It hardly seems possible that I've already been away from Zambia for just over a week, the time has gone so quickly. Leaving Livingstone was horrible and I'm already plotting on ways on how I can go back. So for the first few days in South Africa I was just envious on anyone who was still in Livingstone. The weather when I arrived did very little to help my mood. Freezing cold is a fairly accurate description, but at least it's given me a chance to use all my cold weather clothes I thought I'd be saving until NZ.

For 2 days I wasn't able to even see Table Mountain, let alone go up it, the cloud was so thick. Whilst waiting to try and go up the mountain we filled in our time doing an open top bus tour (on the bottom deck because it was raining!) and a trip to Robben Island. On the third morning the sky was no clear! We dashed out up to the cable car to go up the mountain, but alas no. This time the wind was too strong, we were advised to try again tomorrow. So we headed out of Cape Town down towards the point. On the way we stopped at boulders rock to see the incredibly cute African Penguins. The Point and the Cape of Good Hope are spectacular. I imagine it's even more amazing in the sunshine!

Day four dawned, our last in Cape Town, and so ourlast chance to attempt the mountain. Clear skys, check. Light breeze, check. Finally, the cable car was running. But it was well worth the wait of those 3 days. The ride up and down itself is an experience, as the cable car floor rotates you through 360 degrees for some amazing panoramic views. At the top there's a whole range of walks to take with eye popping views of Cape Town and the surrounds on all sides. From Table Mountain we set off towards the wine lands, in particular, Stellenbosch. Our guide book recommended a vineyard with a particularly good Asian cuisine restaurant. So off we set eagerly looking forward to lunch. Arriving at a beautiful vineyard we found that no such restaurant existed, and hadn't for 15 years. We threw the guide book away. The wine tasting was great fun though, even when you know nothing about it like us. From Stellenbosch we continued onto a town called Hermanus situated on the coast.

Hermanus is known for its whale watching, and it didn't disappoint! From our guest house balcony we could see the whales playing around in the harbour cove. We went on a whale watching boat trip and got right up close to a mum whale and her baby. We also saw great white shark, hump back dolphins, penguins and seals. The marine big 5, as they are known.

The next day we headed out towards a place called Outshoord, in the Little Karoo area. The area is semi desert, and boasts some amazing driving scenery, especially on the precarious mountain passes. It is well known chiefly for 2 things: some caves called the Cango Caves, and ostriches. And there were ostriches everywhere! Not just in the fields, but on every restaurant menu, and pretty tasty it is too! At a show farm we visited we had a chance to ride the birds. I went as far as sitting on one, but riding them just looked a bit suicidal! Never the less, the ostrich jockeys had a race, and it makes an interesting change from horse racing.

All that pretty much brings me up to now. We're currently staying in a place called Nature's Valley, just a short distance from Plettenburg Bay. We've spent the time wishing it was warm enough to lie out on the spotless beaches, and hiking in the nature reserves. So far it's been very pleasant. Tomorrow we head off to the Shamwari Game Reserve for a few days of safari. I have high hopes of seeing a rhino, so keep your fingers crossed!