Safari Day 3:
A game drive to see warthogs and ostriches, and ancient rock art.  Skeet shooting and motor biking in the afternoon, then a drive to see The Wall--a rock wall miles and miles long that used to enclose an ostrich farm in the 1800's. Ed used to ride a Hodaka dirt bike and still has the bike stored at our place.  Supper was a traditional South African braai (barbeque) with boerewors (South African sausage) and lamb chops.

Day 4:
An early morning game drive to see rhino!  We also got to observe a wildlife conservation initiative to dart some female sable antelope of breeding age and transport them to another area where they are trying to reestablish a population.  A pilot and a Bushman squeezed into a tiny yellow helicopter and flew around until they saw some females and the helicopter would sweep very close to the ground so the Bushman could fire the tranquilizer dart.  We were following in an open safari truck and watched as one of the antelope gradually slowed down and laid down.  We also saw zebra on the drive back to the ranch.  We ate breakfast and then prepared to head over to another ranch that Kobus and Marise own along the Orange River near Vanderskloof.  We enjoyed a day of fishing, kayaking, game drives, and a picnic lunch at the river camp--a large canvas wall tent on a wooden platform on stilts on the river bank.

Day 5:
Time to leave Jackallskull and  head to Kimberley to see The Big Hole on our way to Bloemfontein.  It was particularly windy when we left the ranch and by the time we approached Kimberley we were in a full-blown desert dust storm.  The huge metal walkway and observation platform over The Big Hole was swaying in the wind--a bit disconcerting!  We didn't know anything about the history of the discovery of diamonds and mining in Africa so the museum and displays were very educational.  A young farm boy picked up a strange rock on the banks of the Orange River (in the area where we spent the day at river camp).  He thought it was just a pretty rock but an Englishman passing through the territory saw it and recognized what it was.  The farm family thought it was worthless and sold it for 5 pence!

We continued driving to Bloemfontein through the dust storm and an early spring thunderstorm which brought much needed rain, but also brought very dangerous lightning.  We watched a lightning strike start a veldt fire, with huge billowing clouds of smoke heading our way.  Fortunately the rain continued and slowed down the fire.  In Bloemfontein we did a bit of shopping for souvenirs, visited the Nelson Mandela statue on Naval Hill, got a personalized tour of a fort, had dinner, and then settled into our B&B for the night.

Day 6 and 7:
Headed to the airport to fly back to Cape Town.  A strange sight appeared to us as we flew over the mountains north of Cape Town--snow!  It was the talk of the town for sure.  Snow is highly unusual around Cape Town.  We returned to the Sandcastle B&B for a couple of nights to retrieve Ed's rifle and shooting gear and the rest of our luggage and take in some more of the sights in Melkbosstrand.  The Ostrich Farm--where Superman rode a live ostrich!  For real!  Check out the picture album :)  We did a wildflower walk at Blaawberg Nature Preserve along the ocean--acres and acres of beautiful flowers.  And we ate one last time at Orca - our favorite restaurant in the area.  The calamari melts in your mouth.

Day 8:
Whale Cottage in Camps Bay, here we come.  We could sit on our balcony and watch whales!  For the first time in about two weeks the skies were blue and the sun was out.  This was the perfect opportunity to take the cable car up Table Mountain, so we hopped in the car and headed up the mountain to the parking area.  So did about 8,000 other people!  All the parking was full from halfway up the mountain to the cable car station, so we parked and walked and walked and walked.  Then there was a 1/4 mile long line of people waiting to buy tickets.  But we didn't dare give up and go home because we didn't know what the weather would be like the next day.  If Table Mountain is covered with a tablecloth of cl
ouds, you can't see anything when you get to the top.  The cable car ride was spectacular!  The car is round and the floor rotates, so everyone gets a view from all sides of the car.  I have to say that the view from the top of Table Mountain has moved up to the #1 spot of the most beautiful places I've seen in the world so far.  We spent about three hours walking around the pathways, singing with some African young people from Durban and Ghana, and taking hundreds of pictures.  One interesting note:  we were talking with some Cape Town locals about the high wind warnings and signs along the pathways that have arrows directing you to the shortest way back to the cable station and how long it will take to run there.  The locals told us that they were serious about running to the cable station, rather than walking.  They said the winds can blow in very quickly and you don't want to be caught outside when they hit.  They said that the Hooter (horn) would put the Fear of God into you.  We asked what happened if people had to run to the cable station--they obviously couldn't take the cable car back down the mountain (they close the cable cars in high winds).  They said that the cable station is stocked with food and water supplies for several hundred people for 48 hours and there have been times when people were stranded up there for a day!