Christmas 2012 in South Africa

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This year we spent Christmas in South Africa!  We stayed in Cape Town, then travelled to the wine regions of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.  Not really knowing anything about this country - other than its tumultuous past - we were surprised at what we found; not just in terms of infrastructure, but with the openness of the people as well.  As ignorant as it may sound, we did not expect to be in awe or have that feeling of "MAN-ALIVE-we-have-to-come-back-here" as we did.  We could go on for pages describing the place, the people, the oh-so-delicious food and wine, but we'll show a few pictures instead (unfortunately we didn't get any of food 'cause taking a picture of it was always an after thought).  The only thing left to say here is that South Africa - namely Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek -  should be on everyone's travel list.

Picturesque Cape Town

Dan and Lion Head Mountain

Robben Island in the distance (left)
where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned

Happy and excited for breakfast

Parts of the city that reminded us of parts of Toronto

Ahh...South African wine...
good for breakfast, lunch and dinner

V & A Waterfront
the harbour area all decked out for Christmas

The beautiful drive from Cape Town to the wine regions

Seeing some South African penguins
on a beach along the way

View from the Light House in Cape Point

A wild ostrich on the beach at Cape Point

A view of the shanty towns along the way...

...until you reach the wine regions

One of the many wineries we visited
in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek

Making friends on a wine tour

The wine tram

Another beautiful entrance way to a winery

A gorgeous view of the wine valley

Entry 4: Ruaha Pictures - Faces

Below are a collection of pictures from our safari in Ruaha National Park.   This is a collection called "Faces".

Rock Hirax

Elephants

Bustard

He brushes three times daily

This is without mascara

Sooo tired...

Zebra

Dik Dik

Water Buck

Greater Kudu

Baboon

"I have something caught in my teeth"

I can see up your nose

Hey Good Lookin'!

Eagle Eyes

Entry 3: Ruaha National Park

During October 22 - 26, 2012, we spent our time in Ruaha National Park.  Staying in a 'banda' or cabin at Foxes River Lodge, provided us with the chance to see a vast amount of wild life.  On our first night, lions were roaring only 30 meters from our cabin which, needless to say, kept us awake most of the night.  We encountered elephants as close a 5 meters, saw many impala, kudu, giraffe, zebras, buffalo, clipspringers, dik-dik, hirax, mongoose, hippos, crocodiles, warthogs, baboons, monkeys and various species of birds.  Below are a few samples.....

There were only the three of us on the plane.  Dan, Tina and our friend Hannah.... It was a small plane...

... but Tina managed to sleep.

Not bad for accommodations in a very remote part of Tanzania!

Birds were everywhere!

Nice evenings...

Warthogs seemed to be a bit skittish

Elephants crossing a ridge

Giraffes do not have vocal cords, so they cannot make any sound other than the rustling of bushes when they walk around.

Shhh.. do not wake the lions.. actually he was awake, very aware of us, but so full that he just lay there.

This elephant was only 5 meters away.  No zoom on this photo.  No roof or doors on our jeep either.. errr.

Zebras

These are weaver nests.  Like wild African Christmas decorations.

Baby baboon along for the ride.

A dead giraffe....

... and the lions that killed it...

... very nervous at this point....

A symbiotic relationship between insect eating birds and insect riddled giraffes.

The Wild African Tina

Not sure how they blend in with the environment.

That's one big rock!

Greater Kudu Males

Us!

Elephant strutting her stuff

These two Masai walked us back to our banda at night because there were elephants, lions and snakes in our camp.

Our driver (left) and guide.  Very knowledgable.  We learned a lot!

This is just a very small sample of the many curiosities we encountered.  I think we will organize our photos into a book for a change.  So many nice things.  

We get back to work next week, but will be making plans for our Christmas / New Years break.  I wonder where we will go...