Dec 30 - Happenings

We've used the last few days to provision, as we anticipate departure to Cape Town in about a week's time, weather permitting. The nearby Longbeach Mall (towards Sunnydale) has a Pick N Pay, Woolworths and Fruit & Veggie store, and we've found them all well stocked. Of note for cruisers without a car, Pick N Pay will also deliver. We've also visited with other newly arrived cruisers, enjoyed a braai at a friend's house, celebrated the 70th birthday of a Swedish solo sailor friend, (Swerke) and Matt completed the seventh coat of Captain's 1015 varnish on the handrails. The biennial Governor's Cup Race departed on the 27th. It goes from here to St. Helena, and this year saw 17 participants beating across the starting line in 25-35 knots on the nose....Sue's posted another photo album - enjoy!
Pic: Zoe (sv Gromit) baked a delicious choclate cake we all enjoyed. We brought the ice cream!

Dec 25 - Merry Christmas!

The weather has been beautiful for the past two weeks, until today. Wind and rain...Cape Town's way of reminding everyone of snow and cold. A bunch of cruisers planned a braai (BBQ for those who aren't familiar with the term), and we dodged the rain drops while grilling, ate at picnic tables under a covered area, and enjoyed a convivial gathering of folks from South Africa, Canada, Great Britain, Switzerland, Sweden, and the USA. A few land travelers from Alaska and California topped off the group, and we celebrated Christmas in grand style, with good food and company, music, and fireworks as well. A very Merry Christmas to all!
Pic: The first arrivals: Matt, Sue, Verena (sv Sangoma), Swerke (sv Nanoq), and Toby (sv Sangoma).

Dec 23 - Table Mountain

Actually, this adventure began yesterday when we drove to Table Mountain, thinking we would take the cable car up to the top and hike around a bit. Wrong. There had to be two million people waiting in line at 1400, and the wait was estimated to be about 3 hours. Color us gone. We were advised to purchase tickets online, show up early, and the lines would be manageable. So, this morning, we departed at 0700, arrived at Table Mountain at 0750, and, indeed, found the waiting much more to our liking. One can hike up and or down Table Mountain. Right. We took the cable car both ways and hiked for hours, but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. The ride up didn't take long, the bottom of the circular car rotates, and everyone gets a chance to take pictures and marvel at the scenery. Fortunately, the weather cooperated, and we found ourselves following one of many paths atop the mountain. Two hours later, we found ourselves following just one path atop the mountain; we had missed our turnoff and ended up hiking, one might say, just a wee bit more than we had planned. No water, no snacks...nothing except rocks and fantastic scenery. Our hike took us past MacLear's Beacon, at a height of 1085 meters. We returned down the mountain at about 1200, all of us agreeing that it was a wonderful experience and well worth the admission price. For lunch, we continued down the hill to Rafiki's, a local spot for food and libation, and had good food at good prices. We stopped off at the Longbeach Mall to pick up a few items, and returned to Infini a bit tired but ready for more adventures. A bit of history here. Table Mountain is alleged to be at least six times older than the Himalayas. From an informational brochure handed out on the mountain, to date more than 23 million people have taken the cable car ride. Each car can carry 65 people, and has a load carrying capacity of 5200 kg. About 800 people an hour ride the cars! The rotating cars (as mentioned above) are also in use in Switzerland and Palm Springs, USA. The aforementioned obviously facts for your next trivia games....
Pic: The clouds form and dissipate quickly. Matt & Sue with, from left to right, Lion's Head, Signal Hill, Cape Town and the Harbor behind them.

Dec 18 - OCC (Ocean Cruising Club) gathering

The crews of 8 visiting yachts (Gryphon II, Hokule’a, Infini, Kind of Blue, Kite, Mantra, Solace and Tahina), as well as visiting OCC Officials and Port Officers had a lovely day of wine tasting and camaraderie outside Cape Town, South Africa. First stop was the Glen Constantia vineyard, where 23 of us gathered to meet, have a cuppa, and learn a bit about the available vintages from this winery. After, lunch was down the road at the Jonkershuis Restaurant on the Groot Constantia estate. This is South Africa’s oldest wine producing vineyard, over 300 years old, and the lunch and accompanying wines were exceptional. The museums on the property explained the origins of the vineyard, as well as informing us that the Kings of Prussia and France, as well as Napoleon Bonaparte ordered their wines from here! After lunch, there was another tasting at the Groot Constantia, then it was back to the YC. Thank you Robert, Jenny and John for making this wonderful day happen!

Dec 13 - Stellenbosch

Breakfast was at The Rambling Rose country kitchen and deli in Montagu; great coffee there. By 10:00 we were in Robertson, just in time for the first tasting at the Robertson Winery (+++). A further short drive away is the town of Stellenbosch, the heart of wine country, where we checked into the Ryneveld Lodge, nearby the downtown area. In the early afternoon, we drove a short distance out of town to go exploring a few more wineries. Lest anyone think the crew of Infini are all unmitigated drunkards, as I recently explained in an email to a friend of ours, South Africa is world renown for their wines, and we considered it our civic duty to go wine tasting to at least a few of the many hundreds of wineries in the area :). I think you could spend a verrry looong time trying to visit the many wineries here, as well as put a serious dent in your pocketbook. For our last visits, we chose to go to the Beyerskloof (+++), Delheim, and Tokara (++) wineries, and our wine cellar aboard is now well stocked. Later, we walked around town and found a nice restaurant for dinner; there are dozens of them, and planned for our return to Simon's Town tomorrow; our walkabout is coming to an end! Not a moment too soon; the roads are more congested and booking a hotel room is more difficult, as well as more expensive, as it is now officially the high season for tourists and most folks are on holiday.

Dec 12 - Montagu

Part of the Garden Route is Rte 62, and going off that road one can go thru Barrydale to get to Montagu, our destination for the evening. We stopped at the Barrydale Hotel, well known for their very good food, and had a delicious lunch. Nearby is Hardys Memories of Africa. Hardy explained that he used to be a trader in African art and curios and for many years had a shop in Cape Town. His shop in Barrydale is more like a museum, and Hardy is encyclopedic in his knowledge. We thoroughly enjoyed learning about many of the thousands of pieces of art found there, many of them rare pieces not found anywhere except in museums, but all for sale in his shop. Sounds like a sales pitch, but, believe me, it's a unique experience and Hardy seemed willing enough to share and answer all our questions. We bought a large wooden bowl, not anything that unusual, but priced very well and a beautiful piece. You can see Hardys at www.memories-of-africa.myshopify.com. Our lodging in Montagu was at the Somerset Lodge, and David was quite the congenial host. In the late afternoon we drove the short distance to Ashton, where we visited the Van Loveren (+++) and Viljoensdrift (++) wineries; wine tasting in most wineries takes place until 5:00 PM. Thereafter, a quiet night in a comfortable bed; what else could we ask for?
Pic: The drive was scenic our whole trip!

Dec 10 & 11 - Knysna & Tsitsikamma (Bungy jumping)

We had to bypass Knysna heading west to Simon's Town as the weather conditions wouldn't allow entry thru the narrow channel bordered by the hills east and west called "the Heads." There have been many shipwrecks here while attempting to navigate the shoals in less than optimal weather, so close attention to navigation (and weather) is paramount. We chose the easier route; promising ourselves we'd come back and visit Knysna by car. The town is a busy one with lots of tourists, and we drove to see the Heads yesterday (it was a very calm day) and did some sight-seeing around the waterfront. We stopped at the Knysna Yacht Club for lunch and enjoyed the local hospitality. We also met up with Dave & Marion of sv Kilkea II who are staying at the club docks while they have some alternator repairs done. Our reservations for these two days are at the Lagoon Lodge, just off the main drag, with a balcony view of the water but far away from the crowds. This morning we drove about an hour to the Bloukrans Bridge near Tsitsikamma so Matt could bungy jump with the folks from Face Adrenalin. The Bloukrans River valley bridge is the highest bridge in Africa, and the bungy jump of 216 meters is said to be the highest bungy jump from a bridge in the world. Matt strapped on one of his two Go-Pro cameras, held on to his other one, and Sue and I each had cameras. Face Adrenalin also filmed and took still pictures, so Matt has abundant memories of a world class jump. Well done! After lunch at the Lookout Restaurant on the beach in Plattenberg Bay, we returned to our lodge, whereupon Matt decided to go kite boarding as the winds are up and there were five other kiters using a nearby beach. Fun and games (and abundant energy) here....

Dec 8 & 9 - Wilderness and Mossel Bay

Want to see one of the oldest trees in Africa? It's located in the Wilderness National Park and is about 800 years old. What about a forest that looks like the continent of Africa? Yep, that's also in Wilderness and is called the Map of Africa, near Hoekwil, just off the N2. A river flowing around a hill outlines the forest and it appears just like a map of Africa. Wilderness is about 7 miles from George, on the N2 highway towards Knysna. Heading onwards, we found Mossel Bay a very mellow place. Everyone we met was incredibly friendly, and strangers wanted to know where we were from, how our travels were going, and gave us a bit of information about their home town. We walked the Cape Saint Blaize Trail under and around the lighthouse and marveled at the scenery. The local churches and museums were well kept up and added a bit of historical perspective. While we were browsing thru a number of antique and crafts shops, Matt booked to see the great white sharks with White Shark Africa, saw 5 great whites, took a bunch of videos, and spent about an hour in the water in the cage ($110 USD PP, food included!). There are lots of restaurants and bars in town for food and libations. We stayed at Asgard Valhalla Guest House (27 44 691 1075) overlooking the bay. It's a 130 year old house converted to a B & B; funky but very mellow. The folks there couldn't have been nicer, and the daily breakfast was excellent. On the way out of town, we stopped at one of the artist cooperatives (can't recall the name... but it's next door to the White Shark Africa shop) met the proprietor, Hein, and bought some beautiful gifts at very good prices. Overall, just really good vibes in Mossel Bay.
Pic: Looking back at the light house and where we started our hike at Cape St. Blaize.