Well here I am in Outdshoorn. Ostrich capital of South Africa - can't wait for that Ostrich egg at breakfast - they tell me one ozzie egg is worth 20 hens eggs!! As you would have gathered from the photos the first days were in Cape Town. I met Yvonne as soon a i got off the plane - an English PHD student studying Human rights law - she said she was here for business - but like everyone I meet business trips to SA are always sandwiched between two healthy chunks of fun!! So Yvonne being the perfect street smart, intelligent travelling companion gave me the opportunity to get about Cape town with good company and minus the constant paranoia of you can't go anywhere alone!! We headed off to the cape of good hope with a tour company for a day and as you can see from the pictures we met seals and penguins, cycled through national parks (well rolled down hill) and took a couple of hikes up to the Cape of Good Hope light house which proved to be useless in the old days as it was constantly engulfed by cloud!!
The moment of excitement that day was when we went ot a reserve for lunch. Baboons are really ferocious here in their quest for food. Before we had our lunch the guide was seen doing a 100m dash to chase off mischevious monkeys with stones and then he sat vigil with a sling shot whilst we ate. Can't say that another couple received the same level of security - they hopped out of their car with a small chil and food remaining inside with the door open - the waiting baboon didn't need a second chance - it was in like flyn - the poor parents stirred into a whirl wind of panic to retrieve their child. And groan of the day goes to a young American girl who, on seeing an ostrich walking along the road at the beach said - now I know I ma not in Kansas anymore - enough to make even her fellow country folk groan!!
The bar at the backpackers with its log fire and good food, and crappy wine sold by the bucket started to create problems for me when I met the beautiful young, but wicked, multi-lingual Hayley (calm down guys - way too young for any of you!!!) But not too young for my suave French man who I met on the plane - let the match making begin!!) Anyway - Hayley became a force for evil when we got into a bucket of wine drinking competition and caused me great difficulty in trying to navigate my way through the meter wide corridor in a straight line!! Hayley was yet another one on a shonky business trip!! English but living in Germany she and her colleague spent more time tripping around Cape Town than Jo burg where there is a definite pattern!!
Ayway Table Mt photos and tales of my trip from Hermanus (Whale watching capital to here) to follow. However, for now the host at the back pack has told me off for getting square eyes and told me I need ot be in the bar instead!! So take care all....look forward to more adventures soon
