Greetings from Cape Town! We left Oudtshoorn with a trip to Cheetahland. We had an incredible time. The tour was very informative. That said, the best part was petting the cheetahs which was the main reason why we went. Of all the big cats, cheetahs purr and they purr loudly! They were pretty docile but it was quite hot that day so they were being just lazy cats sleeping their on average of 18 hours a day (Scooter is above average and sleeps 20 hours a day! We're so proud). Afterwards, I insisted that Cale pets the white lion cubs. The cubs, Sandile (6 weeks old) and Tribe (10 weeks), were absolutely adorable. They were very playful but not nearly as big as the lions in East London who basically kicked the s*** out of us. Tribe was squaking for most of the time as he was hungry. Cale was floating on air for the rest of the day. We left Oudtshoorn for Hermanus later that day. Hermanus is reknowned for its whales. Back in the 1800s and early 1900s, it was an important whaling port in South Africa. Of course, they slaughtered too many and the southern right whale went nearly extinct. Today, their population has rebounded and they are plenty in Hermanus. We attempted to sea kayak out in the bay to get close to them, but unfortunately the weather prevented that, so we had to settle with watching them from the shore which was certainly easy to do. At this time of the year, they are mating in the bay so they are very easy to spot. The first time one whale stuck its tail up in the air, both of our jaws dropped in awe of the beautiful creature. I spent many hours sitting watching the whales swim and play around. They are incredible creatures to observe. After Hermanus, we moved onto wine country in the Stellenbosch area just east of Cape Town. There are over 75 wineries in this part of South Africa (there are over 400 in the country). Guess what we did? Wine tour. We visited 5 wineries (Simonsig, Fairview, Dieu Donné, Delaire and the last we can't remember) where we sampled over 25 wines. The Fairview winery (www.fairview.co.za/) also made delicious cheeses! In fact, they have a tower for their goats that they milk to make their cheeses. The town of Stellenbosch is very beautiful; it is South Africa's 2nd oldest city, but what makes it very beautiful is the fact that the buildings are not hiding behind 10 ft barbed wired walls like most of the rest of the country. Now we are in Cape Town (I mentionned that already didn't I). It's quite beautiful here. Not nearly as hectic as Durban, but that's ok with me. Today, we visited their Parliament where we learned plenty on their unique parliamentary system. They truly have a modern and fair system which we should hope to have in Canada some day. Instead of a Senate, they have a Council of Provinces that acts as the sober 2nd thought which ensures that the provinces (and municipalities too) have a say in federal legislation. And of course, I was comparing their security with ours for obvious reasons. But I am not allowed to discuss such matters (Mr. Vickers, if you would like a briefing into how security is done here, email me). Tomorrow we will visit Robben Island, home to South Africa's most notorious political prison. Nelson Mandela's former home until 1991 (not a complete sentence, I know). The tours are run by former political prisoners so it should be an incredible experience. We'll get back to you in a week or so about that. Take care - sala hantle (sesotho) j & m