Cape Town, South Africa

Harry had mentioned going to South Africa a few times since we've been expats, but it is a really long flight from Saudi so we always went other places when we had the chance to travel.  We even seriously considered it about a year ago, but ultimately decided that Jameson wasn't quite old enough to go yet.  Our time here is rapidly coming to an end so we finally bit the bullet and started planning our last expat adventure - South Africa!

We only stayed home in the US for about a month this summer in order to give us time to get back to KSA, get over jet lag, and make it to South Africa before school started for Connor in September.  South Africa is in the southern hemisphere so their seasons are opposite of ours which made August the perfect time for us to go there and escape the scorching temperatures in Saudi.

We sure were bright eyed and bushy tailed for our flight at 4:20 am on August 17!

As if only getting a couple hours of sleep and flying out at a ridiculous hour wasn't enough, we also had a four hour layover in Dubai.  That is brutal and me and Jameson just couldn't go anymore.  No shame here! 

Had I known our flight to Cape Town would be almost empty I would have saved that nap for the plane!  After that long layover we finally boarded to find out that there were over 200 empty seats!  I don't know who was more excited...the passengers or the flight crew!  Almost everyone had a row to their self!

The nap Jameson had on the box in Dubai really fueled him because he was the energizer bunny while Harry and I were zombies.  We took turns keeping him contained.

He kept interrupting Connor's movie by calling his seat! 

After a fabulous empty 9+ hour flight we made it to Cape Town!

Our first day in Cape Town was perfect for a full day wine tour in the Stellenbosch area.  We chose Wine Flies for our tour because they are laid back and not pretentious.  We aren't the snobby wine type so we wanted a company and guide that would be the same.  They visit some of the well known estates as well as small Mom and Pop operations so they were exactly what we were looking for!

Our first stop was Vergenoegd.  It is an old and famous winery in the area and it didn't take long to figure out why!  It is beautiful!

A little friendly arm wrestling match!

It was the perfect start to our trip!

 The neat thing about Vergenoegd is that it is home to over 1,000 Runner Ducks that are used to help control the snail and pest population at the estate.  They do a duck parade to get them to the vineyards everyday, but unfortunately we weren't there for it.

Next up was Lovane, a lesser known boutique estate where we got to visit their basement cellar and had a very tasty chocolate and wine pairing!

I was skeptical about chocolate and wine, but it totally worked!  Our guide said they did a lot of testing to come up with specially made chocolate to pair perfectly.

The views!

Middelvlei is a gorgeous family run farm!

We started the tour with a walk through their factory.

Then we got to sample some of their Pinotage straight from the barrel!  So cool!

We had a braai lunch here and hung out with their lazy pups!

The boys enjoyed feeding some of their animals after lunch :)

Not a bad way to spend the day!

Our next stop was Mitre's Edge, a super small vineyard with award winning wines.  Lola, the owner and winemaker had a cheese and wine pairing prepared for us.

Lola actually lives here!  Not too shabby!

If we could have taken that grey Irish Wolfhound home we would have!

Lola has a beautiful place with lots of character!

Villiera was our last stop for the day!

It was another beautiful property and Jameson had a great time running around.

We sampled (and bought) some of their famous Methode Cap Classique wine.  It is their version of champagne and it is really good!

Villiera and MCC was the perfect way to end the day!

Riding in style through Stellenbosch!

As if we hadn't had enough, our awesome travel agent had delivered a bottle of wine to the hotel we would be staying at for the rest of our time in Cape Town!

The next morning we set out to explore Table Mountain.  We started by riding scooters down Signal Hill and into Bo Kaap.  It was definitely one of the many highlights of our trip!

We are ready for some fun!

These are not motorized scooters so it's pretty much all downhill for the entire 5k trail.

So much fun!

Next we took the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain.

Gorgeous!

The boys had a blast climbing and playing on all the rocks.

Lion's Head in the distance!

Colorful area in Bo Kaap!

The kids had fun playing music while shopping in Greenmarket Square.

That night we ate at the Gold Restaurant where we participated in the drumming session before dinner.

During dinner they came around to perform and Jameson was NOT a fan!  He literally got under the table when he heard them and then hid in Harry's jacket so they couldn't see him!

The next morning we drove out to Hermanus to go whale watching with Southern Right Charters!  Southern Right whales migrate to the Hermanus area from June to November every year to mate and have their calves so we were there at the perfect time!

Our chariot awaits!

The weather was absolutely perfect and the seas were like glass!  Thank goodness!  I was super nervous about one of us getting seasick.

We took a 30 minute boat ride out of the harbor and there they were!

They came right up to the boat!

It was pretty incredible to watch them.  I'm so glad we decided to put this on our itinerary.  We saw over 15 different whales while we were on the boat!

After about an hour it was time to head back!

A stunning drive back to Cape Town!

Delicious burgers at Hudson's that night :)

We woke up the next morning to a very overcast day!  It's a good thing we did Table Mountain when we did.  If we would have waited a few days we wouldn't have been able to see anything!

Lion's Head was in the clouds!  Our guide said that when it looks like that it will definitely rain that day and he was right!  Later that evening it started to pour!

In South Africa they call traffic lights a robot!

On our way to Cape Point we passed this beach that is very popular with lots of surfers.

Here is the shark spotter!  He is high up in the mountain where he keeps watch for sharks in the water and alerts the people on the beach.

Cape Town and everything around it is just beautiful!

The old lighthouse at Cape Point!

Beautiful views everywhere!

We were actually closer to Sydney, Australia than we were to New York!

It was soooo windy up there!

After seeing the lighthouse we drove a little further to the Cape of Good Hope - the most southwestern tip of Africa!

Just a couple ostriches hanging out by the ocean.

The boys were so excited to see the African penguins at Boulders Beach.

They basically have their own private beach!  It's so neat to watch them!

This is where they build their nests.

For dinner we went to an awesome little placed called Café Paradiso!

They offer several kid projects for little ones to do while the grown ups have a quiet dinner.

First up they made pizza!

We enjoyed some quiet time by the fire while they worked!

They said their pizza was delicious :)

After dinner they went back to the kitchen to make gingerbread men!

It was a great place and the food was very good!

It was still dreary and a little rainy the next morning so we stayed inside for a little down time before venturing out.  We didn't really have a plan for the day so it worked out perfectly.

When the weather started to clear up we made our way to the V&A Waterfront.

I normally wouldn't go to an aquarium on vacation, especially since we have an amazing one in New Orleans.  But with the weather like it was it seemed like a good indoor activity to pass a little time, plus it was right at the waterfront and the entry fees are pretty cheap.

Jameson was in his glory with the sharks!  He loves them!

It turned out to be a pretty nice aquarium!

By the time we left the aquarium, the sun had come out and the waterfront seemed to have come alive!  Connor even joined in with the marimba band!  When we left from there he said his legs were trembling because he was so nervous to be in front of all those people lol!

We rounded out our day with a little shopping, sushi, and gelato!

Cape Town is absolutely amazing!  We were really sad to be leaving, but we had to pack up for the next part of our trip because it was safari time!