape Town, then off to "Sand Blast Bay"; OK, it was really Camps Bay, and we got a couple of really nice shots before Voldemort & his cronies followed us to the beach, whipping up sand that pelted my legs like find grains of sand, ironically.

Sweet!

That damn Voldemort & his cronies!!!

The same beach as the first photo

We escaped there, and took a nice drive around the other bay communities; very much reminded me of the French Riviera (indeed, reminds me I need to check on my winter mansion in Monte Carlo).

Today unfortunately the Cable Car is closed again, and Robben Island will just take too long, as we are off to  Gansaai, where some of the best land-based whale-watching in the world takes place. Yowza!

Until next time, eat your braai!

Road To Nowhere

"...Taking that ride to nowhere, we'll take that ride..." (Talking Heads, Road to Nowhere)

Well, today Abby's friend Peter took us on a trip around the Cape of Good Hope, one of the southernmost points in Africa (and also quite famous for ships crashing into the rocky shores).

First off, we saw penguins, commonly known as jackass penguins. See the little snippet below to see why.

Next, it was off to the Cape. It was quite odd, because we saw baboons and ostriches right on the shore! I climbed with Peter (our guide) to the top, and below you see the action shots that took place. I'd guess the outcrop we were on was over 1000 Ft. above sea level that I climbed over rocks and half-ass stairs to achieve. My legs will be gumby-like tomorrow, for sure.

Ready...

...Jump!!!

Defying gravity!!!

And here we are before the climb:

OK, the most Southwest point. Not as impressive.

This was some view from the winding road we took back towards Cape Town. It's called Hout Bay, and they had some huge seal lions that hung out in the harbor. We also saw some whales, but they were far off, you could only see them when they breached for air. When we go to the next stop after Cape Town, there will be some cool whale shots.

Hout Bay

For dinner we went to a braai (grilling) and I tried boerewors, which is a South African beef sausage that is inundated with coriander. Definitely an, um, acquired taste.

Tomorrow it's the Jewish Museum (we are EVERYWHERE!!!), Table Mountain, and the famous Kirstenbosch Gardens outside Cape Town.

Until next time,

Eat your braai (barbecue)!

-Steve

Bottle of Wine...

Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine, When you gonna let me get sober ,Let me alone, Let me go home Let me go back and start over... (Tom Paxton, Bottle of Wine)

Preparing for another grueling sampling

The wine tour of Stellenbosch (and surrounding areas) commenced this morning and continued until appr. 7 p.m. tonight. Five wineries and over 30 wines tasted. As my friend Jeff likes to say, I achieved "Bloop" status at around 3:30pm.

The scenery is stunning, blows away anything I saw in Napa, Australia, or New Zealand (oh, and Virginia). The wine was pretty tasty also. We bought three bottles to be consumed in the next couple of weeks.



Tomorrow it's off on a grand tour of Cape Town and surrounding areas, including canoeing with penguins. Yes, we plan on photos of that and whatever else comes our way.

That's all for now, off to dinner at the Waterfront.

Cheers,

-Steve

Zambia Rocks! (Never mind about Cleveland)

...All the little kids with the crimson kicks know Zambia Rocks, Zambia Rocks... (Ian Hunter, Cleveland Rocks)

Well we are back from Victoria Falls and all I can say is that this place has to be on your bucket list! Note I have uploaded these photos without editing, that jobs is for when I'm back in the USA.

First off, here is a photo and snippet video of Victoria Falls:

Yours truly, ruining the view of the waterfalls...

Helicopter view of Victoria Falls + Bonus Rainbow shot

Tilt your head left; that's our hotel at the far right of the photo

Next, here's an action shot from the Jet Extreme ride we went on in the gorge, with sharp turns=5 to 7 G's. One time we did a 180 and came face to face with a 4 ft crocodile. Afterwards, we walked on the sand, and it squeaked! Yes, squeaky sand!

The following shots were all taken on the grounds of our hotel:

Gentlemen: Never again complain that you have blue balls.

This guy rode by us while we were sitting on the grass

Albino mom with baby

But wait, there's more! Here's yours truly riding an elephant (all the elephants were orphaned and taken to this rescue center, where proceeds go to the anti-poaching units in Zambia). They are incredibly intelligent, and liked teasing each other.

Mother and Baby

Last but not least we did a sunset cruise up the Zambezi River, where we met the funny-looking but nasty hippos:

Hungry Hippo

Sunset on the Zambezi

Well, we are relaxing in Jo'burg for a couple of days before we are off to Cape Town & The Garden Route and cage-diving with sharks.

Cheers!