Happy New Year
Safiya
Harvey & Sue Death
Sat 5 Jan 2019 06:41
We spent a lovely few days with our friends Paul and Di at the end of
November. We based ourselves on the boat in the marina in Cape Town as we
explored the city with them. We went by cable car to the top of Table
mountain, had afternoon tea in the iconic Mount Nelson hotel, went to a
summers evening concert in the stunning Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and
spent a very pleasant day wine tasting in nearby Constantia. We also had a
really interesting guided tour around a township by a local community
leader. We were allowed into homes that were no more than a tin shack.
Conditions around the town ship were pretty squalid especially with up to
eight families sharing one toilet. But our guide was very passionate about
his plans for improving conditions for the local residents.
We then flew from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth where we went on Safari for
three days. This time we were lucky and had a couple of sightings of big
cats, including one lion who was stalking a herd of buffalos until they
caught wind of him and chased him off. Quite amazing to see the King of the
Jungle running for his life!
We then flew home for a flying visit to catch up with everyone and attend
our nieces wedding. On the 15th December, the coldest day of the year in the
UK so far Kerry and Harry were married attended by seven bridesmaids
including Alice and Grace, and three little page boys. It was a perfect
winter wedding with a fabulous reception at Hengrave Hall in Bury St
edmunds. The time flew by and before we knew it we were heading back to
South Africa. Saying goodbye to the girls wasn't as hard this time as we
were going to be seeing them just four days later when they also flew out to
Cape Town to spend Christmas and New Year with us.
Before that we briefly met up with some friends Julie and Jonathon who were
on holiday in Cape Town and spent a fun day with them. On the 23rd December
we picked up the girls from the airport and then headed out to the vineyards
of Franschoek where we stayed in a beautiful hotel for four days over
Christmas. The weather was hot and sunny and we had a lovely time together
chilling out enjoying some fantastic food and of course wines. The
population of Cape Town seemed to double whilst we were away and there was a
real carnival atmosphere in the build up to New Years Eve. Alice's boyfriend
Matt arrived just after Christmas and together with our First Mate Clem we
hired three AC Cobras to drive down to Cape Point. We had a great fun day
despite a few technical difficulties!
The five of us together with a bunch of the other Oyster owners saw the New
Year in at a black tie event in a waterfront hotel where we enjoyed a
sumptuous New Years Banquet and the company of our great new friends.
After the New year festivities we said goodbye to the girls again and it was
down to the serious business of preparing the boat for the last leg of our
rally. Although it is only short time wise, we will be back in Antigua at
the end of March, it is a long way distance wise with 6000 miles to cover in
less than three months. We've taken the opportunity while we've been in Cape
Town to carry out a lot of maintenance so that the boat is in tip top
condition.
We leave Cape Town tomorrow and head across the south Atlantic, our first
stop is the remote British Overseas territory of St Helena, a tiny volcanic
island almost exactly halfway between the continents of Africa and America,
a very convenient stopping point for us! The weather forecast is fair and we
hope to be there in about nine days.
