Darling

On our way back to Cape Town and the UK we decided to go inland, slightly off the tourist route to a farming village called Darling. We thought it was a really good choice for St Valentine’s Day.

We had breakfast in the centre of this bustling busy village and really enjoyed watching the world go by. We came back later for a beer. Very refreshing!

The next morning we set off in search of the Coof vineyard. We had tried their Dusty Road Cabernet Sauvignon in a restaurant as it was very good; we wanted to sample some of their other wines. On the way we tried other wineries but preferred the Coof.

The vineyard owned by an Englishman who visits once a year for a month is very well cared for and looks stunning.

We sampled a fair number of their wines and actually bought a couple of bottles to bring home. Eventually, we asked about having lunch in the gardens and were delighted to see a table set out for us under a trailing Wisteria.

The view from our table was “To die for”

The lunch and wine were great and we were joined by a number of spectacular birds and one very timid field mouse.

Luckily we found out that some of this lovely wine is sent to the UK. We hope to track some down when we get back.

This is really our last day at large as tomorrow we head back to Cape Town and get ready for a very early flight to the UK. As you can tell we have had a wonderful time, have met loads of wonderful people and have received lots of messages from friends all around the world. We look forward to meeting you all again, soon.

Liz has just sent us an email with a picture of Reading under inches of snow and their neighbour built an igloo. What a time to go back to the UK!!!

Saldanha

Further north still is the working seaside town of Saldanha, a working town with a steel works as well as a fishing industry, a military base as well as catering for tourists.

We found an Hotel, right on the beach, complete with a visiting, rugby team.

The view from our balcony was lovely and we saw a Little Egret fishing on the water’s edge just as they do in Millbrook.

A few feet from the shore we noticed a number of fish which reminded us of the Bat Rays we had seen in Australia. They sting so no swimming just there.

As we explored the harbour area we noticed some divers at work under a fishing boat.

Our curiosity being aroused we watched as the boat was winched out of the water for its annual certification test.

The whole process took only a few minutes and 430 tonnes of boat was high and dry and safely ashore.

Yzerfontein

From Bloubergstrand we travelled further north up the west coast to Yzerfontein.

We decided to stay with the Walter family who run a B & B with spectacular views.

This was our room.

And this was our view, which was so good that on our first day, we walked down to the shore and saw a pod of whales playing just off the shore. Sadly no camera!!!!!!!

The neighbours are very friendly and this Mongoose didn’t mind being photographed at all.

On our second day we went to the West Coast Nature Reserve, trekked miles to the purpose built hides, but saw nothing but seagulls!

We did see a pair of falcons hunting just off the road and having watched them for a while even managed to get a picture of one.

To revive our spirits we sought out a pancake shop and soon felt much better.

On the way back we walked on one of the many glorious beaches in the area

and were joined by a flock of Sacred Ibis.

All in all a good day.

Bloubergstrand

After a few days on the Cape Point peninsula, we have decided to head north of Cape Town to a coastal region where we were told,
"But there is nothing there!"
We found an amazing coastline with beautiful white sandy beaches that are brilliant for walking and paddling. Our first hotel, the Blue Peter has excellent views, rooms and restaurant.

It has amazing views of Table Mountain. Robben Island and the coast north.

It is a poplar beach for surfers of all kinds, these guys were still surfing when we were getting ready for dinner!

The plan here is to walk, read and relax and then heading even further north.

The Cape to Simon's Town

We are going walkabout again, south from Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope and then back up the cape to Simon’s Town, home of the South African Navy.

The Cape of Good Hope is not the most southerly part of Africa, but the most south westerly. After a long drive it was a bit of an anti climax, but we found some Japanese photographers to record the moment for us, and we did the same for them of course.

The cape looks more impressive from the lighthouse station on the next headland.

Here we discovered we were 9623 km from London and more importantly about the same distance from Cornwall.

From the Cape, we ore off in search of a bed for the night, hopefully in Simon’s Town, but on the way are diverted by some not too friendly natives.

They look cuddly but can bite, apparently! I took no chances!!!

Far more cuddly are the African Penguins of Boulder Bay, who don't seem to mind how close you get.

In Simon’s Town we found an idyllic hotel, The British Hotel,

that dated back to the days of the East India Company, a beautifully, tranquil and shady spot from which to explore.

The town itself is a strange mix of normal and touristy shops, but the buildings are definitely from a bygone age.

Especially the police station, I don’t think this is a high crime rate area!

The bay and the beach look beautiful

And there are so many good looking restaurants that I’m sure we will enjoy our stay here.

I am even enjoying working on the blog in our own quiet, cool courtyard.

Table Mountain

Table Mountain stands guard over Cape Town and is visible from most parts of the city. While we were in Gordon’s Bay we frequently looked across False Bay and saw the mountain covered with a long white cloud, known locally as the Tablecloth. While we were in the city the Tablecloth was not to be seen, so we headed off to the cable car station. We could have walked but decided it was too hot!

I was particularly looking forward to the rotating cable cars, although to be more accurate, it is the floor that rotates, so that everyone gets a view from every angle.

At the top, the views are impressive

This is the Lion’s Head, with its tail lying behind. Cape Town nestles around the hill and in the distance you can just make out Robben Island.

The area at the top is huge, spreading from the cable station to the gorge about a third of the way along.

If you click on this picture you can just see the gorge a third of the way from the top right.

The walkers, walk up and down the mountain through this gorge and that is a very long, tiring walk at 30˚C in the shade.

The footpath is just visible between the rocks.

The mountain has more plant species than the UK and although we did not see them all we saw some beautiful fauna and flora.

This bird has the most beautiful brown marking on its wings, but they don’t stay still for long and this sadly is my best shot.

Just as we were about to leave, a small cloud rolled up the mountain and away, a beautiful view at the end of our stay.

Robben Island

No stay in Cape Town could be complete without a visit to Robben Island, for seventeen years the “home” of Nelson Mandela, the first president of the new SA.

The island is twelve kilometres from the mainland and only thirty metres high.

From the island Cape Town appears a long way off.

From the ferry, it appears very vulnerable to the bad weather roaring in from the South Pole. At the dock, the first view of the prison block is even worse.

The buildings were built by the prisoners, using materials they quarried themselves. The regime was obviously harsh

but the ex political prisoner who showed our group around referred continually to the prisoners’ indefatigable spirit of endurance and confidence in their eventual victory.

This was helped by the support they received from international organisations, crusading individuals and some governments.

Most of the buildings were effectively designed to be depressing but Nelson Mandela’s old and new accommodations were an optimistic sign that might is not always right.

His home for seventeen years?

His home when he visits now.

The island tours are organised to show that determined people can achieve their dreams. The histories and the buildings convey this superbly and the island is well worth the visit. No reasonable person was disappointed when the last prisoners left in 1991.

Robben Island is now inhabited by the people who work on there and some other well adjusted Africans.

A secluded but shady spot for an individual,

While the rest of the gang head for the beach,

and others rush nowhere at all.

Although enjoyable it was good to be able to leave and also to receive a welcoming wave from an old friend.

Cape Town

From Aquilla we drove through a series of mountain passes with amazing views of the dramatic countryside to Cape Town with a spectacular mountain of its own.

Having spent a lot of time in our car, we walked to the Waterfront

past a road to, who knows where?

On the other side of the road are two huge office blocks, there are other sections of this road elsewhere, they have been here for years and there are no plans to complete the road.

At the waterfront, in the middle of the café area we saw a sign, “Seals”, walked fifteen yards and saw a couple of seals happily sunbathing and posing for pictures within feet of all the tourists.

The harbour was in constant use by some very large vessels, so it was a surprise to see seals in the water as well as on the quay steps. However, they were not alone.

These dolphins were having a great time fishing in the middle of this busy harbour.

We decided to visit the twenty first century shopping mall at Canal Walk, just outside Cape Town. It was huge, but could have been a mall anywhere but then you shopaholics could just love it.

We have really enjoyed our stay in Cape Town, the people are very helpful and friendly, the climate is amazing and most things that make life fun are really cheap. A beautiful city in wonderful surroundings.

Aquilla Game Park Day Two

As we set out from our lodge, bright and early,

it was clear that we had had an unwelcome visitor in the night.

As we progressed, it got worse!

Someone’s broken the gate!

And they are still here!

Having terrified a Canadian family in a chalet just by looking in through their door, they kept the rangers busy all night, making sure everyone was safe!

As you can see our morning drive started bright and early and before long we were seeing wildlife again.

After the drive we had a four course breakfast and then went into see the cheetahs they have on in the game park. These had been illegally bred as pets, were confiscated and will be looked after at Aquilla for the time being. They are very tame and purr just like any other cat when stroked.

All that remained was a relaxing morning by the pool to have a nap and catch up on lost sleep before another three course lunch and a fond farewell to all at Aquilla.

Aquilla Game Park

After a few days R and R in Gordan’s Bay we are off on a safari in Aquilla Game Park. We will be staying overnight, but I am sure we will be safe from the wildlife.

This was our lodge for the night but don’t feel too sorry for us as we had a lovely Jacuzzi on a porch outside the lodge with a view to die for.

We started looking for game as soon as we arrived and saw several of the larger animals moving around the watering hole about a kilometre from our lodge.

From our veranda we could see a rhino but it is a bit difficult to see in this shot.

At 5 pm we set off for our first game drive and within a few minutes spotted our first wildlife.

For the rest of the evening, we drove through the reserve spotting something new every few minutes. I did fill my 1Gb card but will only post a few.

After three hours bumping along very rough ground, we were ready for a hot shower and a candle lit three course dinner with rather good wine. After a Jacuzzi under a star lit sky we turned into our four poster for an early night as we had to up and ready for a 6am drive in the morning!

South Africa

The flight from Perth to Johannesburg took almost eleven hours and set our watches back six hours. The flight on a South African Airways Airbus was the best flight we have had so far. The plane, the food and the service were all first class and we only paid business class! The flight was even on time all the way.

Sadly, at Johannesburg we transferred to a BA Boeing and things were not nearly as good in any department. We did however keep to schedule and after so many hours in the air we were very grateful for that.

At the airport, we were met by our host for the first four days, Barbara Louw, who did everything possible to make us feel welcome. Going the extra mile, she gave us some very useful contacts to start us off on the right foot for our travels.

We stayed in Gordan’s Bay, about 30 km east of Cape Town for the first few days so that we could settle in easily. It is a beautiful place with great views of Table Mountain and the Cape peninsula.

At the week-end the beach is crowded with South Africans taking the opportunity for a day at the beach. Some people even took their geese with them for a swim.

The restaurants provide great food, perfectly cooked in delightful surroundings. The sunsets, especially, were wonderful.

Once settled we started to explore the beautiful surroundings of this part of the world. We were perfectly placed to explore the Garden Route and some of the countless wineries nearby.

What stood out for us immediately was the fantastic scenery. The roads here pass along, around or over the most amazingly picturesque mountains. Each time we went over a pass, we were rewarded with spectacular views of sandy bays in azure seas or towns set between majestic mountain ranges.

This shot of Franschhoek was one of the few we could get on route as we were unable to stop on most of the passes we used.

Wave Rock

From Esperance we headed west along the coast but had to take a 35 km diversion over dirt roads to get around a storm damaged bridge, washed out by a cyclone ten days before.. We left the coast road and headed into the outback again to reach Hayden, the home to the Wave Rock. It is huge, but unlike Ayres rock, had been weathered spectacularly into the shape of the biggest wave ever.

To give you an idea of the scale of this wave, I took another shot with Marion and Maureen in view.

This is the front of the rock but we walked along its side,

and even climbed it.

We did look both ways, were very impressed, but were unable to make the climb to the very top because the heat was in the forties and we made a discreet withdrawal to the ice cream shop.

Leaving Wave Rock, we returned to Perth and the next day left for South Africa. Maureen and Rob had given us a wonderful memory of Australia, its immense size, spectacular scenery and always wonderfully friendly people. With heartfelt thanks to Rob and Reen, John and Barbara and all our friends, who had made us so welcome, we waved good bye to Australia wondering if could really be our last visit?

Esperance

On the road again, but this time going south, away from the high temperatures towards the coast and a more moderate climate. We are heading for Esperance on the coast with a forecast of rain. Last week the area was hit by the tail end of a cyclone and roads were closed, a bridge washed out and the port filled with silt.

On the way we found a shady spot in Norseman for a picnic and 400 km later arrived

in the picturesque town of Esperance. It is an important port for the regions farmers and miners and surfers love the bays to the west.

We walked along the pier and found some of the locals in dispute over fishing rights.

The highlight for us was to see the sea lion scare off the shark with the minimum of effort.

Kalgoorlie

On this visit to Perth, we are heading 650 km into the outback to the mining town, Kalgoorlie. The town is so important to Australia’s economy that shortly after gold was discovered on 19 June 1893 by Patrick Hannan, a pipeline was built to carry water to the town. The pipe was constructed over the desert for the whole 650 km, it’s a long pipe!

One of the highlights offered at our Kalgoorlie hotel was a tour of the local bordellos, but we thought a visit to a local pub would be more refreshing.

The Western Bar even has two swing doors to swagger through.

The reason for the town’s existence is gold and so we chose to visit the big pit, a working open cast mine and also a disused deep shaft mine.

The original mine was started by Paddy Hannan, digging with hand tools until they found rock too hard to drill by hand. When expensive drilling equipment was needed a mining company took over the work. The site is littered with a curious range of mining, ore processing and the necessities of living. The site is well worth a visit to give a flavour of the life of a miner in the 1890s outback.

The equipment looks primitive, but the Living and working conditions of the miners were even worse.

We three intrepid miners ready for a long 45 min shift.

After our arduous shift down Paddy’s mine, we found an excellent restaurant, shared a couple bottles of wine and set out to explore Kalgoorlie at night in a definitely merry mood. The bordellos looked very boring in reality but Comet McNort was spectacular.

There are few shaft mines left working in Australia, most mines and now open cast operations digging for a wide range of precious metals. In Kalgoorie the Big Pit is probably the second biggest hole in the world, the largest is in Utah, outside Salt Lake City. As soon as we arrived at the pit, we asked to leave as they were about to blast the hole even deeper. When we returned, ten minutes later and had our first view of the hole, the immense size of the mine was staggering.

This is an area they are drilling, about a tenth of the prt we could see, the little black dots top left are $4,000,000 dumper trucks each carrying 225 tonnes of ore. You can see them more easily below.

The big diggers here are really big!

Robin and Maureen

After three fabulous weeks in South Eastern Australia, it is time to go West where two friends from a previous visit, Rob and Reen who live near Perth have organised a little tour for us. The flight from Sydney to Perth across the centre of Australia, in an Airbus 300 will take nearly five hours. It would have been a long walk!

We have visited Perth before and both love it. Rob and Reen live in a beautiful house in Ocean Reef,

a small town, north of Perth within a ten minute walk of one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. On our first day we had to take a stroll along the beach.

A little way down the beach some kite surfers were showing off their skills. It looked great fun. I wish we had more time to join the fun.

Canberra

Not far to the east of Wogga lies the Capital of Australia, Canberra, the seat of government since early in the twentieth century. It is a city working to show off the places and people of government. As we approached the bridge over Lake Burley Griffin, separating the business and government sections of the city, we were startled by a huge jet of water rising into the sky. The Captain Cook Memorial Water Jet was spectacular, especially in the drought conditions all around the country.

Canberra is full of memorials commemorating the country’s steps to independence. This carillon is a gift from the British government in 1970 to celebrate Canberra’s fiftieth year as the capital of Australia.

You can see that they were too mean to give them four walls to hold up the bells.

The Telstra tower can be seen from all parts of the city and of course the views from the viewing galleries are wonderful. The management are to be congratulated for extending Seniors concessions to retired teachers from the UK. Good on ‘em,

The main reason for visiting the capital was undoubtedly to visit the old and new houses of parliament. Both buildings are spectacular, beautiful, functional and best of all, open to everyone.

The Old parliament is the white building above and the new parliament is behind it, a little further up Capital Hill. The grass you can see is growing on the roof which makes it a little difficult to see clearly. Above the roof is a “flagpole” made of stainless steel.

It is very spectacular in the sunlight.

Inside the new parliament, designed by Romaldo Guirgola, the members have a beautiful building to work in.

In the old building, things were not so bad either.

From Capital Hill the view down Federation Mall, over Lake Burley Griffin, up ANZAC Parade is of the Australian War Memorial. It is not simply a memorial to those who died in war but a representation, through artefacts, models and film of what happened to people during the conflicts that Australians became involved in. It was undoubtedly thought provoking.

Wagga Wagga

During our journey north from Albury we were aware of a thin haze of smoke in the distance which was probably from bush fires further north. There was only a faint smell of smoke but it reminded us of how close disaster is to the people of Australia.

Once in Wagga Wagga, known locally as Wogga, we explored the city and were very pleasantly surprised to see how much open space and beautiful parkland there was. The wonderful glass and art galleries were well worth seeing. On the way to the glass gallery we came across this beautiful lake, completely covered with lilies at each end but with evidence of abundant wildlife everywhere.

Beautiful Lillies

Great Cormorant

Cheeky Turtle

At the eastern end of the lake is a spectacular gallery of beautiful works of art in glass. We were not able to photograph the exhibits but they were uplifting and a joy to see, a feast for the senses.

Further south are the botanical gardens which contain a small zoo and a miniature railway that runs on the first and third Sunday of each month.

In the gardens as well as the zoo, the birds were a delight to see and hear.

Still Unknown

Cockatiel

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Marsh Wallaby

Albury

Today we travelled from Echuca along the Murrey River to Albury. On the way we went through Yarrawonga, a very small place with banners along the highway encouraging people to move there. Intrigued, we turned down a small road and in less than 100yards we came across this huge lake called Mulwala, formed by the Murrey River. There were lovely houses with lawns sloping gently down to the lake; so we now know why people might like to live there.

We walked around Albury this evening and came across a cheeky little bird in a park

and a solitary paddle steameron the Murrey. It was looking very lonely compared to the fleet at Echuca. Unfortunately it is unable to travel on the Murrey at the moment as here, the water level is too low.