Click on the pic for more scenic p0rn

Various scenes around the Cape. Beautiful views. Not much more to say except my camera has this spot on the reflex lens inside. It’s distracting but not debilitating. It all seems like a dream now.

I’ve assembled the photos from our little ’safari’ adventure here. Above, the queen is waving from our chalet which was quite lovely. It included a deck as high as the chalet roof for better animal viewing. It also served as a wonderful perch for star gazing. On our first night I carried my glass of wine up there, laid on the picnic table and simply looked at the stars. We don’t see many stars around here because of all the ambient light. When I find myself in a place far from the city lights I make a point of looking up at the stars for a while.

Another recap: The Big 5 of Africa are the elephant, lion, Cape buffalo, the rhinoceros…

This guy was laying right in the dirt road. He wanted to charge us. Dennis the ranger drove around because if the rhino punctures the tire, Dennis has to pay for the tire. Dennis has his priorities in order.

The last of the Big 5 is the cheetah. We didn’t see the cheetah. Apparently the cheetah was getting acclimated to the climate of southwestern  Africa. Personally, I would rather have seen more herd animals than view the lions or the cheetahs cordoned off in their own little areas. I realize people like the big cats but driving around the free roaming animals was way groovier than viewing the lions behind a fence. I can go to the zoo to see caged lions.

Click on the giraffe to see more safari pics

Click on the picture for more penguin pics

The queen is zonked out on the couch after a grueling trip back from South Africa that had us cursing the lack of bathrooms at Heathrow airport. In an act of complete desperation, I considered buying adult diapers for a particular ’situation’ that befell me. The details of what madness could have so gripped me to the point of considering adult diapers to be a reasonable solution will be spared you, oh Gentle Woodland Folk of the Blogisphere. Let’s just say, if you were in my situation, you just might have considered it yourself. The moral of the story is always be prepared. It’s not just for Boy Scouts.

It is also startlingly obvious we are not seasoned world travelers. If so, we would have brought a change of clothes and maybe some deodorant along with the tchotchkes and other sundries purchased on our trip. We did not do this. If we had, my descent into the world of possibly purchasing plastic, padded pantaloons would never have taken place. Live and learn. And we did. And we do.

I’m enjoying a look back at all the pictures taken over the course of the last two weeks and I’ll post them here. The first set is all penguins all the time. Boulder Beach is just down the street from GFVicki and Suzanne’s house so it was just a little side trip, but what a groovy side trip it was. For once it wasn’t so bad being around a bunch of tourists because the penguins were totally worth the crowd weariness that envelopes me when throngs of tourists are involved. We try to stay off the beaten path but sometimes the well worn path is still a worthy stop.

We spent the last two days exploring the Cape which includes the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point – the southwestern tip of Africa. On our drive to Cape Point we took a side road to one of the beaches along the way. No tour buses allowed which means we basically had the beach to ourselves.

Well, we almost had the beach to ourselves. There was a little herd of ostrich and some other animals enjoying the beach with us.

The Cape is beyond gorgeous. You could easily spend a week here and not get bored.

Cape of Good Hope

And now it’s time to say goodbye to South Africa. What a wonderful trip, full of wonderful things we’ve done and seen but also very relaxing. We didn’t over do it. We went with the flow and all was good. Thanks to our very generous and engaging hostess goddesses, Suzanne and Vicki, this was an unforgettable vacation.

Uh… is that a baboon I hear?

Click on the pic for a larger view

We are heading to Cape Point today for some more gratuitous scenic p0rn because one can never get enough of scenic p0rn. A little later on I’m going to see Antionette. Oh yes, Antoinette, she of the small body but very strong hands. The woman probably weights 103 pound dripping wet but she nearly killed me last week when I got a massage from her. But I toughed it out because it hurt so good. And you think you have it bad.