Safari Day 1 - Cape Town Tour

Safari - Day 1 and Day 2

Sunday, 31 Aug 2014

Our First day on Safari started by meeting in the hotel lobby at 0730. Our instructions from the optional group meeting the night prior was to be ready to go at this time. There we 16 of us and our guide's name was Misheck.

By 0750 we were all loaded up and heading out of the parking lot. Today we were going for a tour of Cape Town and the lower peninsula. Our first stop was to be Table Mtn.  The drive out to the v

Base of the cable car was un eventful but gave me an insight to our driver's ability to drive. He maneuvered that bus with ease around the numerous twists and curves en route to the cable car. 

The cable car does not start running until 0830 and we had arrived just after 0800 giving us an good spot to park the bus and time to explore a bit. We were given an hour at the top to explore by Mishek.

               

The car held 32 people and we saw numerous people climbing underneath as we ascended to the top of Table Mountain. The view was impressive and worth the trip. While at the top we saw quite a few marmot like creatures. 

On our return to the bus we immediately left for the peninsula. Mishek would give a short talk on what to see and expect, with a "well then,if there are no questions, let's rock and roll".

Hike up and pay to come down on tram

Cape Town, seen from Table Mtn.

Cape Town, seen from Table Mtn.

Cape Town, seen from Table Mtn.

Chapman's Peak was our first stop.

Hout Bay

The Cape of Good Hope, our second stop, was originally named Cape of Storms but the government at the time wanted to encourage traffic and felt that name was not very inviting, so they re-named it.  The drive there was along the seashore cliffs with lots of splendid vistas around each corner. We made a short photo stop at Hout Bay before continuing to the Cape.
The Cape of Good Hope started with a turn off the main road to a smaller and very rough road. Sitting at the back of a lightly loaded bus in these conditions made us wondering about the "Safari inComfort" we were expecting. ....The actual Cape is a park with entry fees (already covered) and a 10 minute drive to the water where we saw a large colony of cormorants always out with some large waves crashing over the rocky shoreline.

Cape of Good Hope Comorant Colony

We were there about 20 minutes and then boarded the bus for Cape Hope, which is the actual southernmost tip of Africa. It is not where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. 

Steps leading up to lighthouse at Cape Hope

Looking towards the Indian Ocean from Cape Hope Lighthouse

6 in. lizard we saw on way to top.

Following Cape Hope, we headed north and stop at Simon Town for fish and chips followed by some declicious apple crumble cake and ice cream. Our next stop was to be the Penguins. We paid 50 Rand (5 bucks) to get in and walk around on a wooden walkway to where the penguins were. It was interesting and a fun way to end the day before we drove back to our hotel.

Leaving the penguin colony

Cape Town - Great White Shark Cage Dive

Aug 30, Gaansbai, South Africa (Shark Alley) - Great White Shark Cage Dive
We had decided yesterday that this would be the only chance we had this trip to dive with the Great White Sharks (well, you don't really dive WITH them lol) so Bob and I passed on the helicopter ride we had been discussing and booked the Shark Adventure.

The van picked us up at the hotel just after 9 AM and we were the last to be picked up. There were 5 people already in the van. The drive down to Gaansbaai  (Shark Alley) took 2 hours and the driver was a fountain of information as he told us about apartheid and pointed out the townships, (Ghettos) and also District 6 (Remember the movie "District 9"?), which was quite the eye opener.

We had not gone too far down the road when I asked if I could sit up front with the driver as there was far too much stuff he was saying that I wasn't quite hearing. His name was Tyrone, and we got along great!

Once we got down there we found out there were about 20 other people on this adventure, the tide was quite low, so we had to wait a good hour before we could go down to the boat.  We were given 7mm wetsuits, boots, hoodies and a rain jacket..... It was sunny....?

The wind was blowing and it was the first chance they had to go out in a week because of the winds and rain they had been getting.  They told us the vis was only about 1.5 meters and that the sharks were quite lazy from the earlier dives they had already done that day  (It was not about 1:30)

As we boarded, Bob and I went to the top of the boat hoping to get a good view as the water was a pretty azure blue and there was lots of wave action. As soon as we headed out it became apparent the reason we were given rain jackets was because the waves were big, there were large swells and the wind was also contributing to make for a rough 20 min. ride to Shark Alley.

There were 4 other boats anchored there and it took no time to set a couple of anchors and put the cage into the water. Even before the cage was let down, the chum was being put into the water and attracting about 30 seagulls who were acting like pigs!!



A few minutes later our first shark appeared in the stern of the boat. It now became "clear" that the visibility was not that great as we did not see him until he was close to the boat, even tho he was at least 8 ft. long!

8 people went into the cage at a time, and a couple of large cod heads were attached to a 3/4 in. rope which was thrown out over the cage to attract the sharks. It did just that, and when they went to bite into it from underneath, the crew pulled the cod heads towards the cage, which brought the shark right up to the cage, much to the delight of everyone.

Bob and I were in the last group to go down, and we were able to see and photograph lots of exciting action with these sharks. There were mainly 3, and the largest was 4.2 meters long, as they get to know the sharks after awhile and can recognize them by their fins, same as Orcas.

Bob and I went down and waited, and waited, and waited..... Finally the sharks came back (I think they go from boat to boat lol) and the action started.  We were not on SCUBA nor did we have snorkels.  We had masks obviously and were instructed that when told (Divers - DOWN) we were to take a big breath and go under the water in the cage.... This was because "bubbles scare the sharks", which I really don't believe, but whatever....

Anyway, the sharks did come, and let me tell you, when they are trying to bite into that cod head inches from your head, and are thrashing about with their body banging the cage, it is very exciting to say the least.  The first time I actually shrank to the back of the cage!

It was a lot of fun, except Bob lost his small waterproof camera in the heat of the action.  By the time we got back to the hotel, we were late for the introductions and meeting of the safari, which was to start tomorrow. We did manage to catch about 3/4 of the meeting.  We went out for a great supper with Tim and Mike afterwards.

They had a videographer and photographer on board, and there were photos and videos you could purchase afterwards.

Which we did!

Safari Trip (Aug 26) - Edmonton / Dubai / Cape Town

26 August - Edmonton > Seattle > Dubai > Cape Town
It is Sunday 24 Aug 2014 as I lay in bed starting to write on this blog. In 2 days I will leave for my Trip of a Lifetime.
This African Safari is 3 weeks long.  We start at Capetown in South Africa and go up thru Namibia, Botswana and then into Zimbabwae before heading home.  It will be around 25 days in length.

It will be a long trip to get to South Africa..... I leave at 1025 on the 26th Aug., fly the following legs:
Edmonton to Vancouver       1.5 hours
Vancouver to Seattle             2   hours
Seattle to Dubai                   15   hours
Dubai Layover                      8   hours
Dubai to Cape Town            9   hours
Total is 35 hours, and since we went over the N. Pole, the sun did not even set!

Dubai was great as Tim flew business class and that provided a hotel room and taxi free of charge so we all took advantage of that and took a trip up to the 124th floor of the tallest building in the world! It is called the Burj Kaleef.

Burj Kaleef view from 124th floor in Dubai.  In 2014 this was the tallest building in the world

The blue part of the tower is where you go to look out from.

2014 Aug 10 - Umatilla, Oregon to Redmond, Oregon

Awoke to a beautiful morning with a view overlooking the Columbia River on the Oregon side, so I grabbed my camera, tripod and after letting the dogs out for a brief pee, took a walk around to get some pics, some of which were posted in my previous post.
Everyone was up by 8 and we were on the road by 9:30, with Keith in the lead, followed by Tom and Elaine and then us.  The 2 Garys followed about 5 minutes later and quickly caught up with us.

We stopped briefly at Biggs, where we changed direction and headed south.

The drive along the Columbia River to that point
was very nice as it is semi-desert while you drive
in the valley created by the river.


It got progressively hotter as we drove south towards Redmond, and by the time we got there in mid afternoon, it was about 35 C (95 F), and the parking was in a parking lot!  The organization was really good with lots of volunteers directing parking.  We got an excellent spot (inner circle) right next to where the seminars and events were to be held. Next to us was Keith & Rita and then Tom and Elaine.  Gary and Pat had opted for full camping with full hook-up (in retrospect, we should have also, although it was quite expensive for 3 days at 165 US). Gary and Marsha had opted for electricity only.

We were set up pretty quickly and then it was time for a beer and some supper.  Because the heat was quite high, we found we were running the diesel generator for a couple of hours a day. This not only kept the unit cooler but also charged the batteries, which had a 10 amp draw at all times due to the household fridge and freezer we have on board.

2014 Aug 8 - Cranbrook, BC, to Umatilla, Oregon

On the 8th August I awoke early, took dogs out for a quick pee, started the gen set and made coffee. Everyone else was up early, and we got a chance to meet everyone in our group. Although we were planning to leave at 9 AM, it was not to be as Gary and Marsha's big slide would not close in..... It is a Beaver and the design prevented the gen set from coming to to allow access to the pump. In the end, we unhooked the hydraulic lines and 5 of us pushed the slide in manually! This didn't completely close it, but it was out only a couple of inches so we ended up leaving just before 11 AM

 The drive down was uneventful, but worth noting that it was a real treat to travel in a group, secure in the knowledge that they were all looking out for each other. Another added bonus was that all I had to do was follow and not worry about where we were going. We go separated from the 2 Gary's as they stopped at a Camper World en route. We arrived at the RV site just before they were closing. It is a pretty reasonable site with internet, full hookup, water, 50 amp service.




The park name is "Umatilla Marina RV Park" and the rates were around 31 US which was pretty good.

                                First order of business is usually to get the fenceand dogs out so we can set  up the rig. TJ does a great job of looking after them while we get settled.

   

  All 5, in a row...

     Gary and Marsha           Gary & Pat               Don & Darlene    Tom & Elaine    Keith & Rita

                                                          Tom & Elaine  

                                                       

                                                         Keith & Rita

                                                  Don, Darlene & TJ

                                                

2014 Aug 7 - Trip to Redmond, Oregon for the 90th Annual FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) Convvention

Trip to Redmond, Oregon for the 90th Annual FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) Convvention

Entered US on Sat. 9 Aug
Entered Canada on Sun 17 Aug
Back to Stony Plain / Vegreville on Mon 18 Aug

We left Stony Plain on Thur. 7 Aug and spent the night in the Walmart camping lot in Red Deer, with plans to meet up with our small group in the morning.  This particular Walmart is right beside a VERY busy intersection and there are a LOT of loud vehicles in Red Deer..... Thankfully once the windows are closed it is nice and quiet.
In the morning, Tom let me know they would be late getting away so we decided to meet up with them at the Cranbrook Casino that night.  We left fairly early as the parking lot fills up fast and it is way to easy to get boxed in if you are not careful.
En route down south, we stopped at a rest stop and gave the Motorhome a quick wash as there was no one else around. It also gave us a chance to get some water and dump some waste!

Cranbrook Casino was easy to find and located just towards Kimberly as you approach Cranbrook from the East on Hwy 3..... There were some motorhomes from our group already there but we did not know them yet so we had a look around and then left Darlene to gamble while TJ and I went exploring and looking for bugs!

Tom and Elaine pulled in about 6 pm, and let us know about the others and that we were planning to leave around 9 the next morning.

                                                            TJ with his
                                                            trusty net
                                                            hunting bugs

I wanted a shot of our rig beside Tom and Elaine's
but TJ found a bug as I was getting ready to shoot....
Tooooo funny so I snapped the shot!


Oh, Darlene won 300 and then lost 200, but came home a winner!