march
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13
Courtney
stayed home from school today so she could drive up north early with us.
We got the reservation due to a cancellation, but we had to book it for
Friday and Saturday night. So, Veda, Courtney, Eric, and I left on Friday
while the other boys were going to bring the boat on Saturday morning.
We got stopped for a bit at a road block to check for IDs while leaving
Kommetjie. It was only made law in the last year that you have to carry
your driver's license on you while driving. On our trip through the city,
Veda pointed out the Cape Town University and the Groote Schuur Hospital
where the world's first heart transplant took place.
Of
course, we stopped at a few places along the way before we got to the
West
Coast National Park, including picturesque views of Table Mountain
from Grottobaai and huge rocks and tidal pools in Yzerfontein. We even
saw a seal playing in the surf right off the beach.
The
park had some beautiful views, but it was very dry and the lack of game
was a bit disappointing. We saw a nocturnal scrub hare (in the middle
of the day no less), several ostriches drinking at the local watering
hole and some dassies sunning themselves on some giants rocks, but that
was about it for wildlife. At the Geelbek information center and restaurant,
we did see several weaver bird's nests and learned the identity of one
of the flowers Eric had photographed earlier in the day. Courtney bought
some ice cream and Eric and I munched on our cheese bagels before heading
off again.
After
you leave the park, the road takes you directly into the heart of Langebaan
with no signs anywhere pointing you back to the main highway. Veda stopped
to ask a B&B owner about the correct way and ended up with some brochures
and a better map than the one we had. Pleasantly, on our way through Langebaan,
we also spotted some flamingos swimming in a lake.
Before
arriving at our self-catering guest house, Kaboesie, we stopped off at
5:30 pm for dinner at a place that was closing at 6 pm. Our first choice,
a steakhouse in Piketberg, didn't open until 7 pm. So we ordered a quick
meal of sandwiches and a cider and made the remaining 30 minute drive
to Club Elani.
Once we arrived, we unpacked all the cold stuff and attempted to open a cider. To our dismay, we discovered that we didn't have a bottle opener… or a wine corker either. So, we took a trip to the local pub and had a glass of so-so house wine and listened to people speak Afrikaans. We ended the evening by taking out the computer and showing off our wedding photos and some pictures from our honeymoon.