"Rains Down in Africa" (or at least Jeffreys Bay)

Sorry for the long gap in updates...time and internet became scarce as we continued our vacation.

Last post we left off in Sabi Sabi...

Wednesday (February 1):

We managed to squeeze in a morning safari before flying out of Sabi Sabi. We scoured the grasslands in the northern part of the reserve in hopes of finding my cheetah, but to no avail. We did, however, see a nice male buffalo, a waterbuck, a purple breasted roller, and a male wydah bird trying to impress a female. As we got in the landrover one last time to head to the airstrip, I couldn't help feeling sad. I just never can get enough of Kruger -- it has my heart.

This time we had a slightly larger plane (16 seater vs. 8 seater flying in), and I took a little nap as we flew to Johannesburg. In Johannesburg, we had 3 hours to kill before our connecting flight to Port Elizabeth, so we relaxed in the British Airways lounge where I read and napped some more (I guess those 5:30am wake up calls were getting to me).

We arrived in a rainy and foggy Port Elizabeth greeted by Oupa Pieter. It is always so exciting and wonderful to see the Oupas and Oumas after being gone for a while. That first hug is definitely the best. Oupa drove us through the rain to Jeffreysbay where Ouma Cielie was waiting for us. We had tea, unpacked, and got ready for dinner. Ouma served a delicious beef potjie will all my favorite sides (sweet potato and green beans...yum!). We then brought out our gifts for Ouma and Oupa -- a copy of Rode's Christmas ballet recital and a kindle. Ouma was SO excited about the kindle, and I was glad we were able to get it for her. After visiting over some cappuccinos, we headed off to bed.

Thursday (February 2)

We woke up to more rain and headed off to Le Chameleon for brunch. Le Chameleon is a charming little restaurant and specialty gift shop. The interior is beautifully decorated, the food is delicious, and there are always more than a few unique little items I want to buy for my house. We managed to find a gift for Mamma here as well us some fleur-de-lis salt and pepper shakers for our dining room.

After brunch, we headed back to Ouma and Oupa's house where we showed them our Sabi Sabi pictures and Rode's Christmas recital. They were so impressed with how much Rode has grown up into a young lady and a beautiful ballet dancer. After visiting a bit with Ouma, I did a modified Crossfit workout outside while we had a break from the rain. By the time I finished, it was almost time to head out for dinner, so I took a quick shower before we left for Kitchen Windows. Kitchen Windows is a beachfront restaurant with an incredible view and an extremely hospitable owner, Marius. He came over to welcome us and chatted with us for a while about how we were enjoying our vacation. We all ordered delicious seafood (I got the sole -- soooo good!)

Friday (Feb 3)

The next morning we woke to some more rain, but that didn't stop us from going out to visit the Jeffreys Bay shell museum where they display beautiful shells from all over the world. Afterwards, we went to visit one of Ouma and Oupa's regular coffee spots, the art gallery. This coffeeshop/art gallery has a few tables set up in the back of the gallery, so you can enjoy the artwork while sipping your coffee.

We then returned to home to have a delicious lunch of cottage pie before heading back to Port Elizabeth to catch our flight to Cape Town. Oupa let Ben drive us back to the airport so he could practice a little bit before we rented a car in Ifafi. Once we got to the airport, the lines for check-in seemed unusually long. We managed to check in, get our bags checked, and move through security to the terminal when we hear multiple flights being canceled. Apparently, no flight had landed or taken off yet that day (by this time it was 2:30pm). We nervously sat down at our terminal and hoped that our flight wouldn't be canceled. After about an hour delay, we see a plane land on the runway, and it's ours! We excitedly make our way out of the terminal into the rain to board the plane. Once we are all settled, the flight attendant tells us how the pilot tried to land twice, but had to turn back because the cloud ceiling was too low for a safe landing. On his third try, he had his hand on the throttle ready to pull up when suddenly a break in the clouds appeared and he was able to land. I think we were probably the only flight to make it out of Port Elizabeth that day -- SO lucky.

We arrive in Cape Town to clear skies and sunshine where our driver, William, greeted us. As William drove us to the hotel, he pointed out the major landmarks (district 6, Groote Schuur, Long Street, Strand St, the FIFA stadium, the harbor, and the bridge that goes to nowhere) and gave us some history about Cape Town. He had a friendly smile and an easy laugh, and I enjoyed the brief little tour he gave us.

We get to the Table Bay Hotel where in our rooms we find a bottle of champagne, rose petals on the bed, assorted cakes/treats, and an INCREDIBLE view of Table Mountain to welcome us. WOW. We toasted the champagne to our arrival in Cape Town and then relaxed before dinner in the hotel restaurant, the Atlantic.