Celebrating in South Africa

Morag and Clive had suggested that we all go back to Hermanus to see if we could spot any whales before Jon and I returned home so that was the plan for today. We packed everything up and were ready for when Ollie and Charlotte arrived as they were also going to Hermanus and would follow us in their car. The weather by now had really deteriated and driving over the mountains was a slow process due to poor visibility but Clive did a great job and soon we were heading towards blue sky and the temperature steadily increased as we neared Hermanus. Sadly our expectations of joining a boat trip in search of whales was shortlived as we were informed that all boats were not attempting any trips at the moment due to the bad weather! This bad weather has apparently also scared the whales into hiding too as very few have been seen in the last week so we are out of luck this time. We said goodbye to Ollie and Charlotte and went for some lunch at Cocos overlooking the bay, followed by a wander ro

Quick breakfast to line our stomachs and we were off down to the village to catch the wine tram at 10.15 to the vineyards in Franschhoek. We could do 6 winery's and have at least 4 different wines to taste at each stop, we were quite merry after number one and boarded the tram for the next stop which happened to be Richard Branson's and were joined by Ollie and Charlotte, a young couple from Winchester. Beautiful tasting area and restaurant and we necked, sorry sipped a few of Richard's best before heading off for number 3 which was my favourite tasting because it was sparkling wine pitched against champagne and we had some food to assist with the digestion, hic! Number 4 on the list actually is a bit of a blur but we did meet up with another young couple, Jade and Mark, from Wales, who we had seen originally at the previous vineyard taking photos with a drone, are you still with me? By now the last place on our list has faded into insignificance as we were having such a g

Morag and I got up really early and went off for a yoga class taught by Danielle at the Artemis Art House which is owned by Andrea who also joined us for the class. A small select group but it was an excellent hour which we all enjoyed. Morag and I returned to the house (boys still in bed!) to shower and get ready for our breakfast visit at Cafe Bon Bon. Yet another fabulous place in wonderful grounds and beautifully fitted out for the guests to enjoy meals, entertainment and the company of a huge cockerel!! (Yes he visits at tables regularly!) We  have been so lucky to experience these places and are quite envious of our friends who have so many lovely places right where they live. Franschhoek is very pretty and has a wealth of interesting shops, cafes, restaurants and art studios all along the high street and we spent a while investigating many of them before returning home to change for our 'high tea' experience at La Residence. Their chauffeur service picked us up and too

Clive went off early today as he is starting up a scheme for training the youngsters of Franschhoek in the skills of weightlifting and there was to be a competition in the local sports centre. Morag took us off to the new Black Dog cafe for breakfast, which turned out to be everyone else's idea for breakfast too!  Very busy but worth the wait as the food was excellent and my experience was only clouded by walking nose first into a plate glass door on the way out! Pain level 10, embarrassment level 20! Spent the rest of the day at the sports centre watching the kids compete at the weightlifting, all were quite accomplished and the organisation was very good. Medals were given out at the end of each age section and both Clive and Morag were called upon to present medals in two categories.  The organisers donated some valuable and much needed equipment to the new venture and final trophies awarded to the winning youngsters. A great day and hopefully the start of a new club for Fransc

Had a light breakfast today as we had been warned by our friends, Morag and Clive, that lunch had been booked at a lovely restaurant. Our hire car had not been collected at 9am, as promised, so we waited til 9.30 and then left the keys with the hotel reception to sort for us and we popped into the waterfront for a bit of last minute shopping as it had finally stopped raining. Morag and Clive arrived at 11am and we set off for their temporary home in Franschoek, which was absolutely delightful with loads of space and a cosy lounge with open fire.  We enjoyed a really good lunch at Roca Restaurant and caught up on all the news since they arrived in South Africa 3 months ago, after which we went to visit the building plot that will become their new home within the next year and a drive round the estate, they will have some fabulous views! On our way back we also had a quick trip round an extremely luxurious and exclusive hotel called La Residence where, rumour has it, Elton John is a freq

Woke up this morning to the news that we might have a hung parliament in the U.K. election so went out for the day to forget any issues at home! Turned out that Table Mountain cable car was running so we detoured and went up! The sun was out when we stepped into the cable car but 3 minutes later our arrival at the top was greeted by a 5 minute hailstorm! WTF it was bloody freezing up there! Bravely we soldiered on taking photos of cloud covered mountains and the occasional bright view down the mountain until we reached the cafe at the top and settled for some warming drinks, sadly short lived when Jon split his cappuccino in spectacular style on arrival at the table! Despite all of this we wouldn't have missed the trip for the world, there is a totally amazing view of Cape Town and all its surrounding 360 degrees and we loved it! (and Jon has the table mountain fleece to prove it!). We descended after an hour or so amidst others who were all as in awe as we were. We then continue