Cape St. Francis - A birthday wish come true!!

 Marius planned the departure date from Hawaii to be sure he was fishing at Cape St. Francis on his birthday - December 3.  His wish was granted and we spent a wonderful week with the Ellis cousins Tommy and Marlene Ferreira and Willie and Katie in a cool little beach shack right on the sand at Mostertshoek. 

For the surfers in our lives, Cape St. Francis is the place in the movie Endless Summer II where they found the perfect wave.  Cape St. Francis is known for its beautiful beaches and as one of the best surfing locations on the planet. Given its geological location, it is susceptible to swell year round from large low pressure systems that form between Antarctica and the southern tip of Africa.  When large south west swell wraps around the coastline of the region and the prevailing offshore winds come up, the surfing is as good as it gets.

Surfing is good, well so is the fishing.  As soon as everything was unpacked from the cars Marius and Tommy headed to the water with their poles.

There was a lot of observation and discussion about conditions involving the wind, waves, water temperature and best spots to cast to avoid getting caught on the rocks.

The effort paid off and we had Black Tail to eat for dinner on more than one occasion!

While Marius was fishing I spent time walking on the beach finding interesting things to photograph.    It was glorious!!

SHELLS GALORE!

Pristine Beach

Enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

Beach Daisy

Oyster Catchers

View toward Seal Point Lighthouse

Later in the week we were joined by Janene, Tommy and Marlene's daughter and her son GJ age 4.  In this family fishing is an important tradition and the learning starts early.  Mom is a great teacher!

Tips from Oupa

All in all it was a great birthday week!!

Beach Shack Decor

Willie & Katie

Happiness is......

Janene and GJ

Marlene and Janene

A refreshing dip in the tide pool.

The Happy Cruisers in ZA

Happy Birthday Marius!!  12-3-13

Life in Tsitsikamma

Tsitsikamma has several interpretations like place of much water, falling water, clear water and the sound of rain.  Whatever the Khoisan (early inhabitants of the area) intended in the place name, water is definitely the predominant feature here. 

The Indian Ocean which changes its personality by the hour is continuously pounding one of the most dangerous coastlines in the world - renowned for its rugged beauty, towering cliffs, and indigenous forest. 

Otter Trail starts here

Streams, lakes, ponds and waterfalls are abundant.  It is truly a place for the outdoor enthusiast (me) with hiking trails along the ocean and through the forest, mountain biking, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling and swimming. 

The most well known hiking trail in the Park is the Otter Trail, named after the Cape clawless otter - a very elusive and shy creature.  Sightings of otters are extremely rare and granted only to a privileged few.   I didn't really understand how elusive they were until I started reading about them and the effort underway to study them.  However, we were VERY lucky on two separate occasions.  One evening, just after sunset, we were scanning the tide pools below our camp site and I captured this photo:

On the previous night Marius and I were sitting quietly by the fire in our campsite listening to the night sounds and presumably it was these same two which came right into our camp, unconcerned about our being there, and proceeded to the stream which runs to the ocean through the woods adjacent to our camp.  Katie and Willie say that this very stream originates from the Marienburg Pond (photo in the previous blog) and they have, on occasion, seen the otters fishing in the pond after a steep climb through the stream and up the cliff to the farm!  We have not seen them since but watch for them every evening.

Marius on the first section of the Otter Trail to the Waterfall

A curious Kelp Gull on the Trail

  

The Waterfall. 

Meanwhile back at the farm...
The first two weeks here were spent acclimating to the 12 hour time difference and re-energizing our sense of place in this gorgeous setting.

Long Crested Eagle

In Flight

 

Marius and Willie
 

On a leisurely walk

Lilies in the Pond

 

  Next post:  Cape St. Francis - A birthday wish come true!!

The Happy Cruisers go to South Africa

Sawubona Everyone!  Greetings from South Africa. 

 

YAY!!  The much anticipated blog is now up. 

 

We left the Big Island on the night of November 15, 2013 after nine months of planning and a lot of help from our neighbors, friends and extended family in Waimea.  We could not have made this trip without you - Georgine, Chris, Carolyn, Kim, Iva and Laurel, Mike and Erin, and everyone at Forest Solutions, thank you for holding down the fort while we are away.

 

Our first stop on the way included 3 fabulous days in Manhattan to visit Samantha, Scott, Zoe and Ryder, my "sort-of-daughter" and her family.  New York is the perfect half way point on the way to Johannesburg and we were very happy to have Sam and Scott as our hosts.  After traveling back and forth from Hawaii to South Africa numerous times, Marius and I both recommend a stop over to rejuvenate prior to the 15 hour flight from JFK to Johannesburg.  Having Charlie (Sam's brother) there was an added bonus.  He postponed practicing with his band to spend time with us.  We really appreciated it Char!!  We had a lovely time with everyone and so appreciated Sam and Scott's hospitality. 

 

A highlight of the visit was the Holiday Train

Show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.  We were amazed at the model trains whizzing around miniature replicas of New York City landmarks made from bark, twigs, leaves, seeds and all things natural.  Thanks Sam and Scott for taking us with you!!

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I am a proud Grandmama!!   And, ever so lucky to have such a great family.

 

On to South Africa.....

After saying our good-byes in New York we boarded South African Airlines and headed on. The flights were uneventful to Johannesburg and then on to Port Elizabeth where Willie and Katie, (Mom and Dad), picked us up in our cool new Land Cruiser.  We still had a two hour drive ahead of us before reaching our destination at Storms River which is along the well known Garden Route which runs from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.

Marius grew up here (a little to the right of Knysna on the map above) and spent most of his free time, when he was not away at boarding school, with a fishing pole in hand.  Willie and Katie live on a farm at Marienburg, the site of a former saw mill village and Willie's birthplace.  On the farm remain two historic buildings - the old Ryder House (the name of the saw mill) which serves as a guest house and the Marienburg Post Office.  The main house you can see below with the Tsitsikamma Mountains in the background.

 

The Marienburg Post Office at Sunset

The farm is surrounded on all sides by an eighteen hole golf course in process.  There are over 5 miles of golf cart paths great for walking and jogging, all of the streets are paved and the infrastructure in place for a golf estate/village.  We are not one bit upset about the time it is taking to develop because the golf estate has turned in to an amazing wildlife and bird sanctuary with herons, eagles, raptors, ducks, geese, guinea fowl and a huge variety of song birds.  There are also baboons, monkeys, bush buck and caracal and probably a lot of other animals that we have not yet seen. 

 

At night, on a frequent basis we hear the snorting of a porcupine which comes quite close to the house and upsets the dog, who keeps her distance.  We know because it often drops its quills and we've a good collection building.

 

The farm is in the heart of the Fynbos, one of the world's six floral kingdoms known as the Cape floral kingdom.  It is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism and stretches from Clanwilliam to Port Elizabeth in a 100 - 200 km wide coastal belt.  This is where Protea originally come from (not Maui) and the colors, sizes and shapes are astounding.   Below are some photos of the spectacular views. 

 

The Marienburg Pond

 

Storms River Peak

Marius very happy to be here!!

View facing North from the Golf Path

 

Fynbos looking East toward Port Elizabeth

Pin Cushion Protea

LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT INSTALLMENT:

LIFE IN TSITSIKAMMA