Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Thought we would share with you a fun and useful addition to our household: a scooter! Chris got his motorcycle license before we left Alaska, and he has been putting it to good use. It’s a great way to get around the city. We especially love cruising to the beach. In just 2 minutes, we’re pulling right up, no parking hassles, just straight to the ocean.
Categories: Fun · Setting up
Tagged: beach, motorcycle, scooter
We went to another fabulous wine tasting while Jenne was here. It was back at the Cape Sun Hotel, and it was a celebration of the Veritas. These are wines from all over the country that have been awarded the best of the best for the year. We had a great time trying them! The room was filled with different wines to taste, and we showed Jenne some of our favorites. We also introduced her to some friends. We spoke with Johan at Kleine Zalze, he’s the vintner, and has been very nice to us at past tastings, explaining the processes and what to look for in South African wines.
The Three Of Us At Veritas
We visited together drinking great wine – it was a wonderful evening.
Categories: Wine
Tagged: Cape Sun Hotel, Kleine Zalze, Veritas, Wine
Categories: Safari
Tagged: Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, rhino, Safari
Categories: Safari
Tagged: elephant, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, lodge, Safari
Categories: Safari
Tagged: giraffe, Safari, Zulu Nyala
Our first major journey out of Cape Town!
We were fortunate enough to receive a great gift from our friend Pete Johnson. Pete is a realtor and bicyclist in Anchorage, Alaska, and won a safari as a prize. He did not see himself coming to this part of the world soon enough, so he very kindly gave it to us. Thanks Pete for a wonderful treat!
With Pete’s winnings, Jenne, Chris, and Lisa spent 4 days and 3 nights at Zulu Nyala. The Zulu Nyala Heritage Tented Safari Camp is in a game park about 3 hours north of Durban, by car. We flew to Durban and drove up in a rental car. The drive was easy and fun. Before we drove up, we loaded up on South African wines we wanted to try, which made our evenings really fun. We drove quickly on the big highway, and arrived in time for an afternoon game drive. We threw our stuff in our deluxe tents (with steam showers, jetted tubs, lounge, king size beds, and canvas walls so we could hear the wildlife around us) and jumped in the Rover.
Our guide was named Sandile, and for our entire time there, he was our go-to guy. We had others in our Rover, sometimes as many as 6 others, but Sandile always made us feel like we came first. Everyday, he would take us on 2 long drives. Zulu Nyala is a relatively small park, although many many acres, in comparison to other parks.
They have 3 of the Big 5. The Big 5 (elephants, buffalo, rhino, lion & leopard) were named that by hunters, as these are the 5 animals that are difficult to hunt because they fight back. We saw elephants, buffalo and rhino at Zulu Nyala. We also saw zebra, giraffes, wildebeest, warthogs, nyala (deer like), kudo, and impala. We also saw tons of amazing birds, like Egyptian Geese, and the most dangerous animal out there, hippo. A mother hippopotamus protecting her young is considered the most dangerous animal in the bush, although many of the hippos we saw were taking it easy, lazing in the water on a hot afternoon. We also saw hippos walking around on land in the daytime, which is pretty rare. We saw so much game, some just eating right in front of our tent. There were zebra right in front of our door, it was incredible. Every evening, the three of us would sit out on our porch, sometimes with new friends we had met in the day, sometimes on our own, just looking up at the South sky, and listening to the birds and animals.
Then, on our own, we drove to a nearby game park, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi. This park was much bigger, and much less controlled. It is the birth place of the nationwide program to save rhinoceros, and we saw so many there. We did not see lions, although we think we just missed them. As we were waiting at the top of the dry riverbed to see them, 2 beautiful white rhinos walked up behind us, and we got a photo of Chris right in front of them. We were also surrounded by a huge family of elephants in our little rental car. Chris, the driver, kept his cool, and Jenne and Lisa snapped mad photos and video. It was so exciting.
All in all, our trip was tops. The lodge at Zulu Nyala was very nice. We definitely recommend the tent camps, it was so romantic and beautiful. Everyday we had breakfast munch and dinner, as well as many opportunities for cultural experiences. Zulu Nyala is in KwaZulu-Natal, which home to the Zulu people. The art and culture was beautiful and rich. The last night the lodge threw a big party at the boma (outdoor barbecue and party area) where dancers and musicians from the area came to entertain us. They were wonderful. The people were very nice, and we had a great time. It’s a beautiful area of the world, and there’s a lot more for us to explore up there, so we’ll definitely be back. Who knows, it was quite a lifestyle, maybe in a few years we’ll be living in the bush, looking up at those stars every night.
This video was shot in Zulu Nyala. We will have more videos from the other game park in the next posts.
Categories: Safari
Tagged: elephant, giraffe, hippo, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, rhino, Safari, Zulu Nyala
One of our favorite places to hang out with friends and chill in Cape Town is Mzoli’s. Mzoli’s (pronounced mmm-Zo-lee’s) is a butcher shop in Gugulethu. Attached to the butcher shop is a large barbecue, and an outide patio. You order and buy your meat, they cook it up for you, and you enjoy it outside. The meat is legendary. Friends and neighbors gobbled down the large plates of ribs, chops and steaks.
This patio isn’t just any patio either. On Saturdays, and especially Sundays, the place is packed with folks. They bring their drinks, and snacks to accompany the meat, and find themselves a table, if possible. It’s usually very crowded, and you may just have to make some new friends, and join someone else’s table. It’s easy to do though. Sometimes there is a DJ, which is very fun, but other times people just pull their cars up and blast Metro FM or some other radio station, or some cool underground sound like DJ Cleo.
We have been there a few times. The first time we didn’t know anyone, but fortunately some great people from Bush Radio that Chris knew were there, and we hung out with them. We’ve been back a couple of times since then. Sometimes other friends that we’ve met are there, sometimes we make new friends. All we need is a pack of playing cards, and soon the international language of Chris’ favorite card game “toilet bowl” has created new friendships from around the globe.
It’s clearly a place where many people in the community come to relax and have fun. It’s a great place to hang out, listen to music, and meet friends. Final note…on Sundays, many are dressed pretty sharp, so wear something nice, but keep in mind it’s going to smell like barbeque by the end of the afternoon.
Categories: Cool spots
Tagged: Bush Radio, Mzoli's, Gugulethu, DJ, Sunday
Our dear friend Jenne Beathe came to visit us from Alaska. She is our first visitor, and we were so happy to see a familiar face and introduce her to the joys of Cape Town. She arrived from Milan, via London and Jo’Burg, but she was still up for a party. It was Tuesday, so we went to Asoka.
Lisa & Jenne at Asoka
Asoka is a very cool restaurant and bar on Kloof Street in Gardens. On Tuesdays they have a live jazz band, and the place is packed. Fortunately, we made a reservation, knowing that the moment Jenne arrived, she’d want to go out and party. This is clearly the beginning of a wild and fun Cape Town vacation for her, and for us too! We really enjoyed the music, food and service at Asoka. Check it out.
Between September 12 and October 12, 2008, the Pan African Space Station was “articulating musically, in techno-tender tones of post-millennial curiosity the Africa Centre’s programmatic theme of entangled nations…and to engage up close with the web of grooving soundwaves that binds Africans across the continent”. This “revolution” included a series of live shows and radio & internet streaming of, afro-jazz and funk. It was an incredible experience. In our previous post, we mentioned the Cindy Blackman Quartet. We went to two others shows, at different venues, as a part of the Space Station.
One show was Bibi Tanga at Assembly. We have mentioned the Assembly before, it’s a great place. The Bibi Tanga show was an awesome show. Opening for them was the Blk Jks. They were tremendous. They have an experimental rock-jazz sound, and were awesome performers
Once the Blk Jks finished, Bibi Tanga and his band took the stage. They blew it up. They had a more classic jazz sound, with great beats and old-school groove. The musicians were top-notch and the crowd LOVED it. The place was packed, and everyone was dancing.
The next night, we went to the Mowbray Town Hall, for the final concert of the Station, Anthony Joseph. The Mowbray Town Hall was a venue that clearly had been used for different things, both speaking and music engagements. When we walked in, the crowd was hushed, listening to soft experimental jazz. It was a small, old -fashioned auditorium-type building, with everyone seating on the ground in the main room, or on the balcony. Shortly after we arrived, there was a break, and then Anthony Joseph and his band (the Spasm Band) started. He seemed to know the weight of his time slot, as he was the final performance of the Pan African Space Station. He spoke briefly of that, and the greatness of the event. Then he started playing. He was not from Africa, but his culture and heritage, which was a big part of his music, was influenced by many of the same things as the other modern African music we had been listening to as a part of the Station. His music incorporated rock and old rhythm and blues chords. The formerly quiet crowd rose to it’s feet, and danced along. It was a lot of fun.
The Pan African Space Station was a great event. It was a showcase of the great sounds being created across the continent, and around the world. In addition it was a well organized event. There were shuttle buses to each venue, and streaming radio to let all those who could not attend in person, join the movement. Congratulations to the performers and the organizers on great events, and thank you for a memorable experience.
Categories: Concerts
Tagged: Anthony Joseph, Assembly, Bibi Tanga, Blk Jks, Concerts, Mowbray Town Hall, music, PASS, Spasm Band
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