South Africa – Week 8

Monday December 20, from most countries (or States) we’ve visited, we have sent gifts home to our adult children. Like pineapples from Hawaii, Black Pearls from Tahiti and Kava bowls from Fiji to name a few. In my quest for a unique gift from South Africa, I came across a brochure for this fabric designer, Carole Nevin in Cape Town. The fabrics are hand painted then sewn into table linens, kitchen linens or pillow covers all in her studio. The colors are stunning and vivid it was hard to choose, so I let the kids decide. They each gave me three choices. It’s a good thing, what I would have picked out for them was not what they chose!

After leaving the studio we stopped at St. James Beach. There is a man made tidal pool and row of brightly coloured wooden beach huts with mismatched colored roofs and doors to their frames. The tidal pool is warmer than the False Bay Ocean and has calm waters unaffected by currents. This salty ocean pool is great splash around in without waves crashing around you and offers protection from wind as well as sharks.

Later we had dinner with new friends, Carol and Kurt on s/v IceBear from DC area.

Tuesday December 21, Road trip to Mossel Bay. First stop, the War Memorial. Honoring those lost in WW I, WW II, Korea and Iraq. The Grandson of a friend, of an old neighbor of Dan’s, in the town he grew up in, was killed in the Iraq War. His name is on this memorial as he has South African ancestry. We took photos of the monument and emailed them to the former neighbors.

Cape St. Blaize Lighthouse, built in 1864, is one of two lighthouses along the South African coast that maintained a 24-hour watch. We climbed up two wooden ladders and twisty iron ladder with wood steps to reach the top.

Reed Valley Wine Farm, we sampled combined 10 wines from Reed Valley and sister vineyard Zandvliet. This was over 3 hours and included dinner at The Succulent Eatery…Nursery and Deli, on the premises.

Wednesday December 22, Point of Human Origins cave tour is a Middle Stone Age archaeological site. These caves were explored in 1997 during an environmental impact study for the development of a Golf and Beach Resort community on Pinnacle Point. It was realized man lived in these caves more than a 160,000 years ago. With evidence of intelligent life based on communication findings, stone tools constructed with resins, bones of large animals that were hunted and the use fire, this was an extraordinary find. The archeologists have filed for World Heritage Site designation. There more than a dozen caves on the cliffs.

To get to the caves there are a series of trails, wooden boardwalks and about 200 wooden steps.

Thursday December 23, Back to the North Sails loft to retrieve Cody.

Friday December 24, we were Lindt chocolatiers! The first of its kind in South Africa and for Lindt worldwide, chocolate classes at Lindt Chocolate Studio in Cape Town. We decorated pre made truffles using tempered Lindt Milk & Dark Chocolate with toppings to add.

s/v Dafne and s/v Ohana co-hosted a Christmas Eve cocktail party centrally located on the middle dock by their catamarans. Tables were set up with Hors d’oeuvre to share.

Saturday December 25 🎄,

Sunday December 26, a leisurely drive through Cape Town aboard a double decker red tour bus. We exited the bus at the Winchester Mansion Hotel for lunch, then walked to the next stop near the Green Point Lighthouse, the oldest operating lighthouse in South Africa.