South Africa - Day 12

We woke up on our last day in South Africa early.  Mr. 4 and Mr. 11 were sharing our room and we wanted to be able to get showers and packing started before everyone was awake.  I returned from showering to find Mr. 11 watching an incredible sunrise.  Mr. 13 joined us and then all 6 of us were watching the sun come up.  It was lovely but Mr. 4 was in a difficult mood and Mr. 11 was grumpy because his iPod had not been charged.  Moments like these are rarely picture perfect – you take the beautiful sunset even if you have to hold an out-of-control 4 year old to keep him from hitting.  We packed up and headed out to get some energy out before the flight.  Packing did not go smoothly and Mr. 4’s grumpiness did not improve.  Eventually we made it out of the house and stopped at Olympia bakery which A had introduced us to the day before.  Lattes and pastries saved the day and we sat by the water and played one, moo, three.  This is a silly game invented by David to keep Mr. 7 and his buddies busy during some down time on a 1^st grade field trip.  Basically you count one, moo, three and then everyone puts out some number of fingers.  You count them up and then count around the circle of people.  The person who counts off to your number has to do a silly task that was set before the last one, moo, three and then sets the next silly task and you’re off again.  It’s surprising how well it entertains everyone. 

We headed down to the penguin beach and watched them play.  On our way out to the other path, Mr. 4 tried to climb over the barrier and I tried to stop him.  He pulled away and as I tried to keep him back I suddenly found I couldn’t move.  Somehow I had pulled out my back.   We tried to find anyone with anything that might help but no luck.  I sent the boys on ahead and managed to slowly walk behind them on the path clutching the railing.  We left the penguins and slowly walked back to the car.  Mr. 13 offered his arm and helped me along.  I did my best but felt a bit better after we had made it to a pharmacy and I had taken both NSAIDs and a muscle relaxant and applied heating patches to my back.  Despite my slow movement, we managed to get fish and chips for lunch and take it back to Boulders Beach to play by the water.  We were running quite late at that point but it was hard to tear everyone away from the water and I was just beginning to feel better.  As we were gathering the boys, a penguin popped out of the rocks and watched us for a moment before heading up the beach.  It was the right end to the day and we headed back to collect our bags and head to the airport.

South Africa - Day 11

We wanted to get down to see the penguins and see the Cape of Good Hope but it took us a little while to get out of the house (no surprise).  We finally made it out and decided to stop for a snack on the way to hold off everyone until lunch.  A took us to a great bakery everything was delicious and we headed out fueled up and ready to go. 

First stop, penguins.  We tried the little beach where they are occasionally found but no one was there.  The day was too beautiful and they had all headed out to sea.   We walked back up to the road and through a little market where I learned the necessity of bargaining.  Not my strong suit and the first batch of souvenirs were a bit overpriced.  I did a bit better as we went and we ended up with a few gifts and commemorative items that weren’t too expensive.  Out of cash, we walked along the boardwalk watching the penguins just on the other side of the railing.  Some were molting, some with chicks.  The boys exclaimed over each one.

At that point, we decided to wait for lunch and go down to Cape of Good Hope.  We drove down and A dropped us off with his little one J and went to park the car at the other end of the path.  With J on my back, we set off down the path.  The path is high up on a cliff which did not make David feel very comfortable given his feeling about heights and the milling nature of our crew.  We met up with A (coming from the other direction) just as we came to a staircase down to the beach.  “Can we?” the kids asked.  They ran down the steps and we were soon standing on the beautiful beach we had been watching from above.  The kids ran in the waves and climbed up on the rocks so the waves could crash around them.  Finally we tore ourselves away and hiked back up the staircase and out to Cape Point.  It truly is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.  We stopped for a snack – at this point it was quite late and long past lunch time.  The boys fell to all our provisions and we filled them up with what we had.  We admired the view, saw a few lizards and David even found a crinoid.  Our friends A and J who we had stayed with originally were coming for a braai and it was time to head home. 

We arrived home just before they arrived and experienced our second braai.  South Africans do enjoy their BBQ and most houses have a built in place to grill.  You can buy wood in the grocery and grill meat over the coals.  The food and company were great and we watched the lights twinkling on below us from A and A’s front deck.

South Africa - Day 10

Hiking Lion’s Peak and Table Mountain