Sept 21

We are now back in Capetown, where we will be until Sept. 30th.  The last few days have been quite special.  On Sept 15th, we headed out of CT for Franschoek, a quaint, picturesque town set in a beautiful valley in the heart of SA's wine country.  For 3 nights, we treated ourselves to some luxury at LaCouronne -- a beautiful hotel, set on a vineyard and perched above the Franschoek valley.  Our room with a view (and a thing that heats your towels in the bathroom) was lovely and the gourmet food was excellent (including the wine that came with dinner).  The hotel staff even turned down our bedsheet every night and left 2 mints.  During our stay in Franschoek, we visited several wine estates for tastings -- the wine was good (except for a few wines, of course) and the estates, particularly the flowers and the Cape Dutch architecture, were beautiful. 

The highlight of our visit to F (and of our trip overall), however, took place in the early evening of Sept 16th.  While at LaC, we found a pretty spot on the estate's gardens (part of the gardens overlooking the valley below).  There, we -- just the 2 of us -- exchanged our wedding vows and rings.  Afterwards, we had a very nice dinner -- but not before drinking a bottle of wine to celebrate.  Jenn looked absolutely beautiful.  She would, reluctantly, admit she "looked good for a backpacker."  The truth, however, is that she looked absolutely amazing -- by any standards.  Don't worry -- I took a lot of pictures (thank goodness for a tripod).  We are very happy and are excited to do "it" all over again on June 25, 2005 in Severna Park, MD.

After our stay in Franschoek, we traveled to Hermanus and then Gaansbai.  Despite the rain on Saturday the 17th, we still walked around H and had the chance to see some southern right whales -- they come so close to shore.  In fact, Hermanus is so nice and the whales are so close that we plan on going back (hopefully on a sunny day).

Our last day out of C'town -- Sunday the 19th -- was spent in Gaansbai . . . shark cage diving.  Although the conditions were a bit rough and the visibility was not great, we still had some amazing up-close encounters (right next to the boat) with 2 great white sharks.  Dave DeWaald and I also spent about an hour in the actual cage.  We did not see a lot then, but let me tell you . . . it is quite scary when you see the dorsal fin of a great white only a few feet away.  The cage is very safe, but when you are in it, it does not feel like there is very much between you and the shark!!!!  We also plan on diving again -- hopefully to get a better experience in the cage (better visibility and more GWS's). 

We have been in CT (and the area) since about Sept 8th . . . and it appears we'll be here until Sept 30th.  Soon, I will post about some of the other things we have done in this beautiful city.

See below for 2 other new posts (final Tanzania post and Kruger NP).

We are in Capetown, SA right now -- having a wonderful time.  CT is one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, and there are so many different things to do and see.  Just great.  More on our CT activities later.

For now, a quick update on the wedding front.  Tomorrow, we leave for 5 days.  First, we'll head to beautiful wine country and the quaint town of Franschoek.  There, we'll spend 3 nights and on day 2, we'll exchage our vows.  As you may know, things will be made even more official on June 25, 2005 in Severna Park, MD (so mark your calendars now).

After that, we'll head to Hermanus for whale watching and then, the mackdaddy of them all . . . we'll head to Gaansbai for our shark cage dive.  What a honeymoon!!!  2 Questions remain, however:  (1) will Jenn actually leave the boat and enter the cage during the dive; and (2) will CHG get both of them killed while trying to drive around a country where everyone drives "on the wrong side of the road"??  Wish us luck!!!!!

See below for our final Tanzania posting (also added today).

Currently, we are in Cape Town, South Africa -- an absolutely magical city and a must-see on the african tourist circuit (or any circuit for that matter).  We arrived in SA on Aug 1, spent a couple of days in Johannesburg, went on a 5 day safari in Kruger, and then arrived in C'town on August 8th.  More on our C'town adventures later -- for now, Kruger details.

First, our arrival in SA was quite overwhelming -- paved roads, highways, and stop lights!!!  The modern world, so to speak, which we had not really seen since we left Turkey at the end of June (and in a sense, really, since we had left Denver in mid-May).  Thus, despite Joburg's very bad reputation, we had a good time -- mainly walking around a mall ("downmarket" by Cherry Creek standards -- but a mall nonetheless), drinking vanilla coke, and eating fast food (Wimpy burgers rule).  That may not sound exciting, but for us at the time, it was amazing.  While traveling through E Africa, we did not really think about those things . . . at least not until they were made available to us again.

From Joburg, we took a 5 day safari to Kruger National Park in eastern S Africa.  First, we visited the 3rd largest canyon -- Blyde River Canyon -- in the world.  Although we only spent a few minutes there, we certainly enjoyed the view.  The drive was also amazing as we entered the highveld of S African and then descended into the lowlands that lead into Mozambique and the Indian Ocean beyond. 

Next, we spent 4 days/nights visiting Kruger and the surrounding area.  While we did not stay at a "luxury" camp, we were not exactly roughing things either.  We stayed on a private game reserve (Olifants) and in the Tremisana Game Lodge.  The room was fairly basic, but the grounds were beautiful . . . and right in the middle of the African bush.  In fact, our lodge was surrounded by an electric fence with a sign that said, "danger:  this fence can stop an african elephant, so can send you to the hospital."  More like the morgue, I thought. 

The game viewing in KNP did not match up to that in Tanzania, but we still had a wonderful time and saw a lot of animals (elephants, a few lions -- but only from far away, buffaloes, hippos, kudus, impalas, giraffes, baboons, zebras, crocs, eagles, and many other birds).  The highlights were seeing KNP's famous and huge "tuskers" (elephants) in the river valley, and seeing a pod of hippos scrambling from the land and into the water.  In addition, we saw a lot of KNP -- and it is an incredibly beautiful park.  It is very diverse, with beautiful rivers and a lot of colors (trees, plants, and flowers). 

The other great part of this trip was the diversity of our activities.  Over 4 days, we not only went on 2 long game drives in the park, but also went on 2 bush walks and 2 night game drives on the private reserve (during which we saw the incredibly rare aardvark).  The bush walks were fantastic, particularly when we tracked, saw, and were mock charged (2x) by a wild elephant!!!  Finally, we also visited -- for a 1/2 day -- the Mohololo Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.  Jenn was in 7th heaven and had they let us, we would have stayed as volunteers!!!  We learned a lot about the different animals we had seen, but also heard a lot of sad stories related to poachers.  We got very close to some eagles, vultures (wait until you see those photos), lions, a leopard, a hyena, a cheetah, and an ornery honey badger (which Jenn got to pet).

For those people who want to see african wildlife, but perhaps avoid some of the travel difficulties associated with parts of Africa, then Kruger is for you.  Here in SA you can do it all -- the magic of C'town (which is, in some ways, more like Europe than Africa), the wildlife of Kruger, and countless other tourist opportunities.

Although we have been in S Africa (and out of Tanz) since early September, I am just now posting about our other Tanzania adventures.  After our wildlife safari, we rested up at Buck's in Arusha for a couple of days.  Then, we each went on separate excursions -- before reuniting and spending 7 amazing days on beautiful Zanzibar island.  BTW Tanz is an amazing tourist destination for a # of reasons, but largely because you could do an incredible wildlife safari, then laze on an amazing beach . . . and do so all in about 2 weeks.  Such diversity would make for an ideal vacation -- and both budget and luxury options are available.  In any event, back to our excursions.

Jenn spent 5 days at Makoa Farm -- a working farm and horse ranch near Moshi.  With striking views of Mt. Kilimanjaro behind her (at almost 19,000 feet, the African continent's highest peak), she rode horses, hiked, visited a Chaga tribe village, swam in hotsprings (even though crocs were just up the river!!), ate like a queen (the food was incredible), saw more wildlife (e.g., a 150 year old giant tortoise), walked dogs, learned about local flora/fauna/farming, and relaxed.  All in all, she had a wonderful time.

CHG, meanwhile, went on a 7 day cultural tour through the Hanang District near Babati.  The focus of the tour was to see and experience different cultures and lifestyles.  The tour was also designed so that I actually lived like a rural african villager -- at least for a couple of days.  During those 7 days, I visited schools and local agricultural (and other economic) projects, went on some amazing hikes in the rift valley, rode bikes, canoed on Lake Babati to within 50 feet of a pod of hippos, rode the local chicken buses (I actually sat next to a goat), and visited several tribes and local villages.  I even did 2 homestays -- one with the Gorowa and another with the Barbaig (a cattle-rearing warrior tribe).  The latter was, easily, the most memorable part of the tour.  I actually slept in a grass/mud hut, on a goatskin bed in a local family's boma.  The generosity of those people -- who have nothing -- absolutely amazed me.  This experience, like so many others we've had, was a great reminder of just how fortunate we truly are.  I truly enjoyed the experience, learned a lot, and would recommend this type of cultural tourism to anyone.  While cultural tourism has its critics and valid criticisms, this tour did not feel "touristy."  In fact, this tour was more about connecting with people and sharing ideas. 

Tanzania was an incredible destination, with so many things to see and do.  Visiting Tanzania was quite an adventure, but well worth the effort.  Oh and by the way, much like Uganda, the food was both plentiful and excellent (except for one ill-advised menu selection on Zanzibar Island!!). 

See below for a posting about our amazing Zanzibar experience.

We will say our vows in Capetown sometime during the next 2 weeks.

To make things "official," we will have a ceremony and party in Severna Park, MD next summer.  More details will follow, but the festivities will take place on Saturday, June 25, 2005.

After our wildlife safari, we returned to Arusha for a couple of days and then went on separate excursions -- Jenn went for 5 days to Makoa Farms (a working farm and horse ranch near Moshi) and I went on a 7 day cultural tour through the Hanang District.  We will, later, publish a post about those amazing experiences.  For now . . .

We spent 7 amazing days on Zanzibar Island, which is very close to Dar es Salaam and the Tanzanian mainland, but might as well be a million miles away.  First, we spent 6 days at Bweju Beach on the East Coast.  The beach was absolutely stunning -- lined with palm trees, clear azure water, and white sand.  Conjure an image of "paradise" and you're pretty much there.  For 6 days, we rested and relaxed -- but we also walked on the beach, rode bikes on the beach (a common pasttime on the island) , went scuba diving, played cards and scrabble, and that is about it.  The food, except for one night, was great.  The views were unreal -- probably the most beautiful beach either of us have ever visited (in fact, I was not even bored and wanted to stay an extra day, which is why we stayed for 6 days instead of just 5).

Thereafter, and before flying to South Africa (where we are now -- in Joburg and heading to Capetown tomorrow), we spent a day wandering around Stone Town.  While ST has a reputation for being exotic, we found it a bit dirty and disappointing.  That aside, however, we saw a few neat buildings (strong arab influence in the architecture), an INCREDIBLE sunset into the Indian Ocean, and we ate some very good swahili food.

We will soon post about our other tours in Tanzania, as well as our South Africa experience so far -- a 5 day safari to Kruger Park. 

A wedding date has been set:  more details will follow, but plan on Saturday, June 25, 2005 in Severna Park, MD.