I recently spent 3 weeks back home in South Africa. It was 8 years since I was last back and I hadn't seen my brother, sister or their kids in that time.
I spent 2 weeks in Kwa-Zulu Natal with my sister and her family. We spent a lot of time just at home and enjoying each other's company. I took the kids out for walks around the area, we played sword fighting games, did some awesome night time poi, explored Umdloti beach, shopped in secondhand shops, played card games and watched films. I didn't take too many photos - and those mostly of the kids which I won't put up here. But here are a few of the photos from KZN.
In KZN we have Vervet Monkeys. You may have heard of them. David Attenborough talked about them in one of his many documentaries on Africa. These guys, although cute, have become more of a pest in the last 15 years or more. This is usually due to their habitats being cut down for new buildings. But they are also just opportunistic and will take an easy meal if they can get one, whether it be grass, or the food in someone's house!
The Hadedas were enjoying the spectacle and most probably commentating on it to the rest of the local wildlife!
In Cape Town, I was able to be more of a tourist and visited the Waterfront, as well as taking a walk up Chapman's Peak, driving the coast, and enjoying a few hours at Kirstenbosch Gardens and of course just chilling at the beach.
On my first Sunday, my brother took us all for a drive and we stopped at Norval Foundation, an art gallery in Constantia. While not my normal haunt, it did allow me to take some cool photos.
This installation is a very strange mirror. It creates all sorts of distortions, including creating doubles and making you invisible - I took a photo of all of us in front of it, and yet I'm not in the shot! This is the only one I can put on this blog as the others include the kids. But the building in this photo is the main gallery and was to the right of the mirror and slightly behind it.
South Africa's national flower - the protea
This one was actually a bit of a musical instrument. You could tap it to make some cool sounds.
We continued our drive along the peninsula, driving from Hout Bay all the way around to Muizenberg and then across and back to Hout Bay. There are viewing points along the coastal roads and we were able to stop to get a few shots. This one is Muizenberg beach.
Kalk Bay Harbour.
We stopped at Fishhoek Beach for lunch. I finally had a nice bacon and banana pizza (yes, banana on pizza. It's a thing. Try it. It works), and a yummy South African waffle.
Along the drive are the ruins of the old forts from the 1700-1800s wars between England, France and Holland. These guns protected the bay from intruders.
The old bakehouse. You can just see the oven in the shade. Also, a motorbike with sidecar. You can hire one for a day or be driven around in one by a tour guide.
I wonder which way the wind blows...
A view of The Sentinel from one of the stone buildings.
Once I was done exploring, I walked back down to the beach, took my shoes off and walked across the fine white sand to the fish and chips shop on the other side. A family were testing the gulls' ability to catch.
Gulls are very comical breed. The ones in Bath, Somerset, always remind me of the Nemo gulls calling "Mine! Mine! Mine!" all the time as they stare at their unnerved victims.
These gulls, however, are more normal in their natural beach habitat... well normal in their unique way...
Managed to press the shutter on this one just in time... do you see it?
Tuesday was Waterfront day. I was dropped off at the aquarium and enjoyed a morning walking around it, taking photos and watching the fish.
These rockhoppers are not as adept at posing as their northern zoo counterparts... but I finally managed a few shots...
I got to one viewing point just before feeding time and was treated to an interesting talk and demonstration of fish feeding on squid pieces.
This guy made all these shots much more interesting.
The light streaming through the water made for some very special shots including light shimmering on this shark.
Reflections in the tunnel make for an interesting contrast between shark and butterfly girl.
The giant windows make for awesome photos and make you feel like you are underwater with the fish.
Starfish with nemos. The nemo tank was labelled Nemos!
And Gill joined the nemos in this tank.
Stingrays always look so happy...
This little guy only has one eye. Not sure why. But he was very cute, showing his white "teeth" every time he opened his mouth, as if he was blowing little white bubbles.
See? Happy Mr Ray.
Very happy Mr Ray and Miss Photographer. The light!
Dory! And perhaps the fish that was obsessed with Bubbles from Finding Nemo...
There were some places in the aquarium where I wanted to video something rather than photograph, or where my camera was able to deal with the light better than my canon. Here are a couple of extra videos/photos.
Once I'd walked around the aquarium I went in search of food along the Waterfront and found this guy putting on a show for us.
And these guys too. The vibe out there was awesome with all the music and people.
This is the Rainbow Sound Marimba Ensemble. Their name will take you to their Facebook page. They played with Table Mountain the background as well as statues of some of the famous men of post-apartheid South Africa, including Desmond Tutu and of course Nelson Mandela.
A butterfly on a tree outside the house.
We spent a late afternoon at Kirstenbosch Gardens where I explored and took photos and enjoyed the views.
Looks like these two birds of paradise had an argument.
Could not get enough of staring at mountains wherever we went.
A Cape Batis.
Can't believe I got this shot. Beautiful sunbird. Thought I wouldn't get any other photos like this of this awesome bird. There were many flitting around me and I sat down to watch them for a while.
Those mountains.
Looks a bit like a painting.
Sunset.
A young oak tree.
Pincushion protea not yet fully flowering.
Thursday morning I went into Cape Town at sunrise and was treated to a cloudy but pretty sunrise from Green Point Park and the Promenade. Back in the 1600-1700s the Cape was used as a watering stop for the Dutch East Indies company and any other ships rounding the Cape. The mountains produced many springs but over the years and with all the development around these springs have all been covered up. There is work being done now to reveal those springs throughout the city again. This is one of them at Green Point Park. A gravity fed system is bringing up the water from the spring onto the wheel and into the fresh water pond.
Sunrise by the stadium.
When I walked past this lighthouse I didn't realise it was working. Only when I was taking videos of the sea crashing against the promenade, did I notice the flash of moving light and the beam in the dim sunrise moving across the water.
The grass between the promenade and road. The light was beautiful. Only had my phone for these but it did a good job.
The changing face of Table Mountain. It's famous table cloth was covering the table that morning.
A great week exploring the safer more "first world" parts of Cape Town ended with a gorgeous sunset on the Sunday night before I flew back to the land of Uck on Monday afternoon. I finally met my nephews and nieces, got to spend time with my brother and sister and their families, got to be a tourist in Cape Town and enjoyed a few food and drink treats that I have missed (hello double thick milkshakes and jumping jack popcorn!). Hopefully it won't be another 8 years before I return! But for now, it's goodbye South Africa and back to life in the UK. A new school year begins again in a couple of weeks. A few more cricket matches to go for the summer and some fun ice skating and archery to come.
