I saw my brother this weekend and he said he is in love with Cape Town and Stellenbosch in particular. Dave said it was immaculate, breathtakingly gorgeous and the prices were super reasonable. He said the wine was out of this world and cheaper than the water. He is dying to retire there. He convinced my wife and I that we HAVE to visit paradise as soon as possible. He said the South Africans were fantastic.

And it is so true!:)

Thanks for the offer Doug, but JR contacted me and offered to get them...just waiting for his reply.

OH! I'm sorry for not replying (didn't know you wanted me to). They are on the way to me. I'll let you know when I receive them. Ordered them yesterday.

Thanks JR, will mail you the delivery address.

Gerald,

How about some pictures from your trip? I really enjoyed the last set you posted.

Doug, this time we hardly took any pics. It was a family re-union and then some time in a game reserve where the weather didn't play along. I saw cheetah for the first time in the wild, but my pocket camera wouldn't do them justice at about 80 yards. For the rest, the animals were all standard issue: Elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, kudu, waterbuck, nyala, impala, giraffe, wildebeest, meerkat, warthog, ostrich, hornbill, baboon. And then, 2 days in the city of Johannesburg.

Gerald,

Standard issue with the animals is a rare thing for us. I would love the opportunity to see a few of those in the wild.

Spot the lions . . . . (That river at sunset has crocs and hippos, but the river bank is vertical at that point)

More interesting stuff, all taken at the Rendezvous Tourism Centre:

Donna, if you reading this, all pics above resized with Irfanview (resize to 640 wide, sharpen, save at 90% quality). Original pics were 3264 wide, over 1.5 MByte.

Which was probably more scary than all the Elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, kudu, waterbuck, nyala, impala, giraffe, wildebeest, meerkat, warthog, ostrich, hornbill, baboon. :) No offence Kobus

We are going to Jhb the end of the month for a week,taking the kids on a train trip to visit the old peaple and to start collecting parts for smaller #2 so will be flying over Midrand and Brakpan.:)

Hey, Johannesburg is not such a bad place! Granted, there are some large no-go areas, but there is an economic buzz there that is far bigger than anywhere else in this country. And there are some very nice suburbs, with very pleasant weather too! Did the typical strolling at Melrose Arch, Montecasino, Sandton City, Melville, Zoo Lake and then for a reality check drove through Hillbrow, Joubert Park, and down Jeppe Street to Newtown.

Grew up in Melville,those where the days my mother still looked after me:)(sevende laan)
Gerald, even the boys up in the north feel the slump at the moment.The Brow probably still looks the same

Gerald,

Only the buildings with the tourist center have the decorations and are these government buildings?

That tourist center is privately owned and was newly built, modelled on the buildings in nearby Pilgrims Rest. The jigsaw cut fascia boards are over-the-top but some people like them.

Gerald,
Was that chicken, pork ribs and steak on the BBQ or maybe something more exotic?

Nothing more exotic than chicken, pork ribs and lamb rib chops.

Wow!! Great pics. Thanks.

Like I said in an earlier post, my brother has turned into a one man South African tourist agency and he said so many nice things about your country, he's persuaded my parents into vacationing there for their next trip. I've been persuaded too but my bank account won't cooperate at the moment

Nice pictures.
I am long overdue for a trip to the nature reserve. Nothing like a braai at sun set!:)

Doug, I would be happy to meet your parents when they are around here. We can exchange phone numbers if they want to know some locals for "back-up" - I am sure that the other S.Africans will offer their numbers as well. We are well spread out, and fairly close to the typical tourist routes.

Anytime. Just say the word.

always a spare room .

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This photo was circulated by e-mail recently. A farmer at Harrismith took the photo of the two meerkatte. I am not sure what they are called in English.
Afrikaans is a very descriptive language, but sometimes we get it wrong. The direct translation for Meerkat is a 'Lake cat'. I have never seen them close to a lake. :confused:
Another word is 'Tuinslang' which translates to garden snake. A hose pipe! A little more descriptive.

Wow!!! Thanks Gerald, Johan, and Hennie. That is extremely generous of y'all. I'm sure they wouldn't like to impose on any of you but I'm sure that they'd love to get some advice on where to eat, what to see, and what to avoid.

I'll let them know. Thanks again.

A slghtly bigger "slang"

A farmer up North was concerned about his sheep going missing so installed an electrc fence...this is what he found one morning.

Attachment 4877

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That’s only a Python, they are not poisonous….I didn’t say that they are harmless, just not poisonous, best to stay away from the sharp end…:rolleyes:

The "where to eat, what to see, and what to avoid" is well-covered by guide books, and even though we are happy to help out there, I was thinking more along the lines of car problems, needing to find a decent doctor and other stuff they may be a little apprehensive of before venturing out here.

That python had an impala ewe (hornless) in its belly:

http://www.bushveld.co.za/pictures-python.htm

Wow,
I guess you would not want to leave your dog outside around there at night. :)