Wow! Neither words nor pictures can describe how beautiful and awesome these caves are to see and spend time in. They are a world heritage site that goes on for 4km, and only 1/4 is open to the public. The biggest limestone stalagmite formations in the world are here. Simply breathtaking... and what I love is that it is a hidden treasure in secret places. The outside of the mountain looks boring and identical to the ones next to it.
One evening, Martin gave us a tour of the course in the golf cart. These pics were taken at your Sunday church time, right between Marsha and Bill. Thought of you all and missed you. :)
Martin, owner of Build It where Cxx is manager and their close family friend, has a gorgeous, modern-deco time share here. He and Adriaan, Cxx's second son, were there playing a golf tournament. We joined them for a few days and were met with high-class treatment. This is where I learned that coffee and biscuit in bed in the morning is a FAMILY event, not just a Christine habit. That was a surprise, but I adjusted quickly, Jeanine. ;-)
John and Patty, I couldn't help but think of you and imagine you golfing here. I think it was actually the first time I actually watched someone golfing... from the bedroom balcony, gazing at the beautiful mountains behind. This is in George, West Cape.
Oh, and Martin let me drive his golf cart. Wee-hah!
Cape Agulhas... such a peaceful place... wondered how far it was to Antartica from there.
All I can say is I am glad I was in a cage! I absolutely loved the experience! Holding our breath we would pull ourselves down into the cage (being very mindful not to let the waves pull our digits out of the protective barrier) and look around as they swam by and checked us out. One charged at Cxx and I and we jumped back in perfect unison. The shark did not attack; I guess he just wanted a closer look at the two cute ones on the end. :) They sent us off a movie of tidbits of our trip and a certificate to prove we survived.
The shark I am standing under is approx. 3.5 meters long. We saw a female that was 4.5 meters long... half a meter longer than the average size. She was a big fish!!! (And that is not a fish story!) :-)
I cannot believe the animals I have seen. These pictures are just a few...
I have been ambushed by a baboon, swam with the fierce great white sharks, watched mother dolphins teaching their 3-week old babies to hunt, walked by a fantastic cheetah named Shaka, bossed around on a walk by a matriarch elephant, served as a whistling taxi for a parrot, and the list goes on. They were all awesome and delightful (except the baboon)!!!
We also saw unusual animals - ones rarely or never seen in this area: a sunfish, an albatross, and an elephant seal. Wow!
We were walking down the walkway from the lighthouse and nearly to the parking lot when we saw trash on the walkway. Christine said it was most likely from a baboon that had grabbed the bag of food from a person. We immediately began cleaning up the mess when Cxx shouted at me and threw her trash at my back. My heart leaped into my throat, my feet would not move, my torso twisted around to see what in the world she was screaming at, and there was a baboon right behind me. He was after my shopping bag of gifts and would have taken it if Cxx had not threw the trash at him. She had looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned I would like to see one (after learning they lived all over like our deer). I neglected to say that I was thinking of seeing them from the safety of the car. I guess I should have. Eish!
Christine took me to see Cape Point in the Cape of Good Hope since Table Mtn was covered in clouds. I imagined the sailors of old coming around the sharp point and seeing the beautiful bay... and taking great courage to press on. This day was highly, highly unusual in that the ocean was as calm as a pond. Cxx was flabbergasted!
The land flows as a chain of hills that abruptly ends in a point. Simply breathtaking... and such a sense of peace was there that day.
This is where I learned their surprising tradition of beginning each morning with coffee and biscuit in bed... and rooibos tea at night before sleeping. Sweet :)
I cannot describe to you the amazing generosity and kindness of these precious Afrikaans. So warm they are that it makes me feel like we are very cold in comparison. Maybe it is our cold temperatures... which to them is very, very cold. ;-)
