Our Great African Adventure continued and a meeting with Brians long lost cousin

Our Exodus final night meal

Exodus trip: day 19 part 2

An enjoyable ‘last supper’ at Marco’s African Place involving a sampling of ostrich, kudu and springbok, and some music and dancing that we both watched and took part in rounded off a thoroughly enjoyable trip. Hugs goodbye to Peter and Ester who were off birding early the next morning and a last drink with Chantel, Alison, Ali and Andy.

All on the dance floor letting our hair down

Jackie & Pauline in Cape Town with the table cloth on table mountain 

The Garden Route: day 1

Farewell to everyone before back in the bus for the last time. Steven was dropping us at the airport after dropping our bags at the apartment we were staying at with mum.

We managed to sort out the hire car before the flight landed, early, but we still had to wait about an hour, but that was ok. A busy drive into town, not as bad as we were expecting, though I wouldn’t have wanted to drive it. Managed to check in early, how then to keep mum awake...?

Not a whale tail but a seal tail in Cape Town harbour

We pottered to the watershed, a large, though expensive, craft outlet on the edge of the waterfront. Just as well she didn’t have any money on her... and stopped for food at the Ferrymans, Chantel’s waterfront recommendation.

The Garden Route: day 2

After a good nights sleep for all we headed off down the point, driving past a big pod of dolphins. First stop, Circe boat tours to get

She knows this is wrong, but if she can stroke a sea lion, she will!

the seal boat out to see the seals. What a different trip from 3 days previously, a little swell, but sun and no rain, the seals were just as cute though. The journey back was spent talking to the group of South Koreans who couldn’t get over the resemblance between mother and I. We thought we’d just finished a big trip, they seem to have done eight countries in their fortnight!

Rather than go down the point to the Cape of Good Hope we crossed to Boulders Beach for early penguin viewing. This time though rather than see expensive

On the seal boat with the South Koreans

penguins surrounded by hundreds of people which I’d hated we just went onto the beach which was a lovely experience in itself. Lots of families enjoying a Saturday out with a number of penguins resting on a rock behind a string. They could come and go as they pleased so we watched them like torpedoes in the water before three came up the beach, parting the visitors like Moses, before heading up the beach into the undergrowth.

Simon’s Town for lunch, a visit to Able Seaman Just Nuisance and

Seal island, a lot better weather than on our last visit

the standby diver to round it all off. Just Nuisance was a Great Dane who regularly ‘adopted’ sailors and followed them onto the train, on which they got free travel. This irritated the rail company who kept throwing him off. Once he was an official navy dog however he was able to use the trains at will!

Load shedding has started up again, so the power went off at 14.00, we’d just eaten so we were ok, except that the robots, or traffic

Hout Bay on a lovely clear day

lights to us, weren’t working. This made the journey a little more exciting! We were also travelling via Plumstead as this was the last known address for Brian’s Uncle Bill and Aunt Doreen, so just on the off chance..... It was a big ask, Bill was long dead and Doreen would have been in her 90’s. Of their 4 children, Brian’s cousins,

Here's Pauline paddling at Boulders Beach with a penguin in the background

who he’d never met, he knew one had died, thought one lived in Scotland so what of the others? It was a Saturday, so we were pleased to see cars on the drive, he rang the buzzer and someone answered, not a relation but a tenant of Martin Davis, Brian’s cousin, who still owns the property. Furnished with a phone number we returned to Cape Town. A quick phone call and Brian was speaking to Michele, Martin’s wife. A long explanation and “I’ll get him to call you back when he gets in.” This was not long and we had a plan to meet up at a vineyard in Franschhoek where we were headed for the next day!

They swam about for a while....

The Garden Route: day 3

Up and out, full of excitement we headed to Franschhoek, we were a little early but by the time we’d got caught up in a cycle race timing was good. To
Leopards leap vineyard, it was in the Lonely Planet and we liked the name, to be shortly joined by Martin and Michele. We tasted some wine, though nobody could really be bothered and moved on, somewhere else for lunch, chat and more chat. They wanted to visit the gin distillery to buy some glasses, and for Michele to try a

Then paddled ashore....

gin. We dropped the car at the B&B and went with them. Martin doesn’t drink, and Brian does... we tried some gin and a ‘moonshine’ that smelled and tasted like apple pie, and chatted some more! What a lovely, and unexpected, day.

The Garden Route: day 4

Today, a scenic drive to Gansbaai, via the coast and Betty’s Bay. The high pass over the mountains was spectacular, the scenery stunning. Promised baboons however were not in evidence. I’d long given up hope, and we were just driving into a small town as I said “we’ll

Had a brief look at these strange humans...

see some somewhere” and there they were, tick. Betty’s Bay for penguins again. It was still so much nicer than Boulders beach despite being 12.00 and much busier. We happily looked for an hour and a half... Coffee and cake, and drive to Gansbaai via a tiny detour to where we had seen zebra (probably farmed) on our journey east. It only took 5 minutes and it’s not ‘normal’

Driving to the coast and the world kept vanishing a low, localised coastal/sea mist. Not ideal for our sea safari cruise! We checked in

Walked straight past us....

and rang about the boat trip. It’s still going ahead, they said so we walked down to the harbour. I love a boat, and this one included cheese and wine, but sadly not many animals. We saw seals and I saw the fin of a Brydes whale, or so I was told, could have been a dolphin or anything, but I was one of three to see it, so I was happy. The wine had flowed and humour was good. We’d just decided not to bother with dinner but go to the B&B, just as well really, load shedding had just turned off the power, 20.00-22.00, quick shower and bed then!

And then on up the beach

The Garden Route: day 5

A walk along the coastal path was aborted, the path wasn’t good and the temperature was in the 30’s, not the predicted 24. We went to areserve of indigenous forest instead, which was comfortable, just, until the mossies started biting. It was an interesting walk through.

We stopped at the penguin rehabilitation centre where they

Jackie with the statue of Able Seaman Just Nuisance 

had 13 birds, 3 of which will be released when they have moulted. Not bad as they had 134 not so long ago!

The mist has come down so I am comfortably writing this in a little summer house with Ninja, the black cat, on my lap. We’ll post and have something to eat, this cooked breakfasts are really throwing us so we are trying for a 4 o clock ‘lunner’

Pauline & Jackie at the Standby Diver Statue at Simon Town. Our skiing friend Simon used to be a navy diver and knew this area well as several of his colleagues trained here to be Standby Divers

Here's the poster telling us all about the importance of a standby diver and how they are always there to rescue anyone in trouble in the sea

On to Plumstead in Cape Town and this was the house that my Uncle Bill and Aunt Doreen lived with their four children, Christopher, Lindsay, Sean and Martin from when I was 1 year old. I met Uncle Bill and Aunt Doreen only a couple of times in my life when they visited the UK but never met any of my cousins. I called in here to find that cousin Martin still owns the house but rents it out. The renters gave me his phone number. I phoned the number, spoke to his wife Michele first and then Martin phoned me back and I spoke to one of my distant cousins for the first time in my life...

The next day we met up in Franschhoek for lunch, a good chat and catch up on our families and got to know one another. 

It was a fabulous day and I'm so pleased to have at last caught up with this lost side of my family. We will keep in touch! LtoR: Jackie, Pauline, me, Martin, Michele

On to Bettys Bay and more African penguins floating about. You wouldn't believe it by they are endangered

Here's a penguin egg we saw in a nest. We have been told that they can be left unattended for up to 24 hours so we hope mum penguin will be back

Saw this little lizzard at Bettys Bay, he looks quite fierce

Jackie found this painted stone by a bench at Bettys Bay...

With this message on the back

Out on our sunset boat trip

We didn't see much sea life but it was a very pleasant evening

Out on our forest walk in Gansbaai today

Jackie with Ninja cat in our hotel today

This is the lighthouse at Danger Point near Gansbaai. It was built to protect shipping from Birkenhead Rock, a shallow reef that is covered at high tide. A couple of interesting facts about it: 1. it is the only octagonal lighthouse and, 2. it was built following the sinking of the HMS Birkenhead on the rocks on 26th February 1852. In those days these waters were uncharted and the crew didn't spot the rocks. It was a troopship carrying mainly reinforcements for the Eighth Frontier war in the eastern Cape and, of 638 people on board, only 193 survived, including all the women and children. There were insufficient lifeboats onboard so it was instructed that all women and children should be evacuated first, setting a precedent that is still used today. The hundreds of troops on deck could only watch as the boats pulled away and the officers instructed the troops to stand fast so that the boats would not be swamped by desperate swimmers. Together the troops awaited their fate with dignity and courage and their heroism became legendary