Knysna was really nice!

We next went to a town called Knysna (pronounced Nice-na) that was one of our favorite towns on the trip. We stayed in a great hotel with an even greater employee that worked there named Jeffrey. He was the happiest, nicest person I think I've ever met. Every time we saw him, he had a huge toothy smile and would just make us laugh - so cute. Too bad I didn't get a picture of Jeffrey! After we checked into the hotel, Kristin said that she had seen some Guinea Fowl off the back porch of our cabin. I went out there and sure enough were a ton of them just running all around with their little babies. I'd never seen Guinea Fowl - I'm not sure if they even live in the States, but they were fun to see and feed bread to.











The next morning, we went to a nature reserve called Featherbed to see some beautiful views and plants. We took a half hour ferry to get over to the reserved and then a 4X4 up to the top so that we could then walk down. There are normally tons of flowers in the spring and summer, but since we were there at the tail end of summer, the flowers were not blooming much while we were there. The plants were still beautiful, including the aloe all around. We also saw a big land turtle and a lizard and a duiker, the smallest breed of antelope. We didn't see the duiker in the wild however, but in a pen after the walk. They were super cute. The views all around the walk were absolutely amazing,as you can see in these pictures - well worth the trip and one of Nancy's favorite things that we did!













































Kristin and I later went to one of the beaches in Knysna and very much enjoyed the beautiful views. Kristin went on a jog and I caught up on some sleep. :D That night, we went to the braai that our hotel had out under the stars. It was such a wonderful meal with great South African wine, great company and a beautiful view.

Shark Diving and Hermanus

We left early the next morning to go catch a boat to go shark diving. In the cape, there are a lot of great white sharks and this is a great place to go and see them. We were planning on getting in wetsuits and in a cage to actually swim with the sharks underwater, but were told that the visibility was really bad that day and that we would actually see more if we stayed on the boat. Boy, am I glad we did! We saw so much from the top deck and the poor people in the cage didn't see anything while they were there. Plus, it was a pretty cold day. We were really lucky and saw our first shark after only about 15 minutes and sometimes they have to wait for hours. February is known to be the worst month for shark sightings, but you could have fooled me because we saw so much. We saw at least 3 sharks and maybe 4. I was able to get a few great shots, which is great because now you can see some of our adventures too! The company that we went with, Shark Watch South Africa is really great and works on conservation efforts and helping the sharks. They don't feed them, but rather just put out chum on the water. Chum is very smelly water produced by putting chopped up tuna in it and stomping around on it. We didn't smell it from up top, but one of the girls in the cage smelled it and it made her so sick, she produced some human chum to try to reel in the sharks. If they were to actually feed the sharks, then the sharks would rely on them and not learn how to hunt for themselves. However, by keeping the sharks in this area by luring them with their chum, it keeps the sharks in safer waters. Our guide was really great, too telling us so much about the sharks. Our boat captain was apparently one of the best because none of the other boats out that day were seeing any sharks. Finally, one had to come over hear us because the sharks liked our boat so much. One particular shark named Scratch was my favorite. She was about 4m, which is over 13 feet! She was huge, but very beautiful and even sweet! She got her name because of having scratches all over her. She didn't even jump up for bait, but kept coming by our boat and just rubbing the boat and swimming around us. She would turn on her side, as if she was looking up at us - so cute! They think she might be pregnant and that could be why she is so docile. They've been able to track some of these sharks that have gone all the way to Australia and then back to South Africa again - crazy!
































It was amazingly cool to see Great White Sharks and to see that they are really beautiful creatures that we should take care of, instead of killing and fearing them so much. After seeing sharks for a good while, we let some of the other boats have their chances to look at the sharks and drove over by a couple of islands. I think these islands are part of what the sharks feed on. Not the islands, but the many thousands of seals that live on them. When we were there, it was the down time and there supposedly weren't as many as usual, but I can't imagine anymore being able to fit on the island. It was pretty smelly driving by there as well. Since we got up so early and Kristin had to drive (on the left side of the road too!), she was a little tired on the ride back and snuck in a short nap.


After the shark trip, we went to get some lunch, but it took us a few hours. We were trying to find a place called Mogg's and drove on a dirt road through some really beautiful countryside, but kept driving and driving. The signs in South Africa are not that great and though it's nice not to have huge billboards everywhere you turn, it's a little difficult to find places at times. We passed the restaurant turn-off and went to another town before turning around again. Once we finally got to the restaurant, they told us they were having a private party that day and they couldn't seat us. We ended up just going back into town in Hermanus and eating. We were of course starving by then, but at least we got to see some nice views.











We stayed at a very nice hotel, right on the cliffs looking out to the ocean. After Nancy almost got mugged walking by herself that afternoon close to sunset, Kristin and I decided to walk with her the next morning along the cliffs. The views were beautiful and we saw some more dassies on the rocks. The rocks were really cool too with the orange coloring, which is iron coming out of the rocks and staining them - beautiful! We also saw our first dung beetle carrying dung across our path. What weird bugs!

Table Mountain and African Disney

On our third day in Cape Town, we went to Table Mountain because the sun had finally decided to shine. If you go up Table Mountain when it is cloudy, you can't see anything, so we had been waiting for a sunny day and boy did we get it! Kristin talked me into hiking up the mountain and I was a little concerned, being in flip flops and carrying now water, not to mention the fear for my safety that we had heard about, but I'm so glad I went! The views were absolutely amazing and the exercise was just what my body needed. I guess this hike can be quite dangerous at times with muggings and such, but on this beautiful Saturday, there were tons of people all around us while we hiked. Almost at the top, there was some water streaming down the rocks and I had to take the opportunity to try to add some moisture to my system - yummy!















At the top, the views were incredible. You could see as far as your eye could go in all directions. There was a beautiful blue sky, beautiful blue water and one of the prettiest cities in the world. The island that you can see in one of the pictures is Robbin Island. We didn't have time to make it there, but this was where Nelson Mandela, among many others was exiled and imprisoned. While at the top, I was temporarily turned into a dassie. However I got turned back before heading back down in the cable car. Once back at the bottom, I had to catch a picture of these beautiful trees with the peak in the background. I don't know what kind of trees these are, but they were beautiful and all over on our trip. If anyone knows, can you please leave a comment here to help me out? I searched, but wasn't able to find it. We also went and saw a view of Table Mountain that explains why it's named as it is - cool!























We next went to a couple of wineries out past Shan's house and they were great! The wine is so different than the wines that we are used to in California - it was great to get to taste them and bring a little home. They have a blend found only in South Africa currently called Pinotage - yummy!











That night before we left the next morning for travels away from Cape Town, John and Shan took us to this AMAZING restaurant called Moyo. We later read a review that said it was like an African Disney World. I liked to see it more as a view of some of the older culture of the tribes in South Africa, but I guess it was pretty touristy nonetheless. The restaurant was wonderfully put together with tents all over, mixed in with beautiful trees and lights, etc. etc. When we were seated at our table, a women came up and offered us a bowl of rose water to wash our hands - it smelled so good! She also came around and painted our faces in the way that their tribes would paint their faces during special occasions, like weddings. Our server was a very nice guy from Malawi. In South Africa, they refer to the rest of Africa as "up into Africa" and this guy was more how I would have pictured an African than most of the people we met in South Africa. Funny how our perceptions come to be what they are. I had asked for a typical South African drink, so John asked our waiter and he brought me this really yummy drink made with Amarula, which is a liquor common in South Africa. It is made from the amarula fruit that elephants eat in the wild and then mixed with cream and tastes a lot like Bailey's Irish Cream - my drink was great! Nancy (who is my angel) found her own angel at this place as well. Nancy, Kristin and I played around with hats and being goofy and these are always pictures that I have to share. In finality, I want to show Shan and John and say that they were the most wonderful hosts ever! Shan went out of her way to take us to see all of the best things and took good care of us. John took all of us girls out for a great night on the town and I so appreciated it all. Thank you guys SO MUCH!
















































Definitely the best part of Moyo was the music and performers. This is what I think of as Africa and it was really cool to see. I don't know if this type of music and dance is still very common there or whether the development and Westernization has made it less common, but I loved it.