Moving day for the Whittakers! We sadly left Houts Bay and travelled across to Hermanus, stopping on the way for shopping at Somerset West. When we arrived at the Fisherhaven gatehouse, there were no instructions on where we were staying or where to go - we were slightly worried! It all turned out to be under control, Lee, the gorgeous agent, took us down to our booking, Rondavel 2, which was right on the beach - it was utterley gorgeous. Newly decorated in seaside blue and white, it had a kitchen, shower room and double bed, with a further mattress on the mezzanine floor. We fell instantly in love with it and our last week was just sheer bliss!
Our gorgeous little rondavel
Nikki and Simon, our friends, arrived mid afternoon and stayed with us overnight. We went out to Hermanus and had supper in a little local cafe which served Bobotie and plenty of wine (thank you Simon!).
Birds at sunset over the lagoon
Monday, 21st December 2010
Nikki was up early and out across the sands; the rest of us emerged for breakfast! Then Nikki and Simon set off up the Garden Route and we went out along the coast to Gaansbal to see if it was worth paying for a whale watching trip. The weather was awful and the sea was rought. We watcvhed the island boat come back in with tourists on it - the path to the island is supposed to be full of great white sharks, whales in season, and penguins and seals on the island. We asked one of the passengers if they had seen anything. 'No', she replied. 'We didnt even see a penguin, we're cold, and feel sea sick, it was horrible'. That decided us not to take a boat.
So we journeyed back to Hermanus. The rain cleared and the sun came out but the sea was still a bit rought. We couldnt believe our luck; there in the shallows just off the beach was a Southern Right Whale and calf. We watched it for ages and also saw a Cape Fur Seal playing in the waves, right between the surfers and paddlers, all oblivious that they were so close to nature! And it saved us taking a boat trip for over £100 each!
Southern Right Whale at Hermanus (the baby is beside her)
Wednesday, 22nd December 2010
Today, we went to the Harold Porter gardens which were previously called 'Shangri La' by Harold Porter. They were indeed idyllic and we were pleased to spot otter tracks over the bridge which had only just been made!
Then we went down to Bettys Bay where there is a large penguin reserve. We really didnt expect to see so many - there must have been at least 2,000 of them on the shore and in the water. Space was at a premium so the penguins attacked any intruders on their little patch.
African penguins at Betty's Bay
On the way back to Fisherhaven, we stopped at the Kogelberg Reserve and did a small walk, but as we were poorly equipped for a long walk, having no water with us, we decided to return later in the week.
That evening we walked out round the estate to spot the resident duiker and also to see the birds. We spotted a cape eagle owl on the telephone wires.
Thursday, 23rd December 2010
We decided to visit the Hottentots Nature Reserve and we so pleased we did; it was so beautiful, with spring flowers out everywhere. The sun was out, the temperature hot, but rain clouds threatened so we were pleased it stayed dry while we were walking.
Hottentot Reserve
After the walk, we drove throught the glorious mountain passes to Franschouk, hoping to find the rest of the reseve on the way; we found it but it had clearly not been open for years so we did not see the animals that were supposed to be homed there.
Franschouk was a modern town catering for tourists, so was expensive and chic, but lacked real heart as Greyton had. We had a lunch of bread and cheese and then visited the vineyards.
On the way back to Fisherhaven, we stopped off for fish and chips from the Ocean Basket in Hermanus, and ate them on the front. Rock Daissies came out and begged for chips - I made the mistake of giving one a chip and we were inudated; one tried to climb onto Pete's knee to get closer to his chips!
Friday, 24th December 2010
We woke up early - 5.30, so went out for a walk across the Rooisand Nature Reserve, in front of our Rondavel. It was raining, but the seabirds had amassed in vast numbers on the lagoon and the beach. There must have been at least 3000 terns who rose into the air like a snow storm -it was incredible. White Pelicans, Greater Flamingos, Herons and Blacksmiths Plovers abounded. As we walked over the sand dunes, the sand gave way where the Dune Rats had burrowed in their tunnels. At the end of the lagoon we found the wild horses - these had been set free by a farmer at the end of the Anglo Boer war and had lived wild since. They are unusual in that they are related to the ancient wild horse of South Africa but were crossed to give a tsetse fly resistant working horse. We watched them for ages, sifting weed from the lagoon, play fighting and feeding young.
Wild horses at Rooisand Reserve
In the afternoon. our dear friends from England, Mags, Kev, Steve and Lesley arrived and we took them for a short walk onto the beach followed by a picnic. We hadnt seen them since we left home on 8th August 2010 at Kevs birthday party so it was a lovely way of ending our big adventure.
L-R Mags, Lesley, Carole, Kev, Pete, Steve
Saturday, 25th December 2010
We awoke early again and walked out, in glorious sunshine this time, down to to wild horses. After a lovely breakfast, sat outside, feeding and watching the birds, we set off for the Kogelberg National Park. We signed the usual declaration that if we died we wouldnt hold the Park liable and started walking up the narrow path up the hillside. It was very hot, the sun was relentless, but the proteas and wild flowers looked fabulous in the sunshine. A banana coloured Cape Cobra, curled up by the path, shot into the undergrowth as we passed. We made our way up to a beach by the river - it really was a sandy beach on the hillside. There were otter prints in the wet sand. We opened our Christmas day coka cola and relaxed - heaven!
The Mountain beach at the Kogelberg Reserve
On the way back down, Pete was walking in front along the narrow path and very quickly, a black mamba shot past his right leg, then up onto a bush in front of him. It turned and reared on the top third of its 8-10 foot length and part hooded up in preparation for attack. Pete said it looked at him, seemed to assess him, then just as quickly, turned and was gone. We decided to move over to the wider path!
The narrow path we were walking - the Black Mamba was further along
We celebrated Christmas Day with a pasta, a good bottle of wine and a packet of Marks and Spencers chocolate biscuits!
Sunday, 26th December 2010
Our friends had invited us to spend the night with them just outside of Somerset West, prior to flying to the airport for home next day.
We spent the morning doing our last bits of shopping in Hermanus and then packed up our luggage rady for the flight.
Our friends were staying in a lovely house, quite grand compared to our little rondavel, with a small pool out the back. They had prepared a lovely barbacue, and thoughtfully added some salmon as Carole still can't face meat.
Monday, 27th December 2010
Our friends took us down to a lovely restaurant at the local hotel on the Estate for breakfast. It was so lovely to sit there in the warm morning sun with such dear friends and so sweet of them to treat us.
Last breakfast in South Africa
Reluctantly, we headed off for Cape Town airport, took the car back and caught the flight to Joberg. We just had time at Joberg to claim our VAT and blow the lot on spirits, before we caught our flight for home.
Our adventure was over, we felt very, very sad and both agreed that we could have stayed abroad, living like hermits in the glorious warmth of South Africa.
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