Baboons, penguins, and ostriches, oh my!  Eight of us went sightseeing today.  We hired a van with driver so we could all enjoy the sights.  First stop was the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, the southernmost point in Africa where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.  After a funicular ride part of the way up, we trekked up many, many stone steps to reach the lighthouse at the top.  Unfortunately, the top was shrouded in fog so we didn't actually see the confluence of the two oceans, but we knew it was there!  When we got back down to the parking area, we were treated to a mob of baboons of all sizes scampering around us, onto vehicles, posing for pictures, chewing bubble gum they found on the ground, etc.  Hilarious!  Next stop was Boulders, a sanctuary for the African penguin.  On the way, we happened upon an ostrich along the side of the road.  After lunch it was the stupendously spectacular drive on Chapman's Peak along Hout Bay.  Whoever thought of building that road must have been on something!  All the gang is here now.  Lee and Andrea Shaver, Ray Hopkins, Richard Page, Brice Harper, and Doug Wilson and his son arrived today.  We're all having dinner together tonight at our B&B and a team meeting afterwards.

Cape of Good Hope

Dick Hoff at the Lighthouse

Use your imagination--the Atlantic Ocean is on the right and the Indian Ocean is on the left!

Hout Bay looking down from Chapman's Peak

Two of Arleen's American Boyfriends :)

We're here!  Arrived at Cape town airport 11:00 pm last night (Cape Town is 6 hours later than EST), and had a taxi reserved to take us to our B&B in Melkbosstrand.  Our room faces the ocean and has a balcony. The beach is half a block away. We've already been out beachcombing this morning and found lots of cool shells.  We managed to sleep a total of 6 hours on the plane in bits and pieces so we feel pretty good today.  The flights were smooth and uneventful, except for getting fumigated when we landed in Dakar, Senegal for refueling.  A porter met us at the Johannesburg airport and walked us through the entire customs process in no time at all.  There were four other US Team members on the flight with us, Richard Hoff of Ohio, Kenn Heismann of Kentucky, Dave Munch of Ohio, and John Ciccone of Maryland.  The rest of the team members arrive today and tomorrow:  Lee and Andrea Shaver of Missouri, Dave Gullo of Idaho, Richard Page of Vermont, Ray Hopkins of Ohio, Mike Pifer of Connecticut, Doug Wilson of New Jersey, and Brice Harper of Kansas.

 

Africa is not for sissies!  Or so says our safari guide who sent us these pictures from previous safaris.  Oh my!

In South Africa this is equivalent to $10 US dollars!

Ed with his new Ferris rifle.  It's black powder, like Dave Crockett and Daniel Boone used to shoot.  You load the powder, put the wad and bullet down, lay down on the ground, look through the open sights (no scopes), and shoot.  Then you get up, clean the barrel, and start all over again.  You have 60 minutes to fire 3 sighters and 10 shots for record at mid-range.  At long range (800 and 900) you get 90 minutes and have 5 sighters and 15 shots for record.

Just a week and a half until the great adventure!  Cape Town South Africa here we come.  We're going to the 9th MLAIC World Long Range Muzzleloading Championships.  Ed is on the U.S. Team and will be competing with 8 other countries (Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, and Switzerland).  He'll be shooting 300, 500, 600, 800, and 900 meters at the Good Hope Shooting Range in Atlantis, SA.  We'll be staying at the Sandcastle B&B on the ocean with several other team members. We can't wait to see palm trees and penguins!  I'm taking my computer this time and there is wi-fi at the B&B so I'll be able to keep up with the blog better than the trip to Europe.  Ed has his new American-made custom Ferris rifle and is anxious to see how his new baby does.  Several other team members have the Ferris rifle and it would be really cool for the U.S. to win it with American rifles instead of foreign-made rifles.  We are NOT, however, looking forward to the 18 hour flight from Dulles airport in Washington, DC to Johannesburg, SA!  We change planes in J'burg to catch a 2 hour flight to Cape Town.