Back to Hermanus

My parents and I went to Hermanus today to see the whales.

It was my fourth trip out there in as many months, but this was easily the best whale-watching yet. The whales were so close to the shore this time that even on my digital camera with a puny 4X zoom, I managed to get some pretty good pictures of whales jumping out of the water. We were so close that, at the end of their descent back into the ocean, we could hear the crack as they landed on their backs.

There were probably nine or ten whales close enough to shore for us to see them, and for an hour or more, it seemed like at least one of them was breaching every minute or so.

The last time Katie and I went, we felt priviledged to see one whale breach seven or eight times. This time, I must have seen forty breaches.

Then there was one mother whale with her young calf who were idling even closer to shore. They weren't doing any acrobatics, but they were so close that I could easily have thrown a baseball to where they were floating in the waves.

Not that I'd hit a whale with a baseball. That'd be mean.

A few more pictures from today are here. These two pictures on this page are cropped and zoomed a bit, but the originals show you how close to the shore these big fellas get... and there are people in the pictures so you can see just how gigantic they are.

My parents were shooting film and had a fantastic zoom lens, so I'll put those up in a few weeks when they've been developed.

Kirstenbosch

Nice flower, eh?

That's a protea from the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, about 10 minutes from our house. We went there today.

Katie and I had only been to Kirstenbosch once before, but now that we are well into spring here in Cape Town, it was time to go back. Our excuse was that my parents are in town, so we took them along. Actually, they were nice enough to take us along.

The last time we were there was in the late southern-hemisphere-autumn, in March, so we were pretty much blown away by the colors on this visit.

Most of the plants on display are native to this part of southern Africa, which meant that there were lots and lots of proteas and other members of the fynbos family. It also meant that most of the flowers were unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

Fynbos, in case you didn't know, is an entire kingdom of plant species that is unique to the Western Cape. Since there are only a total of six plant kingdoms in the entire world, the stuff growing in this little corner of the world can seem like it came from another planet. There are at least 8,500 plants that you can't find anywhere else.

Trying to describe them is all but futile, so check out the pictures here to get some idea of how amazing the flora here can be.

Visit from California

My parents got to Cape Town this past week, and Katie and I have been busy showing them around. Today, we went down the Cape Peninsula to see penguins and have lunch, and ended up seeing some baboons too.

Katie and I have seen the penguins so many times that the two of us didn't even take any pictures... but they were still worth another trip. This is the time of the year when they molt, which meant some of them were still grump and furry, and others were svelte and happy. The beach was littered with penguin feathers.

If you aren't quite as complacent about penguins as we are, you can see our earlier pictures of penguins here and discover their dirty little secret here.

I have a somewhat irrational fear of the baboons, but I've heard enough stories that between pictures, as the baboons got closer, I would roll up the window. My primary worry isn't that they'll jump in the car and rip my face off, but that they'll jump in the car and crap all over everything. It's happened before, but thankfully, not to us.

My parents were gone for three days midweek on a trip to Knysna, but they returned last night and we went out for a nice dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday.

Before they went to Knysna, we made a day trip to the wine country, and another day was spent shopping at a variety of markets in Khayelitsha, on Long Street and the pedestrian-only area downtown called the St. George's Mall.

My parents were also generous enough to supply us with several items from home that we've been pining for. They brought us New Yorkers, the New York Times, the Washington Post (they flew through Dulles), and, most impressively, they smuggled in corn tortillas and nearly a gallon of homemade tomatillo sauce so we could make real enchiladas. We've already made one batch of 20, and we'll make more next week.

Actually, both Katie and I are looking forward to next week, and not just because we get to cook more enchiladas. My brother gets here on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, all five of us are going to a private game park outside of Kruger National Park for a three-night safari.

Friends on the Web

My friend Ryan and his girlfriend Alison are blogging their way across Europe. They started in the colder parts of the continent. Check out their new website and live vicariously.

Also, Katie's friend Jenny, who used to fill us all in on her doings when she lived in China, and then Thailand, is now living in the U.K. She's still writing the odd missive from rural England here.

Sundowners

There's a fantastic South African tradition that we've tried to teach to each one of our guests when they come to town. But it's something that we partake in from time to time even when we don't have visitors. It's called the "sundowner."

In the states, we might call it "going for a drink after work," or "happy hour." Doesn't the word "sundowner" sound so much more elegant?

We've driven over to the beach town of Camps Bay a couple times for our sundowners, since Camps Bay faces west out into the Atlantic. But last night, for a change of pace, we went with our neighbors to Signal Hill.

(Yes, our neighbors are pretty much our only friends.)

Signal Hill isn't quite as awe-inspiring as Table Mountain, but it sticks out into the city and gives you a very different view than you get from climbing up Table Mountain. Plus, you can drive to the top of Signal Hill, which gives it a distinct advantage over its more famous neighbor in the convenience department.

So we saw the sun set over a beautiful, calm sea with a glass of great South African wine in our hands. There were odd, low-lying clouds--or maybe it was fog--hugging the shore far below us, but further out it was clear and lovely.

In the background in some of these pictures from yesterday, you can also see Lion's Head, the third iconic hill that overlooks Cape Town. We'll get up to the top of that one day soon. With wine, no doubt.

Our First Braai

We had our first official South African braai last weekend.

Our neighors, Marcus and Laura, did all the work, and Katie and I just stood around, drank wine and gave unhelpful advice about where to place the coals.

But it all took place on our deck, so I think we get at least partial credit for hosting a braai. We ended up with a grill on our deck because the same neighbors didn't have room for it on theirs. So they're storing it over here.

There's not too much difference between an American barbeque and a South African braai, except in the quality and variety of meat. There's no hamburgers and hot dogs at a braai, but there are steaks and sausages instead. And Marcus and Laura were kind enough to bring over stuffed squash for Katie, the vegetarian.

Also, in a traditional braai, they use wood instead of charcoal. Marcus threw a few logs on the fire to simulate the traditional experience. He's trying to get them to light in that picture at the top of this post.

There's a few more pictures from the event here.

Tatia II

We told you before about Tatia, the crazy pretend-model who I met when I was out with our two latest visitors to Cape Town, Tracey and Rose.

Well here she is. Pictures courtesy of Rose.

Rose is one on the right.