Skip to main content

Long weekend enjoying the sun with Phil

With yet another long weekend in tow (last one for a couple of months) it was perfect timing for Jen's uncle, Phil, to visit.

Highlights of the long weekend included:
- nearly being stampeded by an old female elephant at Addo (she was sniffing our car with her trunk!);
- seeing Adam Gilchrist hit a 6 from Shane Warne at an IPL match at St George's Park;
- experiencing the best of what PE classifies as 'fine dining' at Nosh with Kiren and Phillipe. The food was OK, company of all enjoyed;
- eating the quince and caramelised tart that Jen made for dessert over 3 consecutive nights (we then eventually finished it!);
- experiencing serenity at the picturesque Cape Recife, the western most point of Algoa Bay;
- a relaxing seafood lunch in the warm sun overlooking the ocean at Walskipper in Jeffrey's Bay with Andries and Suzanne;
- erecting the cot for Baby Chandler.... only ~6 weeks to go; and
- learning some history during the apartheid regime about South End (suburb we live in) at the South End Museum.

A great weekend and we loved having Phil visit and share it with us.
The herd of elephants at Addo approaching us...
The female that got incredibly close- even Phil felt the need to close his car window!
An alert mongoose scanning the surrounds
Pete & Phil at Cape Recife

Jen at Cape Recife (~33wks pregnant)

Popular posts from this blog

Harrison James Chandler - born 9 June 2009

Harrison James Chandler arrived at 14:30, Tuesday, 9th June 2009. Weighing in at 3.86kg and 55cm long, he was delivered via c-section surgery. Both Mum and boy are in great health. Dad is besotted with them both even after changing the 1st nappie!! Amazing, Amazing, Amazing! Tipping the scales at 3.86kg (8,5lbs)

Luxury 'camping' at Toorfontein

The Little Karoo is a broad valley stretching east to west hemmed in by the Swartberg mountain range to the north and the Outeniqua mountains to the south. Whilst the environment appears very vast and arid, the windswept plains are broken by mountains with deep ravines and breathtaking passes. Jen put on her 'travel agent' hat and found stunning accommodation at Toorfontein tented camp which would offer a completely different African experience for Jackie & Stu. To break the drive we stayed at The Fernery on Friday night- the only hotel at the base of the Tsitsikamma Mountains which has views of the rugged coastline, deep gorges and surrounding forests. Our lodge was nestled against a small waterfall of the gorge which made for pleasant background noise as we braaied on our patio. On Saturday we meandered along the Garden Route, breaking for coffee at a French cafe in Plettenberg Bay and a picnic lunch in Knysna. We continued over the spectactular Outeniqua Pass from George...

Camping at Monks Cowl, hiking the 'Berg

Due to this weekend being a long weekend in SA (and also to celebrate our birthdays), Pete & I along with British expats Gareth & Sophie decided a weekend getaway trip was required and the Central Drakensberg Ranges was chosen as the destination. We camped at Monks Cowl which is nestled in the picturesque Champagne Valley at the base of the Central Drakensberg Ranges in Kwazulu-Natal. In training for the Mt Kilimanjaro hike that we all hope to hike whilst we are based in Africa, we ventured off on Sunday for a long and hilly hike. We first headed to Blindman's Corner, an 11km return route from the camp. This route takes you steeply up a berg to The Sphinx and then along a flat and meandering grassy plateau to the base of the summits. However, upon arriving there we felt like a further challenge so subsequently climbed 1/3 of the way up Sterkhorn Mt. And up we climbed... at times the hill we were climbing had a gradient of >55 degrees! We rested for lunch perched precari...