Table Climb

We finally made it up the big Table Mountain on Thursday. It took us a paltry 75 minutes to ascend to the summit which is 45 minutes quicker than the average bear. We set a blistering pace, even passing a guide on the way up, along with other assorted groups of out of shape hikers. We were tired and cold when we made it to the top, but that didn't assuage our spirits. We were glad to accomplish this task. Grandpa and Grandma were to meet us at the top via the cable car, but it was shut down due to high winds. We were allowed to take it down however and managed this with not quite enough money, since Grandpa was going to bring our wallets along with them. In the evening we went to the Tenebrae service at church.

On Good Friday we had a busy day, attending church in the morning, lunch with the Buttles', and tea with the Wares'. That took us until past six and then we went home to relax. Not that we weren't relaxed during the visits, but it was busy. The kids were tired.

This morning we made it downtown to visit the Castle. This is the oldest surviving building in South Africa. Really interesting. Tomorrow we head out east and I don't expect to post until we return. Have a great Easter! We'll see elephants and lions, pictures to come.

Tomorrow morning is also the FGMF seasoned church service at Mowbray Presbyterian Church. We are involved in acting and the children's story.

We took the train to Simon's Town on Tuesday and had a fun time exploring and visiting with mom and dad Loeppky. The penguins were laid out on the beach and stared right back at us. We brunched overlooking the naval base for the SA Navy and enjoyed the scenery.

Dave and Erin joined us later in the day for kielke and boer'wors along with Marion and Ricardo and Ochi. This was truly a feast! Using the sausage fat made for a different taste from the normal farmer sausage then we're used to. D + E will be leaving CT today and travelling to Stellenbosch for a few nights before heading home to the UK.

We've got a busy Easter weekend planned, luckily we've had a few invites for supper and lunch from friends. We've also purchased a "Wild" card for unlimited entrance to all parks for the year we are here. That will save us some money and will give us more freedom to move about in and out of parks.

They’re here….finally

OK, Ron and Connie arrived in Cape Town this morning safe and sound. What a pleasure to have them come and visit. Thanks for all the cards, etc that were sent along. We are so sorry that the varscht made it to the airport here and then was made to throw away. That's how the sausage goes I guess. We'll replace it with BoerWors. The zoat will be great, and the dvd's will be fantastic!

On Friday night we went to the Cape Town International Jazz festival. We were pumped to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo but I think it was the Joe Sample Trio that really stole the show, at least for us. Ladysmith was good, not really jazz, but there were some really good artists, five stages in total that we could visit. I'll try to post more on the artists later. The feeling there was very electric and alive. The crowd knew all the words and the actions for the Mambazo songs, so with thousands of people singing and dancing we felt like part of the show.

On Saturday we went to Groot Constantia, the oldest vineyard in SA for supper with Dave and Errin. That was a nice time, except for the fact that we almost ran out of gas, we thought we did, left the car, and came back to find that it still started. The wine there was excellent, we bought a Shiraz to drink with supper, I had springbok steak which was excellent.

Yesterday Dave and Errin came to Forest Hill before we went over to Kirstenbosch for a picnic and a short hike through the blooming proteas which are just beautiful now. Darryl Dave says hi.

Tonight will be low key, and tomorrow off to Simon's Town on the train with mom and dad, and Dave and Errin followed by Kielke for supper with Ochi, and probably Ricardo and Marion.