DAY #5 (July 3) - Elephants!!!

After one of those nights of sleep where you know you have to wake up early and are afraid to sleep through the alarm clock so you don't really sleep at all, I was relieved to see the clock finally hit 4:15am so we could get up and be on our way to the airport. We had checked out and packed the night before, so we just woke up, threw on some clothes and set off to return the rental car and go check in for our nest set of flights. I have to admit, after four days of driving on the opposite side of the road, I did not hide my enthusiasm in returning our Chevy Cruz. No more driving the rest of the trip...no accidents...WOOHOO!

Our 6:15am flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg was on time, but unfortunately our connecting flight from Jo'Burg to the small Hoedspruit airport near Kruger National Park was delayed. We were scheduled to have a two hour layover, but the flight was delayed another 2 hours, so we didn't end up taking off until close to 12:00pm. Spending time in an airport for longer than expected is never fun, but we can look back on it now and breathe a sigh of relief that this flight was the only one that was significantly delayed for our entire trip. Luckily the flight was very short (45 minutes), and before we knew it, we were landing on a deserted landing strip, with random animals running around just off the airport road.

We walked off the plane (the only one at the airport) on the runway, and were greeted by a warm breeze in our face, with temperatures somewhere in the high-80's. On our way to pick up our luggage, we saw a shuttle driver with a sign that read "Gomo Gomo", the name of our lodge. Our driver, Riann (pronounced REE-on), was actually one of the three main guides at the Gomo Gomo Game Lodge, and he had driven from the lodge to pick us up and bring us back to the lodge. After insisting he take the luggage ("You're on vacation now," he said), we jumped into an old beater van and made our way down the two-lane road through Kruger National Park en route to the lodge. The drive took about 40 minutes, and we could not have cared it it lasted two hours, because we were surrounded by thick trees and plants ("the bush") and every 5-10 minutes we would have a new animal sighting. As we got excited for each animal we saw (mainly birds and impalas), Riann would tell us what it was and a little bit about it. Fortunately for us, he didn't need to explain much when we saw zebras on the side of the road! As soon as we saw those guys, Julie suffered from complete sensory-overload, and didn't shake a smile off her face until we left three days later.

We pulled up to the lodge right around 2:00pm, and as soon as set foot inside, the smirks we gave each other said it all..."Yep, this is what we're talkin' about!" The lodge had a rustic feeling to it, with brick walls and thatched roofs enclosing the main lounge and dining area. Directly ahead of us were large glass walls and sliding doors that led out to the observing deck that overlooked a large watering hole. There were lounge chairs and other comfortable chair surrounding the deck facing the water, where current guests were seated and looking at the different animals coming to feed at the site. I immediately feel in love with this deck, and knew I would be spending a ton of time with my camera and binoculars scanning the area for all sorts of wildlife. As we took in the view, another guide named H.J. came out and brought us a fruit punch drink to welcome us. He told us we were just in time for lunch, and that afterward we would go over the paperwork and he would take us to our chalet.

For my full review of Gomo Gomo, click here for the review I posted on TripAdvisor.

 The view back at the lodge from the observing deck

 

View from the lodge doors

 Lounge area overlooking the watering hole

 

The dining area

After a quick lunch with the other guests (there were 16 people in the entire place), H.J. led us down a dirt path to our completely isolated chalet surrounded by trees and plants. The room was perfectly sized, with an incredibly large bathroom, and most importantly, a deck that looked out into the trees. Our bed had a beautiful white mosquito net draped down over it (for show only, we never needed it), and we had a cool thatched roof as well. The accommodations were perfect. H.J. told us we had about an hour before the evening drive started, so we freshened up a bit and got our cameras and binoculars ready for our first excursion in the bush!

*SIDE NOTE* - It was very tough for me to decide how much to post about each game drive, as we saw countless animals, many of which we saw multiple times. I didn't want to say, "And then we saw a lion, And then we saw a rhino" (which I could easily do). Regardless of what I type, it will not do justice to the incredible sights and sounds we were exposed to during the six game drives we enjoyed over our three days at Gomo Gomo. So I will do my best just to give you unique highlights of each drive, while also letting you know what animals we saw. Just know there is plenty more where this came from if you want more stories.

When it was time to head out on the game drive (3:30pm), we all hopped into the topless Land Rover, equipped with three rows of seats (3 seats across), with each row being higher than the one in front of it. We found out that H.J. would be our driver/guide for the entirety of the trip, and before we rolled out, he gave us the basic instructions, including not standing up in the car (it attracts animals to you), watch out for thorny bushes, and basically don't be an idiot. We were introduced to our tracker, Niathi, who would be sitting on a small chair on the hood of the car, looking down at the dirt looking for tracks to follow. With that, we left the lodge and jumped on to a series of dirt roads that weaved in and out of the bush with hopes of seeing anything that moved.

Niathi, our tracker

Within 15-20 minutes, we were driving through an opening when we saw a giant rhino through the bushes. With a quick turn of the wheel, H.J. drove off the road and charged straight over bushes toward the rhino and then...

We got a flat tire.

In front of a rhino.

H.J. cursed in Afrikaans, then told us to get out of the vehicle and stay on the opposite side of the vehicle as the rhino in the distance. Uh, ok! With one eye we watched as H.J. and Niathi jacked up the car and replaced the mammoth tire, while the other eye stayed firmly fixed on Mr. Big Horn in the bushes. He kept a watchful eye on us, but made no aggressive moves, and before we knew it, we were back in the Land Rover.

That is a serious car-jack

 

 Mr. Big Horn

 Yep, that'll give you a flat...

We got a call on the radio from the other vehicle about some elephants, so we floored it across some roads to get to the watering hole they were spotted. As soon as we got there, we realized we probably didn't need to rush, as there was an entire herd of elephants bathing, playing, and mating in the water. I know there were a ton of amazing moments on this trip, but I will tell you right now, nothing topped this for me. For weeks leading up to the trip I told Julie that if I had the chance, I was going to steal a baby elephant and make him my pet. Well, I had options, as three little guys awkwardly ambled around the female elephants, tripping over their own feet and trunks. Oh my goodness, let me have one please!

 

 GIMME GIMME GIMME!

 

Play time

 

 I love this photo - the Land Rover in the back is priceless

The elephants were ramming tusks and play-fighting, and a couple of them started getting a little frisky in the water. Before we knew what had happened, we were exposed to the very rare sight of the 5-legged elephant...

Check it out, 5 legs...

I could talk about the elephants for an entire post, but there were so many other animals that, as we did on the drive, I must move on. Just know I couldn't care less about what happened the rest of the trip. That was awesome.

A couple more elephant photos

 

 How would you not want one of these?

Among other animals we saw during the drive were impalas, steenboks (small jumping antelope), giraffes, kudu (large antelope with huge horns), honey badgers, and oh yeah, two female lions. I list these things like it's no big deal, but each one of them was an incredibly unique sighting. The honey badgers were even more badass in person, and our guide had even more stories to back up their reputation as tough animals. Unfortunately the honey badgers were a little too quick for my camera shutter...but they live on in my memory! As for the female lions, don't worry, I'll have way more to say about them in future posts. There will be more photos of all of these later on.

Right around 5:15pm, H.J. pulled the car off to the side of the "road" and said we were stopping for evening drinks. He pulled out a cooler of drinks for us (which he had asked us our personal drink preference at lunch earlier in the day), and set up a makeshift table on the hood of the Land Rover, also bringing out some small snacks for us. So we sat there with a South African beer and snacks, in the bush in the heart of South Africa's wildlife reserve, surrounded by elephants, impalas and birds...and we felt safe. It's odd what a giant vehicle and a guide with a rifle can do to calm your senses, isn't it?

 

Sunset during our evening drinks

After soaking it all in, we jumped back in the car as the sun went down and continued our drive through the bush looking (and listening) for more animals. This is when we spotted the female lions at the watering hole near our lodge.

 

Female lions cleaning during the night

With three hours gone by, H.J. said it was time to head back to the lodge because dinner was being prepared. And of course, as soon as "dinner" was mentioned, you could see the ears of my travel partner perk up immediately. Dinner at Gomo Gomo is an interactive experience, where we sat around a huge fire in a full circle, and the cook staff double as hilarious jesters, presenting the meals to us with dramatic flair and hilarious commentary. Our main cook, Cedric, definitely enjoyed the limelight, and made sure not a sentence went by without at least one wise-crack. He definitely had a rehearsed shtick, and when listing ingredients for a meal, he would always say something like, "with vegetables, herbs, spices, and lemon dishwashing liquid." Yes he was a character. But the meals were all excellent (lots of meat and vegetables), and we all had a great time getting to know our fellow guests near the fire.

As the night ended, the hours of flying, airport layovers, game drives and animal excitement caught up to Miss Julie, and her eyes began to flutter as we chatted with people at the end of dinner. Earlier during our orientation with H.J., he told us that we were not allowed to walk to our room by ourselves at night time due to the animals being so close to camp. So when it was time to sleep, we flagged down H.J. and he walked us to our room, keeping a close eye for prowling animals. He also gave us a radio for emergencies during the night, in case something happened and we needed to leave the room (since we couldn't go anywhere without the safety of the guide with us). With that comforting piece of information, H.J. smiled and walked away, reminding us he'd be back at 5:30am the next morning for our wake-up call for our morning game-drive.

With the sounds of the bush lulling us to sleep, we passed out in no time. I woke up a couple times during the night due to some lion roars (no joke), but other than that, we slept like two baby elephants...

 *NEXT UP* - More elephants (yay!), we witness the start of a kill, and Julie finds a way to compare our safari to Disneyland.

DAY #4 (July 2) - Photos, Food and Ostriches!

One of the best parts about this trip is that we woke up every morning with a huge slate of activities we wanted to do, and we almost raced each other to the shower so as to speed up the process to getting out and exploring!

Our third full day in Cape Town was no different, as we woke up with plans to see all the remaining landmarks and towns on our to-do list, as we would be leaving Cape Town early the next morning. After our (at this point) routine breakfast and informal concierge meeting downstairs, we set off toward the heart of the city - Table Mountain. An incredibly beautiful mountain with views all over the land and sea, Table Mountain features an aerial cableway that allows customers to ride up to the top and look over the area from the highest peak. Unfortunately for us, winter is a time where wind speeds frequently force them to shut down the cableway due to safety, and this was one of those days. We checked beforehand and they said it was open, but when we got there, the winds had picked up and it wasn't safe. But in any case, we drove a decent way up the mountain just to get to the cableway base station, so we still had a magnificent view of the area, and a phenomenal image of the clouds creeping over the mountain's edge.

 

 Table Mountain

With the cableway shut down, we jumped back in the car, quickly bypassed another "parking attendant", and coasted back down the hill to one of my most anticipated areas of the trip - Bo Kaap. Bo Kaap is a multicultural township in the heart of Cape Town, and is famous for its architecture, cobblestone streets, and most famously, its brightly colored houses. I had seen tons of photos of Bo Kaap in my research, and I told Julie months before that I didn't have many requests for where we went, but Bo Kaap was definitely on the short list. It certainly didn't disappoint, as we wound our way the small alleys and streets, looking at all the unique colors and architecture the community had to offer. It really didn't seem real, but sure enough, we saw people standing on their porches and walking to/from work. This was by far one of the most visually outrageous places I'd ever seen.

Enjoy the (multiple) photos of Bo Kaap

Table Mountain in the background

After snapping enough photos to make me slightly concerned about my memory card's capacity, we decided to walk down the street to a coffee shop I had seen in some of my research, Cafe Haas. This place was so old-timey and quirky, we immediately loved it. There were old steam pipes in the walls, the servers wore top hats, and the general vibe of the place was very simplistic, rustic and straight out of the mid-1800's. We got a small snack and some coffee (okay, I had hot chocolate), and while looking at the menu, Julie pointed out that they had some of the rarest, most expensive coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak. I'll spare you the crazy details, but basically it's some coffee bean that gets eaten by an animal, and the acid in its stomach enhances the coffee (click here for the full Kopi Luwak explanation). Seems like a lot of (disgusting) work for some coffee...

We left the coffee shop and jumped back in our time machine and traveled back to 2013 and walked further down the road to the Green Market Square, home to one of the largest open-air tourist markets in Cape Town. All the locals were set up with booths, selling anything from animal sculptures to African masks to handbags to James Bond shirts. It was most definitely targeted toward tourists wanting a memento from their trip to South Africa, and as if on cue, Julie and I looked to buy a few gifts for friends and family back home. We were forced to do a bit of haggling and bargaining, as these people were charging outrageous prices on the price tags, well-knowing some poor tourist won't question the price. Let's just say we didn't exactly fall for their trap. We talked the toothless lady down to about half price and were happy enough to make the transaction and be on our way.

Understandably so, all the bargaining and haggling reminded us it was time for lunch (okay, who am I kidding, the two of us are always hungry)! So we jumped in the car and decided to head back down and return to Kalk Bay on a recommendation from Keith, our wine country from the day before. Having passed the restaurant on Day #1, we knew exactly where it was, so we made our way through the harbor and arrived at our lunch destination, Harbor House. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. I haven't even described the setting and meal and I'm already getting excited about this again. Without question, this place would offer us the best lunch of the entire trip. The setting was absolutely stunning, with the restaurant perched on the top of the rocks overlooking the ocean, with the occasional large wave creating enough splash to reach the glass walls we were looking from. This picture gives a decent view of what we were experiencing...

Yeah, this'll do.

After gawking at the view for far too long, we finally looked at the menu, with the day's specials and "Catch of the Day" printed on a chalkboard behind us. Our waitress gave us some great suggestions, and told us they were known for their signature dish, the Tian of Prawns. We didn't hesitate in taking her advice, and that was probably the best decision we made the entire trip. The dish came out, with four lightly-battered prawns with a stack of avocado, tomato and eggplant, and a pesto and sweet-chili glaze surrounding the plate. The presentation alone was incredible, and the only thing that topped it was the taste. I mean, this dish finishes in the top-5 appetizers I've ever had...anywhere. The batter on the prawns was so thin, not giving it an overly-fried flavor, but just enough to give it the crunchy texture. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.

 I want this now.

The rest of our meal didn't disappoint, as we both ordered from the special chalkboard, following the theme from a couple days earlier and selecting yellowtail and hake. The fish was creamy and light at the same time, and the seasonings and glaze gave it such a mouth-wateringly wonderful taste, it was one of those meals you hated to finish. When the bill came, Julie and I could care less what the meal cost, because no matter what, it would be worth it. We both guessed that, at home at least, the meal would be a minimum of $75-80. So what was the damage? Let's just say we left one hell of a tip, and the final bill was $36.

Cape Town, I love you.
 
Completely satisfied, and once again singing the praises of Keith, our long-lost driver, we did a quick loop through the harbor to see what fish had been caught that day, and then we decided to complete the journey to one of the southern most regions of the area, Cape Point. Known to many as the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, Cape Point features an iconic lighthouse at its peak, as well as the Cape of Good Hope, a rocky point on the ocean's edge. We hiked up to the lighthouse to take in the beautiful scenery and look out at the vast expanse of ocean.

Cape Point

Wanting to see the Cape of Good Hope up close, we drove down a short hill on our way out to the rocky crags at the point. But before we got there, we were met by a very random group of...

OSTRICHES!

That's right, ostriches! A group of five ostriches were just cruising around on the side of the road bordering the ocean. They paid little to no attention to the occasional car passing by, and definitely provided us with a short camera break. After the big bird photo shoot, we finally arrived at the Cape of Good Hope.

On our way back, we passed the ostriches again, and within five more minutes, we came across some more baboons on the side of the road.

 Lunch time!

From Cape Point we drove up the part of the western coast we had yet to see before cutting over to the eastern side again. Unfortunately, there was some serious construction occurring on some of the roads, and combined with it being a normal work day rush hour on a 2-lane highway, we were in for a long drive home. We spent much of the time completely stopped, but luckily we were so happy with the day's events that the drive didn't deter us too much. One hour and 45 minutes later, we rolled up to the hotel for a bit of rest before the dinner hour.

For our final dinner in Cape Town, we decided on a highly rated (by the LP Bible, of course) Ethiopian restaurant in downtown Cape Town called Addis in Cape. Similar to our night at Gold, this restaurant was an eating experience. The atmosphere was very unique, as the tables we sat at were actually large woven baskets called mesobs. Only about knee high off the ground, the round basket-tables had a flat piece in the middle, allowing for food to be placed on them. In traditional Ethiopian-style cooking, the food is served on a large plate covered in a pancake/bread-like concoction called injera. The injera is a spongy, absorbent sourdough based thin pancake that you use in place of utensils to eat your food. After ordering chicken, lamb, beef and vegetables, we watched as our waiter dumped the four entrees onto a massive piece of injera, then presented us with a bread basket full of individually wrapped pieces of injera (which looked like rolled hot towels).

Injera

Our spread at Addis in Cape

It is hard for me to put into words how amazing this meal was. I definitely think part of my excitement stems from the novelty of the food, the unique presentation, and of course, the underrated action of eating with your hands. But that would be an injustice to the food. All the meats were seasoned better than any meat I'd had. The lamb was my personal favorite, although all of the dishes were superb and not a scrap of injera was left. The combination of experience and taste made Addis in Cape a four-thumbs up in our book!

Coming off of an amazing day of photography, long car rides, and outrageously delicious meals, we were ready to mash our faces into our pillows. We had an early morning and a long day ahead of us, so we packed up our suitcases, laid down, and dreams of prawns and injera danced through our heads.

*NEXT UP* - We end our time in Cape Town and begin our next adventure...wildlife safari!

DAY #3 (July 1) - Wine, Wine, Wine!

For our second full day in Cape Town, we decided to venture out to Stellenbosch, the popular South African wine country. Many wine enthusiasts here in the states are probably familiar with South African wines, as they have a large presence in the wine market across the country. With that in mind, we thought what better way for two wine-lovers to spend a day in a foreign country than to investigate the local wine scene?!

During our research and planning, Julie found a tour company that shuttles people around to different wineries all day, and includes a guide who gives you some background and history of the area as you go through the towns. The cost of the wineries was included in the tour fee, so there was absolutely no stress or responsibility at each place...you just walk in, sit down at a table reserved for you, and begin your tasting. This sounded like a perfect way to introduce ourselves to an unfamiliar area, so Julie booked the tour in advance of the trip.

After another egg and bacon breakfast at the hotel, and a quick consult with the front desk about our daily activity, we set out on a beautiful hour-long drive out to the eastern wine country. One thing we discovered was that the day before we arrived it had been pouring rain and gusting wind, which was typical weather for Cape Town winters. However, from the moment we set foot off the plane to the morning we left Cape Town, we had all sunshine and no bad weather. By the time we left a few days later, the locals were asking us to stay so the weather would continue. Anyway, the drive was absolutely spectacular, with long rolling green hills, beautiful puffy clouds and thick green patches of trees lining the countryside. We knew we were in for a treat.

The drive to Stellenbosch.

We navigated our way relatively easily to the pre-determined meeting point where the shuttle would pick us up, and within minutes our van pulled up. Our driver for the day, Keith, got out of the car and introduced himself, and within seconds of knowing him, Julie and I knew this guy was going to be awesome! We got in the van to find that only two other people had booked the tour, so the four of us would have a relatively private, small tasting experience all day long. Definite advantage in the world of wine tasting! The two girls, in their early-mid 20's, ended up being from Texas, and were very easy to talk to. They were celebrating one of their birthdays, and they told us very early on that their goal for the day was "to get hammered." More on this later.

*SIDE NOTE* - Apparently as the van pulled up to meet us, Keith looked at us and then said to the two girls in the back, "That Julie looks thirsty!" Yep, already sizing up the wife as a boozer!

Once we were all situated in the van, Keith first drove us around downtown Stellenbosch and gave us the historical background of the town, its Dutch heritage, and some great information about the buildings and their original purposes. I think Stellenbosch was a unique blend of Napa and Solvang, with a wine-country setting in a smaller, quaint town feel. After our quick driving tour, we set out for our first winery of the day, L'Avenir.

Arguably the most beautiful grounds we saw all day, L'Avenir is a beautiful, small tasting room that sits on a large plot of grassy land that overlooks its vineyard. We were fortunate enough to sit outside overlooking the grounds, and we had a very nice tasting as we soaked in the sun and the sights of wine country. As he would for most of the day, Keith would join us at our tables, introduce us to the staff, and just be our concierge while we drank and asked questions. Not necessarily our favorite wine of the day, but certainly one of the best overall experiences.

Wine tasting on the patio

 L'Avenir grounds

From there we continued on to Warwick, a popular winery that has a large distribution in America as well. Once again we had the ability to sit outside, and this time our tasting room attendant was extremely knowledgeable and gave some excellent descriptions of not only our wines, but the history of them and the winery itself. One of the more unique moments of the trip came at this winery. Keith told the winery attendant that we had recently married (slight stretch of the truth, but he did it for our benefit), and later on in the tasting he came out with a bottle of wine and a very unique drinking container called "The Wedding Cup." There is a long folklore story that goes with this, that I will attempt to briefly paraphrase:

A silversmith wanted to marry a princess, but her father (the King) said he would only allow him to marry her if the young man could make a cup that allowed both a man and woman to drink from the same time, without spilling. After many attempts, the young man came up with this chalice, inspired the shape of a woman's body. As the man drinks the top cup, the bottom cup swivels away, toward the wife. The cup worked, the King approved, and they all lived happily ever after. This cup is now used by the Warwick winery for weddings and anniversaries. So we were instructed to drink from the cup, but with one additional set of rules - Julie was not allowed to use her hands. So I held up the chalice, and as I drank, I ducked down so she could drink from the bottom cup. Odd, but totally fun moment.

 The Wedding Cup

 

 Look ma, no hands!

After we finished up at Warwick (and bought a bottle for home), Keith drove us just outside Stellenbosch into a neighboring wine-town called Franschhoek, where we had a lunch reservation at La Petite Ferme. Keith did not eat with us, he just dropped us off, then drove off to go eat an orange in his van until we were ready. The restaurant was perched atop a very high mountain, and had an open-air patio that overlooked the entire valley of vineyards. It was, without question, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my whole life. The four of us sat down for lunch, where we ordered a cheese board, more wine, and, on the recommendation of Keith, some amazing entrees. The quality of the view was matched by the quality of the food. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Cheese board at La Petite Ferme

 

The view from above La Petite Ferme

Stuffed from our lunch, we lumbered back to the van, ready to go to our next stop. But before we set off, we first drove up the mountain a bit higher, where we found baboons on the side of the road, taking in the view like we were. It was here that Keith informed us he wanted to take us to FIVE wineries in one day, and we needed to pick up the pace if we were going to make them all. SIR, YES SIR!

 

 Baby baboon!

 

 Baboon crossing!

After the quick detour, we stayed in Franschhoek and quickly reached our next winery, Boekenhoutskloof (yeah, it's a mouthful). Much to Julie's excitement, as soon as we got out of the van we were greeted by 4-5 massive dogs, including a couple Great Danes. They had some deep, scary barks, but proved to be all talk, as they immediately fell victim to tons of petting and cooing from my crazy wife and the two drunk girls. Once we finally got them away from the dogs, we went inside to start the next tasting. Boekenhoutskloof is known for a special wine named "Chocolate Block", which is a blend of Syrah, Grenache Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Viognier. We tried that wine (and weren't huge fans) among some other ones, and after a very quick round of tasting (the girls were starting to pound the wine at this point), we bought a bottle on our way out and headed out to hit our fourth winery of the day, Grand Provence. 

 

 Large porcupine sculpture outside Boekenhoutskloof

Unfortunately I do not have much to say about Grand Provence, as we were there for a very brief amount of time. The Texas girls were plastered at this point, and started to become slightly rude as they would say things like "We don't need the history of the wine, just pour!" Not exactly my favorite moment of the trip, but due to the combination of the drunk girls and trying to hit five wineries in one day, some of the typically calm wine tasting experience was lost at this place. The grounds were nice, as were the people...and that's about all I got.

 The entryway to Grand Provence

We finished our wine tasting quintet with a trip to Tokara, a stunningly beautiful winery with a tasting room that is elevated above a valley of vineyards, with a floor-to-ceiling window for customers to view the area. Our wine tasting facilitator was a very nice, young South African guy who had never once left Cape Town. He was very passionate about the wine, and was very informative. After our experience at the last place, Julie and I tried our best to separate ourselves from the drunk girls, and I think the attendant picked up on it, so he just poured for them, then turned his back and spoke to us. We had a wonderful time and walked away with a couple bottles of wine from Tokara. Definitely my favorite wine of the day.

Stopping for a photo at Tokara

 
With the two Texas girls hammered into oblivion, and getting slightly emotional, we were ready to make our way back to Stellenbosch and call it a day. We had an absolutely amazing tour, with huge kudos to Keith for making it an incredibly special experience neither of us will ever forget. He dropped us off at our car at around 5:30, we hugged him and thanked him for his hospitality, and then he drove off, with the two drunkies passed out in the back.

Keith, our hilarious wine guide

Earlier in the trip we had decided that we would stay in Stellenbosch for dinner, as there were many highly-rated restaurants in the area, including some suggestions from Keith. Not quite ready for dinner, we stopped at an ice cream place where we got some incredible, wonderfully rich ice cream, and sat inside discussing our dinner plan. After scarfing down the ice cream (sorry Mom, we spoiled our dinner), we walked toward our restaurant of choice, only to find it was closed for construction! We regrouped, found a new restaurant and walked about 15-20 minutes to De Oewers, a place specializing in fancy South African cuisine. After a little bit (okay, a lot) of confusion about where the restaurant was, we finally realized that two restaurants shared a wall, and (we think) had same ownership, and there was no visible delineation between the two. Apparently De Oewers was not the place we wanted, but rather its sister restaurant, De Volkskombuis (yeah, another mouthful).


We had an excellent dinner, with Julie ordering a sampler platter of different African meats, including a chicken pie and bobotie (beef curried mince, spices, egg custard), while I ordered a braised oxtail. Between all the wine and the extremely rich food, it did not take long for us to realize that we were absolutely zonked. We quickly paid the bill and very slowly ambled our way back to the car, ready for our hour-long drive back to the city. The drive was relatively calm, with the wife dozing off every now and then, and finally we found our way back to the hotel, parked the car, walked up the stairs, kicked off our shoes, and drifted off into sleepy-wine-la-la-land.

*NEXT UP* - We visit Crayola-colored houses, go to the southern tip of the continent, meet some ostriches, and have one of the most uniquely wonderful meals of my lifetime.

DAY #2 (June 30) - Coastlines, 12-Course Meals and Glitter

We woke up Sunday morning very excited to begin our adventure in Cape Town. We had talked a lot about how we liked that we had split our trip up into two parts: the first being the more self-sufficient, throw-on-a-backpack-and-go style, and the second part staying at a lodge where meals and responsibilities are taken care of for us. This first piece reminded us of our honeymoon in Greece, where we did everything ourselves, did lots of research, spoke to locals, and just enjoyed the journey. We were ready to live it up in Cape Town.

*NOTE* - Be forewarned...this is an extremely long post. And not just because I'm long-winded. We did a ton this first day.

We made our way downstairs for breakfast in the hotel, and we were greeted with a quaint dining area with tables set up with cereal, juice, breads, and yogurt. Once we sat down, a server came and took our hot food order, and within a few minutes we had eggs, bacon and tomatoes to go along with our coffee and juice! It was so nice to have breakfast taken care of in the hotel, because then we were able to just head out and go!

We decided that we wanted to spend our first day in Cape Town driving the long eastern coastline and getting a feel for the culture, food, and climate of the area. Having had our first driving experience under our belts, I was confident that I was comfortable (enough) to jump back in the vehicle and navigate on the wrong side of the road without incident (or more importantly, accident). With catch phrases like "inside left" and "wide right" to remind us of how the turns should be negotiated, we ensured a safe driving voyage.

We set out driving south along the eastern coast to go check out all the fun beach towns the Eastern Cape had to offer. Our first stop was Kalk Bay, a small beach town that was lined with some cute coffee shops and small businesses. It's main feature was a harbor and pier where the local fishermen came in from their morning fishing sessions to fillet and sell their day's catch. We got there a little before they arrived, so we walked the pier and took photos of the old boats in the harbor, the sea lions in the water, and some of the day's catch being filleted. It was probably my favorite part of all of Cape Town. The town was quaint, the restaurants were excellent (we'll re-visit this in a couple days), and it had a real local, "homey" feel to it. Kalk Bay alone made us feel like our 30+ hour trek to South Africa was well worth it.

Kalk Bay Harbor

Sea lions below the pier

Kalk Bay Pier

It was in Kalk Bay that we were first exposed to one of the odd features of the Cape Town tourist culture. In our pre-trip research we had read that there might be some confusion between "parking attendants" and "parking watchers." Basically, the struggling economy of Cape Town has forced some locals to become creative in their money-making ventures, and one of the ways they have made some side money is to stand on the street, and when they see a car about to park, they run to the car, do some fancy hand signals like they are helping them park. Then when you get out of the car, they say "We'll watch your car while you're gone to make sure it's safe!" You kind of awkwardly smile and go on your way. When you return to your car hours later, they come running back to the car and say "I watched your car, no one stole anything!" And as they say this, you notice their open hand extending toward you, soliciting compensation for their valiant deed. Let's just say that this will not be the last time you hear about "parking attendants" in this blog post...

Anyway, after spending some time in the Kalk Bay harbor, we jumped back in the car and made our way further down the coast and drove through Simon's Town, another coastal business community. This area had many more shops and pedestrians, with lots of tiny shops and interesting store fronts lining the 2-lane coastal road. We just drove through Simon's Town, as we were on our way to one of Julie's most anticipated parts of the trip...to see the penguins of Boulders Beach.

Boulders Beach is a sheltered beach area where a large colony of Africa Penguins can be observed by (paying) customers. We made our way to Foxy Beach, where the observing boardwalks the opportunity to get up close and personal with the penguins. Julie was in absolute heaven, looking at all of the birds flapping their wings, waddling on the beach, and swimming in the ocean. We spent some time taking photos, walking around, and taking in the sights of the beautiful area, and as the afternoon progressed, we started to realize it was definitely time for our next meal.

Penguin gang

Think she's happy?

We jumped back in the car and decided to cut across the mainland a bit to make our way to another popular destination, the cove at Hout Bay. To do that, we entered a windy toll road that took us through an area called Chapman's Peak. And if ever my patience was going to be tested behind the steering wheel of a car, this was that moment. This was the most winding, back and forth, switchback-filled road I'd ever driven...and I had to do it with the passenger side basically dangling over the edge of a cliff! By the time we got to the bottom of the mountain, I realized I might have been a tad  stressed, as I realized I hadn't breathed in about 10 minutes and I looked down to see my white knuckles glued to the wheel. Deeeeeeep breath....

A quick break at the top of Chapman's Peak

After the drive of death we made it to Hout Bay, a small cove known for its food and local craft and food markets. On another lunch recommendation from the LP Bible, we stopped at Fish on the Rocks, a bayside fish market that specializes in fish and chips. The best part about this place was that you got to pick the fish you wanted for your fish and chips (fries) meal. Julie decided on the yellowtail, while I went with the hake, a mild white fish. They gave us absolutely insanely huge serving sizes, and did an incredible job of battering and frying the fish without making it ridiculously thick and greasy, and allowed the fish to be the star of the meal. We would both agree later that it was probably the best fish and chips either of us had ever had. We had the food out on a picnic-style, community table overlooking the bay and the peak we had just traversed, and after inhaling the food, we did our best to peel ourselves off the seats to explore the nearby market.

The Hout Bay market was definitely one of the most culturally appealing parts of our Cape Town experience. As soon as we walked in to the massively large circus-tented bazaar, we were presented with some incredible sights, sounds and smells. The local vendors were peddling their sculptures, crafts, apparel and toys, while the music vendors played songs of local South African artists. The food vendor area was by far the most impressive, with an incredible hustle and bustle surrounding the food carts, wine bars, beer taps, and food sampling areas. We saw so many unique types of food and variety of options that, had we not just gorged ourselves on fish and chips, we probably would have wanted to sample everything. The atmosphere was electric, buzzing with locals and tourists alike. Definitely a cool hangout spot.

After tooling around the area a bit longer (and being accosted by a "parking attendant"), we had a nice drive to the western side of the cape en route to another popular beach town, Camps Bay. When we arrived, I was very much reminded of Santa Barbara, with the long beaches lined with grassy areas between the sand and the road. We took the opportunity to slip off the shoes and walk the beaches and tidepools and enjoy the crashing waves on the rocks. After being approached by a couple bold beggars and peddlers, we decided it was time for a drink, and Julie had a place already drawn up right on the coast. We went to Caprice, a nice sunset-special type cocktail lounge with outside seating that looked across the road to the ocean. We sat back and took in all the sights and sounds of this awesome town, including a couple street performances by some locals. Definitely one of those moments where we remembered to take in our surroundings and just breathe.

On the beach in Camps Bay

Drinks at Caprice and the LP Bible that got us there!

And then the fun began.

As I mentioned earlier, the streets were crawling with self-appointed parking attendants with absolutely zero legal authority looking for a cheap way to make a buck. Well, after having been accosted a couple times that day already, we were over it. As we walked back to the street where our car was, we saw the attendant from very far away, and before he saw us. Our car was parked at the very top of this long street, just before a T-intersection where we would be heading next. The attendant was between us and our car, and Julie and I knew that if we passed this dude, he would follow us all the way to our car, then ask for a tip, even though he probably hadn't even so much as looked at our vehicle over the past two hours. So Julie and I made a bold play. We decided to take the long way, divert ourselves to a side street, loop all the way around that T-intersection and bypass the guy entirely. As soon as we got to the top of the street, I poked my head around the corner, saw the guy at the base of the hill with his back to us, and I gave Julie the "coast is clear, let's go" sign. We bolted for the car, jumped in, and tore off straight ahead, never looking back. We beat the system. And we were proud. And just as a final note (I promise) on the parking attendants...how deserving of a tip was he if we were able to steal our own car without him seeing? Justice was served.

We finished the drive back to our hotel, and showered up before we would go out for dinner. We consulted the LP Bible again, and this time we settled on a restaurant named Gold. It was a restaurant inside a local museum, and was advertised to have some cool live entertainment and good food. After getting the necessary directions via the hotel WiFi, we jumped back in the car and rolled down the hill to find Gold. We found it quickly, and as we walked up to it, we found a big huge oak door that was closed, with a sign that said to use the intercom. Julie buzzed in, a security guard answered, and then this happened...

Guard - "Hello?"

Julie - "Yes, um, we're here for dinner..."

Guard - "Uh, ok..."

(long pause)

Guard - "The restaurant is no longer here. It moved."

Julie (confused) - "Oh, um, ok. What's the new address?"

After some tough deciphering, eventually not hearing the correct street name, we rushed back to the hotel, Julie looked for the new address, and found that the place had relocated close by, so we headed out to the new Gold restaurant. We laughed the entire way to dinner, thinking what that security guard must have thought when Julie randomly buzzed him saying "Umm, we're here for dinner?" Hilarious.

After a really short drive, we found our way to the restaurant, which was tucked away on a small dark road with very little lighting. But as soon as we stepped in, we knew we were about to have a great experience. All of the staff were dressed up in traditional South African dress, headwear and facepaint, and we were immediately escorted up to the second floor of the 3-story restaurant. Now, in addition to the live entertainment, the main reason Julie chose this place was because she found out they serve a special 12-course set meal. Yes, you read that right. Each person gets 12 courses. All you do is sit down, select some wine, and then you don't do any ordering...you just let the food parade begin. Knowing I'd be blogging about this later, I did us all a favor and just took a photo of the menu (sorry for multiple photos, the menu was too large to fit legibly in one photo)...

The first seven courses

The next five courses

Bread, soup and biltong dip

The main entrees

All the food was insanely good. We didn't want any of the courses to end. The soup and bread were incredible, and the samoosas were wonderful. All the meat and vegetable dishes were uniquely seasoned and marinated, and the desserts were a perfect end to the meal. Throughout the insane food fest, we witnessed three live musical performances, where the staff played bongo drums, dances, and brought some guests out to dance with them. All the performances had a story element to them, although being in Afrikaans, it was harder to follow. One show had some odd over-sized puppets with oddly positioned breasts come out and dance, which freaked Julie out. One of the shows had this crazy woman come out with a Tinkerbell-type wand and dumped glitter all over me. Now, for those of you that don't know...I HATE glitter. I hate it so much that I get upset when I get birthday cards with glitter. And this woman just took that and multiplied it times infinity. I was literally sparkling in the restaurant.

 Don't do it...

Oh, and then this happened (watch until the end, it's worth it)...

Note the breasts.

Yep, 14-courses meals, glitter, and puppet abuse. This place had it all. And to top it all off, as we left, our waitress offered to paint our faces with South African markings. So then this happened...

Would you expect anything less?

Just another normal night, right?

*NEXT UP* - We head to Cape Town wine country, meet some baboons, have some young drunk companions, and get incredibly confused finding our restaurant for the second straight night.