Simon’s Town
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4/17/16
This cottage is every bit adorable! White wood, beautiful rugs in pinks and reds, comfy furniture, good sheets, a view, beautiful beach, coffee, and nice big windows. Yesterday (see South Africa part 7) we took our time at The Vineyard and walked around the grounds and had a giant tasty breakfast before hiking up Table Mountain via Nursery Ravine. It felt really good to hike and climb and do some sweating that was conjured by us rather than just self-drive safari melting. We started at the Kirstenbocsh Botanical Gardens and hiked through the Protea section and into Skeleton Gorge, then up Nursery Ravine. It was a steep climb through the dense and dark forest and then over rocks all the way to the top. We saw sundews, so many Protea species, a Peregrine falcon, a Jackal buzzard, lichens that were maroon, orange and sea-foam green, and rock that had been worn and sharpened from wind and rain.
More later, we are going to go check out the penguins now. 

Rusks! and rooibos and a pedicure I couldn't bear to take off because the polish was from mom and I needed to take her on the journey. 

penguin postures

​4/18/16
We had an amazing sleep that lasted from 8:45pm till somewhere around 7am! When we did finally wake up there was an amazing sunrise out the front window. The layers were: dark blue sky, orange, navy blue mountains, and Indian Ocean. I am feeling frantic in a way that I only feel when I really love and feel comfortable in a place. I can’t decide where to look or what to look at when there are too many beautiful things with spatial and temporal overlap.
 
Yesterday, we had some breakfast and coffee and then walked down to the beach and then over to Boulder’s Beach to check out the African Penguins. We stopped at a little store to ask if they sold beer in the town. Eliot emerged from the store with no beer, but with some amazing savory pastries instead. We ate those tasty treats en route to the penguins who were sunning, swimming, stretching, and hanging out on their bellies. We kicked ourselves for not having our swimsuits, so we went back to retrieve them and spent some time at Boulder’s Beach. Then, we went out to Cape Point to check out the National Park and see where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic. As you might imagine, there was an abundance of wind. 

Bougainvillea and that time a triangle came between us

Kalk Bay

Cape Town and the Karoo Scrub

Upon our arrival to the craziness of city life in Cape Town, we had wifi at our amazing hotel, so....no writing for a bit. We stayed close to the Kristenbosch Botanical Gardens and spent quite a bit of time there birding and plant watching and hiking. 

We accomplished most things on our to do list. 

4/16/16
Journal: 
Driving east and a little north of Cape Town to bird the dry hot thorny bush scrub. Nothing says honeymoon like all of those things put together! We had a bit of a rough time navigating the traffic of CT this morning, but once we emerged on the other side, there were mountains, mist, and after a long tunnel through a mountain, we were shot out on the other much drier side. Wine country...and Karoo scrub country. 
​An aside: 
Last night we at burgers, drank Guinness and appetizered on chicken livers! Yum.

We spent some lovely time exploring the Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve. The little towns nearby were great too, but of course, I didn't get photos. The scene really reminded me of the Australian outback. If you want to see some photos of the towns in the area, check this out!

That is me pointing at my husband on hour 6 of our day in 95F heat remembering the promise that we would, in fact, make it to the wineries before sundown. 

And....we were off! 

We made it to the only one that was still open, Mont Rochelle, but one was plenty! We did not see Richard Branson though. 

The botanical garden and...a hotel robe!!!

Husband looking lovingly at a protea of some sort. 

My love for this guy and rusks runs deep!

Best breakfast ever. Lumberjack appetite! 

Dress code, you say? I say, dazzle/distract them with power-clashing!