Holiday Magic

Our December holiday was a fantastic affair. :) We both had a very tough year and we really needed a break. Our plans were as follows. 6 days in Kruger, 2 days panorama route and then another 3 days in Kruger. :)

For months we planned, made lists, checked our camping gear and dreamed about the day of departure. Finally on the 18th of December the big day arrived. The car was packed we were ready to go! We took 3 days to drive the 1700km to Malelane where we spent our first night.
Villa Langa in Malelane is a beautiful guesthouse and ideal for passing travellers. They have a pool, air conditioned rooms and a braai. We arrived at around 13h00, unpacked the car and headed off to Malelane gate to enter the Kruger National Park!

The Kruger Park was established in 1926 to try and protect the animals and biodiversity of the African Bush. Today there are about 150 mammal-, 500 bird-, 340 tree-, 115reptile-, 50 fish- and 35 amphibian species in the park.

The first animals we saw was Impala, surprise, surprise! Impala are VERY common antelope in the Lowveld but they are also one of the most superbly adapted species in this area.

Still on the tar road heading away from Malelane gate even before the turnoff to the S25 we came across our first member of the Big Five. But before we could see exactly what it was we spotted this idiot getting out of the car!

I would rather take my chances playing chicken with a 10ton truck. At least the truck does not have a temper!!

The ears of an African elephant are enormous with a bull elephant having ears 2m X 1.2m and weighing 20kg each. These have multiple uses. Besides hearing they are used to express mood during social interactions. They also play a vital role in thermoregulation, effectively dissipating three-quarters of the heat needed to maintain a constant body temperature. An elephant can pump all of its blood through its ears every 20 minutes!

We tuned onto the gravel S25. Creaping along at about 15km/hour we cruitinezed ever tree, bush and shrub. Every few minutes we would stop and investigate a couple of rocks lying under a tree. In our hurry the binuculars was left at the guesthouse so we used the camera to take a picture and then zoom in to see what was under, in or around the tree. It is kinda like digging for gold. Our success rate turned out to be 0.001%!

I only saw these lions under the tree when we got back home and I started to go through the pictures. Because the were between the above mentioned elephant sighting and the next giraffe sighting I assume that we saw them during first couple of minutes on the S25. :)

That makes 2 of the big 5 in the first 10km in the park! (Lions are VERY well comoflaged!) Lions are extremely lethargic for the majority of their lives, spending about 20 hours a day resting.

Our next surprise was a beautiful giraffe.

Cape Point

Another Sunday dawned and I was excited, for today we would visit one of my favourite places.
Cape Point.

Cape Point is a nature reserve within the Table Mountain National Park. The area of 7 750 hectares is rich in fauna and flora, abounding with buck, baboons and Cape Mountain Zebra as well as over 250 species of birds.

This spectacular finger of land is characterised by rugged rocks and sheer cliffs towering more than 200 metres above the sea. Standing at the lighthouse looking down onto the mighty ocean below always makes me appreciate the power of nature and the insignificance of my being.

This park falls under the protection of SanParks.
Entrance Fee: R80 for an Adult
Wildcard members enter for free!

There are various hiking trails to be taken in the park and the idea was to do one or more of the shorter trails, but unfortunately the weather was a bit dodgy and so we decided to stick to the very short paths. :) 

Our first stop was a 20 minute trail with beautiful views of Smitswinkel Bay.

Reached only by foot, it is worth the effort to get there. The bay here is pop­u­lar for snor­kelling, diving and fish­ing and the water is calm and great for swim­ming.

I also managed to take a couple of pictures of my favourite subject...

Leucospermum cordifolium belongs to the protea family and is indigenous to South Africa.

From the middle of July to the end of November groups of Leucospermum cordifolium shrubs provide vivid splashed of orange and red. Many visitors from all over the world may recognise the flowers from flower arrangements they have seen in their own country. Nurseries in Israel, California, Hawaii, Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand produce large amount of cut flowers of hybrids and cultivars of this South African plant.

We also got to see some wildlife. :)

The scenic beauty of Cape Point is not its sole allure; it is also an international icon of great historical interest in many a visitor drawn to the area because of its rich maritime history.

In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias christened it Cape of Storms. The 'Point' was treated with respect by sailors for centuries. By day, it was a navigational landmark and by night, and in fog, it was a menace beset by violent storms and dangerous rocks that over the centuries littered shipwrecks around the coastline. (One of the very popular hiking trails in the area is also named 'The Shipwreck Trail'.

The route from the parking lot to the top lighthouse is beautifully layed out and offers spectacular views of Dias Beach.

If you do not feel like the steep uphill hike to the lighthouse you can always take the Flying Dutchman Funicular. It takes it name from the local legend of the 'Flying Dutchman' ghost ship.

As legend has it, the Flying Dutchman was captained by a Dutchman, Hendrik van der Decken, and was headed home from Jakarta to Holland in 1641. As Van der Decken approached the Cape, stormy weather shredded the ship's sails and waves flooded the deck.

The captain had rounded Cape Point on several occasions previously, but this time, a terrified crew implored him to turn back. He refused to submit to the elements and lashed himself to the wheel, swearing that he would sail around Cape Point, even if it took him until Doomsday.

An angel appeared on the deck and the enraged captain drew his pistol and shot her. Van der Decken's wish to round the point was granted that night, but he and his crew were doomed to sail these waters for ever more.
Over the past three-and-a-half centuries a ghostly sailing ship, that glows red in the night and has a mad, bald captain, has been sighted by a number of mariners. Those who have seen her say she lets down row-boats that approach with ghostly men aboard, desperately seeking a Good Samaritan to take their letters back home, where they haven't been for more than 300 years. But those who entertain these approaches are doomed...

We decided to take our feet to the lighthouse and had a lot of fun checking out all the little viewpoints along the way.

Standing on the highest section of the peak the original lighthouse stands 87 meters above its replacement. Now used as an outlook point and central monitoring point for all South African Lighthouses. This iron tower was built in 1857 and shone from its perch on Cape Maclear from 1860 until 1919 when it passed its candle onto the new lighthouse. The original lighthouse comprised of sixteen metallic reflectors which flashed a white light (2000 candle power) lasting twelve seconds every minute. In contrast the new Cape Point Lighthouse is the most powerful light on the South African coastline visible from a distance of thirty four nautical sea miles it emits a revolving light power of 10 000 000 Candelas.

The new lighthouse is closer to sea level, for two reasons: the old lighthouse could be seen 'too early' by ships rounding the point towards the east, causing them to approach too closely. Secondly, foggy conditions often prevail at the higher levels, making the older lighthouse invisible to shipping. On 18 April 1911, the Portuguese liner Lusitania was wrecked just south of Cape Point at on Bellows Rock for precisely this reason, prompting the relocation of the lighthouse.

There are so many more things to explore in this area and so much more stories to tell, but I will leave that for our next visit....

Great Constantia

Groot Constantia is the oldest wine estate in South Africa and a national monument. Since we live in Cape town, on the doorstep of the Great estate of Constatia we felt it our duty to visit!

Groot Constantia was established in 1685 by the Dutch East India Company Governor of the Cape of Good Hope Simon van der Stel, and was used to produce wine as well as fruit, vegetables and cattle.

There is a huge lawn in from of the house with a oak-tree lined road leading up to the front door.

The ancient oak trees provide shade to visitors. The children play on the lawn while the adults enjoy a wonderfull lunch at the Jonkhuis Restaurant.

Back to the trees, they are magnificent...

They seem to recicle themselves in a never ending cycle of life and death. :)

In 1925 the manor house was severely damaged in a fire. From 1927-1952 the house was restored and refurbished under the supervision of the architect F. K. Kendall, and with items donated and bought solely for this purpose by the art collector A. A. de Pass.

I can only thank these great protectors of history! We were not allowed to take any photographs inside the house, but i can reccommed a strowl through this beautifull manor.

The Cloete Cellar, the original wine cellar, dates back to 1791 and houses a Wine Museum, exhibiting various wine making equipment and especially wine storage and wine drinking vessels. The beautiful pediment gable above the cellar is one of sculptor Anton Anreith's masterpieces.

The views all around the estate is breathtaking. You can hire a picnicbasket from any one of the restaurants and enjoy a sunday afternoon lunch on the lawn.

Random Pictures-December

CHRISTIAAN