South Africa was a wonderful place to live and we had four great years there. Returning for a holiday was amazing because we could take the highlights of our time living there and do a "Greatest Hits" trip. It started by flying into Johannesburg. We made our way directly to Riversands for some beer and pies. The place had changed a lot and what was once a shack by a river was now a happening boutique of stalls. Taeyln tapped into biltong and kept at it for the week. Next we dropped by our old school and took a walk around. Much of it had been updated and looked very nice. We finished the day at Papachinos, our old haunt where the kids made their own pizza, played on the structures, and we drank our cheap but amazing wine and had the obligatory bacon, avo, feta pizza.
The next day we were off to Ukatula, the lion preserve, to play with the lion and tiger cubs and see the other cats. This is one of the best things to do in the area. The pictures cannot be beat. Where else can you hold a baby lion?!?
Soon we were flying out to George where we drove back to Knysna on the Garden Route. This is probably the best part of the country. We headed out to do some zip lining. The girls sailed down the lines and even picked up a chameleon for a ride. We went to the elephant reserve and walked with the giants in open fields, feeding and petting them. Anyone who doesn't marvel at an elephant has never really been to Africa.
We drove the next day to Oudtshoorn for a tour of Highgate Ostrich Farm. It starts with learning about the leather and feathers of the bird. Then we played with the babies before feeding the adults. Not to be missed is the sitting on/riding of the ostrich. We watched a jockey race and, of course, had ostrich for a meal. It is quite delicious. The only thing we missed out on this time was the standing on the egg which our entire family can do at once!
A long drive over the mountains brought us to Franschhoek, a beautiful mountain town know for its wine. We stayed in an amazing house at the foot of the mountains near town. The food was great, but the wine unstoppable. A few tastings was all it took to know that South Africans still do some of the best wine in the world.
We spent the remaining days in Cape Town, walking the Waterfront and eating. We returned to the Two Oceans Aquarium, but we were unable to go to Robbin Island. We headed out around the Cape Peninsula and stopped at Boulders Beach to walk with the penguins.
We ended the week with what we really came here to do: The Two Oceans Marathon. The 56km tour of the peninsula is very pretty but extremely difficult. The kids opted for a shorter version the day before and pounded out about a kilometer in the rain. The weather, which had been great all week, turned ugly on the weekend. Luckily, it cleared in time for my run. I finished in a respectable time, albeit slower than my previous attempts when living there. I was quite sore for the plane ride home.
The next day we were off to Ukatula, the lion preserve, to play with the lion and tiger cubs and see the other cats. This is one of the best things to do in the area. The pictures cannot be beat. Where else can you hold a baby lion?!?
Soon we were flying out to George where we drove back to Knysna on the Garden Route. This is probably the best part of the country. We headed out to do some zip lining. The girls sailed down the lines and even picked up a chameleon for a ride. We went to the elephant reserve and walked with the giants in open fields, feeding and petting them. Anyone who doesn't marvel at an elephant has never really been to Africa.
We drove the next day to Oudtshoorn for a tour of Highgate Ostrich Farm. It starts with learning about the leather and feathers of the bird. Then we played with the babies before feeding the adults. Not to be missed is the sitting on/riding of the ostrich. We watched a jockey race and, of course, had ostrich for a meal. It is quite delicious. The only thing we missed out on this time was the standing on the egg which our entire family can do at once!
A long drive over the mountains brought us to Franschhoek, a beautiful mountain town know for its wine. We stayed in an amazing house at the foot of the mountains near town. The food was great, but the wine unstoppable. A few tastings was all it took to know that South Africans still do some of the best wine in the world.
We spent the remaining days in Cape Town, walking the Waterfront and eating. We returned to the Two Oceans Aquarium, but we were unable to go to Robbin Island. We headed out around the Cape Peninsula and stopped at Boulders Beach to walk with the penguins.
We ended the week with what we really came here to do: The Two Oceans Marathon. The 56km tour of the peninsula is very pretty but extremely difficult. The kids opted for a shorter version the day before and pounded out about a kilometer in the rain. The weather, which had been great all week, turned ugly on the weekend. Luckily, it cleared in time for my run. I finished in a respectable time, albeit slower than my previous attempts when living there. I was quite sore for the plane ride home.
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