Penguins and The Flagship

BOULDER BEACH AND THE FLAGSHIP

Today we hired our second Uber taxi and went out to Boulder Beach in Simons Town. This is home to a resident colony of "jackass penguins".  We started off by walking down the boardwalk to the beach to view the Penguins from the observation deck.

There were hundreds of them, some laying in their nests on the beach, others were fishing and some were just hanging out. It was very cool to watch them. In order for them to get out of the ocean they must body surf in on a wave until they hit the sand and can walk on their short little legs.  They go out to fish in groups and then return at the same time. Quite entertaining to watch.

This was Joyce's highlight as she has always wanted to see penguins. They did not disappoint and she had a big smile on her face all day!

We were able to get down to the beach a little further down and saw them up close. We stuck our feet in the water but not for very long as the water was freezing. No swimming in this ocean!

The people of South Africa are very friendly and helpful. Anyone we ask for help or information is more than willing to assist us. We were not sure how to get to place we were having lunch or whether or not we could walk there or needed another cab so we stopped by the ocean side restaurant and they were more than willing to call a cab for us

The Flagship was a special treat. It is a lunch destination on the cape peninsula  set up as an interactive chef's table with chef Duncan. Definitely a bucket list item for any foodie. It is a 5 course semi paired seafood and wine experience. When we arrived we were greeted with a glass of bubbly and invited to go dangle our feet in the pool which had a stunning view of the bay.

 After we cooled off we went back upstairs to meet the other guests. They were a group of 6 Young Germans. Duncan arrived at the table to refresh our glasses and explain to us what lunch was all about. In short we were guests in his home, relax, enjoy the food, the company, and drink wine.  Oh yes and no peeing in the pool!

  He did not disappoint, everything was top notch and very yummy.  There was even a brandy bar  and library in the bathroom!

  After 5 courses and several glasses of wine Duncan called cabs and we came back to the apartment. No dinner required just a walk and a bottle of red.

 It was a wonderful way to spend the day, great friends and excellent wine and food with the added bonus of penguins!

Wine touring

SOUTH AFRICAN WINE TOURING!

South Africa has some amazing wines!  We chose a tour company called Cape Fusion and our guide Ryan was a lot of fun. He was very easy going and altered the tour based on the things we liked. Our first afternoon was spent in the Constantia wine region not far from Cape Town.

 We visited four wineries, Starting with lunch at  Constantia  Glen which consisted of a cheese platter and a meat charcuterie with wonderful baguettes and a flight of different wines.  We purchased two reds, not sure if they will make it home or not.







Next was High Constantia which was a wonderful small family estate winery who specializes in champagne.








Our host was the wine makers wife, she provided us with the usual glass of several different reds and was easy to talk with as we sat on the terrace over looking a convent in the background. Needless to say we bought more wine!

We ended the day at Steenberg which was completely different from High Constantia in that it was very contemporary.  The tasting size is very generous in South Africa so a 'lie down' was in order after our tour today.

 After our lie down we headed out to a great little pub 'Tigers Milk' on Long street before calling it a day. Our Airbnb apartment is located in a very central location between long and Bree street which is where all the pubs and restaurants are. You can even take your wine home with you if you don't finish the bottle.  Funny thing, that never happened.

Our second day with Ryan was in the Stallenbach wine region.

                       





Today we started at Fairview for a cheese and wine pairing. The wine tasting room was stunning as was the cheese and wine.  It was only about 10 in the morning so Bill was struggling with wine but enjoyed the cheese.

Bill had been chatting with Ryan on the sly and arranged a quick detour into a huge car museum so the Brian could enjoy his passion for a few minutes. Pretty cool to see a diverse collection of cars all owned by one family, something like 340 cars from model T to Formula 1 cars, we only saw 80 but were they ever beauties.

 Our lunch was booked at Delaire Graaf restaurant located on a beautiful property over looking the valley. The sommelier recommended a pinotage that was the best I've tasted yet and the food as well as the presentation were amazing.

Then it was off to Rust en Vrede which is a medium sized family owned winery.  It was a lovely farm located in the middle of no where so it was very peaceful. (that is until we arrived)!

Ryan had decided he wanted to take us to one last winery called Meerlust before we called it a day.  Meerlust has been making wine for 8 generations and specializes in reds. We made it just before closing and were very happy we did.  The reds were amazing.  We purchased 2 more bottles to take home. Much to my surprise SA Merlot is one of my favourites. Hopefully they make it home in our backpacks!

Wow what a day!  South African wine country is very similar to that of our Okanagan but they definitely know how to make red wine.  Ryan was a great tour guide and fun to hang out with.  We won't see him for a few days as our next tour is not until Monday.  We tried to book a walking/eating tour with him but he was booked.

We decided to check out the harbour at V&A waterfront which is a short cab ride from the apartment. We had never tried Uber taxi so thought I would give it a try.  I downloaded the app and ordered the ride and within 2 min the driver was here and we were on our way. It is all charged through the credit card on file so no cash changes hands. Worked like a charm.  We had a tasty seafood dinner at the harbour house restaurant

Travel days

Our first day of our adventure is underway but we had a few minor set backs. We arrived at the airport early thinking we would start off with a nice breakfast before our day of travel to Frankfurt. However when we unloaded our bags we were short a backpack so Alex and Brian drove back to the house to retrieve it. No biggy we still had 1.5 hours to spare. Next was security, everyone made it through except me. Something in my back was a concern so they completely emptied it rescanned it and search it again before they determined it was my jewelry bag at the bottom of the pack that was the issue. Phew made it through without being detained!  No time for breakfast now but at least we were going to make our flight to Vancouver, or so we thought!  The incoming plane could not land due to fog so our flight was delayed. This put our connection in jeopardy so thankfully air canada came though and put us on their next flight in 20 min and we made our connection. So we are good to go, our 3 bleeps are done so it should be clear sailing for the rest of our trip. Lufthansa air is very accommodating, Brian was smooshing with the flight attendant and he served us numerous rounds of drinks including the first class wine in real wine glasses, yippee.  He also told us we were his favourites and gave us business class comfort kits which included travel socks,  lip chap, hand lotion, tooth brush and paste (too bad Brian had to buy one in Kelowna
Airport because he packed his in the bag that was checked to Cape Town),and an eye patch. We arrived in Frankfurt in a bank of fog and found our shuttle to our day room hotel so we could catch some zzz’s however our room was not ready so we headed to the bar for a night cap. It was 9am in Frankfurt on Sunday morning but the lovely young lady served us anyway. Got to love Europe!
After a very stiff vodka and orange juice we headed to our rooms. We had decided to catch the shuttle back at 4:30 so we set out alarm and went to bed.  Well…. Setting an alarm after travelling for 12 hours and a morning/night cape proved a little difficult. Bill and I missed the first shuttle but luckily Joyce called us and we made the next one. Arrived in Frankfurt airport  and I experienced the most thorough body search ever.  German custom officers are very frisky!  Phew made it though and found a place for dinner. (Our body's thought it was morning but it was actually 6pm.)We couldn't decide which sausage to try so ordered a shared platter of 5 different sausages, beers and wine.  Breakfast of champions.   We then found our departure gate and a bar for a second round before we embarked on our next 11 hour flight to Johannesburg with South African air.  This flight went smoothly and we were able to get about 4 hours of sleep, breezed though immigration and security and are now on our final leg to Cape Town.  Other than a few minor glitches at the beginning the 48 hours of travel have been worth it. Free bar service helps!

South Africa, Zimbabwe - The Adventure Continues

AFRICA HERE WE COME!

Well our next adventure is planned, booked and we are ready to go. Joyce and Brian are joining us for our adventure in Africa!  We leave January 23, 2016 on a two day flight into Cape Town where we are spending a week tasting South African wine, sightseeing, checking out a secret supper club, a cooking class, a township tour and the boys are doing a shark dive while Joyce and I do some shopping.

We then join our G Adventure tour for 13 days as we travel down the cape point, then fly to Joburg and embark on a 7 day Safari through Kruger National Park.  Then we fly to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls and take a few days to relax before coming home.

We are all super excited and hope to sample some great wine, authentic South African food and see the Big 5 on the safari.  

Victoria Falls is one of the greatest attractions in Africa and one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world, Victoria Falls is located on the Zambezi River, the fourth largest river in Africa, which is also defining the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Victoria Falls is the only waterfall in the world with a length of more than a kilometer and a height of more than hundred meters. It is also considered to be the largest fall in the world.

The noise of Victoria Falls can be heard from a distance of 40 kilometers, while the spray and mist from the falling water is rising to a height of over 400 meters and can be seen from a distance of 50 kilometers. No wonder that the local tribes used to call the waterfall Mosi-o-Tunya “The smoke that thunders”.