Hi Dad, Thanks Gram

About 34 hours after we were dropped off at the Cape Town Airport, we delivered Ethan into the arms of his dad. A long slog - South African Air to Heathrow, London; Continental to Newark, N.J.; Air Canada to Toronto; three hour layover between each flight - which ended with our checked baggage probably located in Texas. Certainly makes the laundry decision easy!

The picture on the lower right shows Greg congratulating Ethan for ordering Ostrich for dinner on Tuesday night. I had Ostrich as well while Mardi tried the Springbok.

We had a wonderful time in Africa. Were well treated, no sign of crime although we were somewhat insulated and in reasonably good neighbourhoods. There are certainly "slum dog" communities but we didn't go in them.

Weather as reported was excellent, although a cold front and rain rolled in while we waited for our first flight on the way home. Mosquitoes were not a significant factor, but Ethan got a couple of bites while trampolining in the evening. Two more days of pills should erase any risks.

Ethan was a joy to have on the trip. He played cards with a skill beyond his years (caught me wasting wild cards more than once), was most cooperative and polite, really impressed one of our guides when he ordered salad, and was competitive at golf (outdrove Grandma a couple of times). He has an eagle eye and often picked out game before our guides saw it.

Thank you to all who followed our trip blog. I hope it was entertaining.

This will likely be our last post to Ethan's African Adventure. I can now work on the job of restoring my e-mail which I accidently disabled a few days ago when I was having connection problems on the net. And over the next few weeks we will put together an album of the trip for Ethan to show to his friends and family.

Kruger was awesome and Cape Town and the cape itself were fantastic. Saw lots of wildlife.

Calla Lillies

Calla lillies grow along the side of the road and in gardens much like the orange day lillies do in Ontario. Most attractive.

Lunch Stop

We enjoyed a tasty meal at this coffee shop and antique store. The food was invariably good in Africa and the service, while not always prompt, was polite and friendly. Prices were quite a bit cheaper than Canada, given the quality of the food and service and the ambience.

"Any Last Words Guys?"

That was what our guide asked before he sent us on our way across the gorge on the first zip line. A really exhilarating activity for our last day in Africa. We started part way up the mountain and travelled on seven zip lines to the bottom, following ravines and crossing waterfalls and an aqueduct. On one of the lines they recommend that you bring yourself to a complete stop and dangle about sixty feet above the rocks, while “enjoying the view”. An interesting experience.

Goodbye to Cape Town

We check out at 7 a.m. and drive two hours to go zip-lining. From there it's back to the airport for our lonnngggg flights home. Including time zone changes we will be in transit for about 30 hours (don't tell Ethan, he'll go nuts!). So it will be Wednesday night, Ontario time, before we publish our final posts. Talk to you then.

Wildlife On The Cape

Along the way we added to our list – Elan, Ostrich and the African Penguin. There also used to be black-maned lions on the cape but they’ve long since vanished.

Cape of Good Hope

Another fine day in paradise. We had a private, day long tour in a Land Rover from Cape Town down the west side of the peninsula to the Cape and back up the eastern coast. I had always visualized a cold, raw, foggy and windy day when I thought about this trip. Instead we had high 20’s and virtually no wind. We have been blessed with the weather on this holiday – couldn’t have been better. Considering the latitude, the weather (this is winter after all) is unbelievably benign. An occasional night-time frost is the meanest they get.
The Cape is a beautiful place. No wonder Vasco de Gama stopped by.
The warm Indian Ocean is on the left (east) and the cold Atlantic is on the right (west), with Antartica straight ahead.

The other end of the sign says it in English, but the ocean wouldn't have been in the background.

Coca Cola Anyone?

A very tall Lego man made from Coca Cola cases!

The Esperance

The whale watching boat was in for repairs for the second day, so we settled for a sail on the Esperance. Ethan was not impressed with sailing, even though he was assured the boat would right itself if it turned over. Saw a couple of seals on a buoy, but no whales. Had a really good two hour said though.

Harbour

Very pretty buildings along the waterfront. Indeed, lots of very attractive old buildings throughout Cape Town.

Quay 5

The waterfront is being totally revamped and a significant portion is now complete. Lots of very nice restaurants, craft and market places, as well as buskers and booths selling boat and helicopter rides. “Want a boat ride boss?” “No thanks.” “OK, plan B, how about a helicopter ride?”

In the picture below, a jazz group. Maybe there's room for Fishguts here.

A Short Walk

We hiked at the top for about 45 minutes, until it was time to return.

Table Mountain

Yesterday the winds were high and the cable cars were not running. You can climb to the top (3600 feet above the ocean) in about 2 ½ hours but we decided to wait until today and ride. But if I lived here, the hike up the mountain would be on the bucket list.
The cars are round in shape to minimize the effect of the winds and the floor turns 360 degrees during the climb and during the descent so that each rider gets a full circle view.

Why We Are Here

Cape Town

This city has to be one of the most beautiful on earth! Our double decker tour covered the city, Table Mountain, and the wealthy suburbs along the ocean(s). The Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at the Cape of Good Hope which is just down the way. All of the restaurants from here to the waterfront (about a kilometre away) seem to be upscale, even those in the market area. People are invariably polite and friendly. This is definitely one of those places that cause us to think “I could live here”.

Leaving Kruger

It would be cheaper to go to African Lion Safari and you would see a lot more animals in a shorter time, but it wouldn’t be the same. Just as the African Lion Safari is far better than a zoo, so Kruger is even better. Instead of animals waiting to be fed their next free meal and baboons waiting to destroy your windshield weatherstripping, i.e. the welfare animals, you see the entrepreneurial animals:
· A lioness who has hidden her three cubs from four prowling male lions
· A breeding pair of lions
· Two lionesses stalking a herd of cape buffalo
· Giraffes running away from an animal that was stalking them
· Rhinos waiting to be poached (over 300 so far this year in Kruger - The army has now been called in and poachers are being shot from helicopters).
· Elephants stripping and breaking trees, and knocking them over so they can eat the roots.
You definitely come to the realization that these are “life and death” situations.
You also realize that, although you are staying in idyllic circumstances, there is pain and hardship all around you. The blacks have only enjoyed freedom for about twenty years and the economic suffering is not nearly eradicated and a 60% unemployment rate is just one sign of that. When it costs less to have your clothes washed and ironed for you than the cost of the soap and coins for the machines, you know that the average income for even those who do have jobs is very low.

Our Crocodile

I counted on the fact that he knew the electric fence was between us. The croc was about 8 feet long.

More Golf

In the golf cart shot, notice the Impala on the green over Mardi’s shoulder. Several Impala passed between the cart and me but the camera wasn’t fast enough to catch them.

Security

We discovered that the electric fence is not just to keep animals out and people in, it is also to keep people out at night. There are movement sensors in case anyone tries to cross the river with bad intentions. They risk Hippos and Crocs and Bilharzia, which is a water parasite associated with snails and which attacks the blood stream causing organ damage, but with a 60% unemployment rate the risk is sometimes taken.

Tomorrow we fly to Capetown where “ethansafricanadventure” will continue.

Internet Access

For our first night in Johannesburg the internet was fast and free. And since I worked off the laptop battery I didn’t know what was in store.
At Kruger Park Lodge the internet is neither fast nor free, nor reliable, so it has been a challenge at times. For example, the Pumbaa, Zazu and Ed segment took me about 15 minutes to upload (that’s after putting the dialogue into Word first so that internet time wasn’t wasted). When all was ready I hit “Publish Post” but it was then kidnapped by Microsoft Explorer and is now circling in the ether, probably above China. Nothing. So, because I so enjoyed that particular post (Disclaimer: Contrary to public opinion, Ed the Hyena is not modeled after Ed Strecker, although……. It is instead an inside joke for my Fishguts friends.) I once again copied and pasted and uploaded, this time successfully. Another 15 minutes, at 50 Rand per hour (after the banks take their cut, it works out to about $8 Cdn per hour) and we were in business. This current post is finishing up my 6th hour of access so you see where I am coming from. Add to that the problems we had plugging in – the items labeled A,B,C,D and E were the adaptors we brought from home that didn’t work. F is one that I bought that also didn’t work, even after I “modified” it. The one labeled G works if plugged into H which we borrowed from the Lodge (50 Rand deposit).
In our villa there are no spare receptacles. If you want to plug something in, something else must come out. The other pic shows me plugging in our cord. Tuesday night I tried to complete this operation while sitting on the bench. Strained my back, so that today I am walking like an old man (“like” an old man, not “as” an old man) and spectating while Mardi and Ethan golf once again. But, I am not bitter Maurice. Your idea for the blog was a good one; however, you may yet end up as a Disney character.

Pumbaa, Zazu and Ed

Pumbaa the Warthog, Zazu the Yellow Hornbill and Ed the silly Hyena were all here. Zazu wouldn't sit still long enough for a good picture and Ed wouldn't give us a closeup (Ed was being disruptive as only Ed can be) but Pumbaa was just great.

A Hard Day's Work

When Lions are in breeding mode, they couple every 20 to 30 minutes. These were very modest and performed that act behind the bushes, out of our sight. We did hear some moans and groans though!

Ground Hornbill

The Ground Hornbill is under threat. They nest in old trees and the Elephants, whose 13,000 plus population is more than double what Kruger can sustainably support, are slowly stripping the bark off or pushing over their nesting sites. Mardi was impressed with their very ladylike steps.

Final Safari

Today’s safari started out well. We added a Hyena (pronounced “eye-heena” by all the South African guides), Baboons, monkeys, and Bushbucks to our list. Also saw a pair of Lions in breeding mode, lots of Giraffes, a journey of whom were being stalked by something, Elephants, Kudus and Impalas. But by 10 a.m. the fun was over – most of the animals had retired for siesta.