December 17th- Table Mountain national park, Cape Town

View en route to top of Table Mountain...
Overlooking western Cape Town.. with miles of white sandy beaches.

These pink flowers were all over the trail called Platteklip Gorge.
Moderately steep, just non stop steps after steps.
I wish I had my hiking poles descending ...

December 16th - Cape of Good Hope

 Cape of Good Hope

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion's_Head_(Cape_Town)
The Lions Head trail is short but quite interesting, with very secured metal chains and ladders to help climb up the steep part .

On the top, you are rewarded with this magnificent panoramic view.  The range behind me is known as The Twelve Apostles.

A very windy day at Cape Town marina

December 15th, 2013 - Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, South Africa

This is one of the great botanic gardens of the world, nestled at the foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. It is truly wonderful. I can spend all day here. It happened to be a Sunday where they have a concert so we attended and enjoy the music filled with Christmas holiday theme.

December 14th, 2013 - Chapman's Peak Drive, South Africa.

With spectacular view, the road hugs the near-vertical face of the mountain....It is truly kodak moments one bend after another.
Similar to our own Hwy 50 east to Lake Tahoe, California , but with more expensive view, and longer.

Soft white beach walk at Hout Bay

December 13th - Somerset West, to Madiba..

Sculpture by local artist Vincent Da Silva, Somerset West, South Africa ...

"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again." - Nelson Mandela

 

Walking along Gordons Bay with Patrick

December 13th, 2013 - Why drink water when...

you can have varieties of good wine at these low prices !
Stellenbosch vineyards is one of South Africa's top wine producers.
Driving down the road, it is one vineyard after another.
We leisurely stopped at one and enjoyed a private tour all to ourselves.

our tour guide

Manificient horses, background of vineyard

December 11th, Kalk Bay, South Africa

My friend Patrick rented a car and we drove to Kalk Bay ..and then we had dinner together with Annie at the Cape to Cuba restaurant. Below was a breathtaking sunset view of Kalk Bay ..taken right outside the restaurant.

having a fun laugh with Annie

December 10th, Muizenberg, South Africa

Took the local metro train from Simons Town to Muizenberg .. It was very windy here so we saw quite a few kite surfers.
Below picture shows lots of kids enjoying the natural sea water swimming pool. There are colorful huts on the beach.

love the colors of these rocks

December 9th - Africa penguins

One of the more popular tourists attractions in Simons Town is at Boulders. It started in 1983, a pair of African penguins were spotted on Foxy Beach at Boulders and in 1985 they began to lay and stay, now known as the Boulders colony.
It is quite fun and entertaining to watch the penguins close up!

December 7th - Farewell to Gloria

Today Marc and I both bid farewell to Gloria. We chose to leave on our own because we want to spend time with our love ones. Marc will be flying back to the U.S with his girlfriend soon. I will be flying to France to visit friends; then likely to Panama to see my son and his dog, Roadie! My journey continues...I am grateful to captain Roger in giving me this rare opportunity and experience to sail with beautiful Gloria. I shall miss my comrade dearly...

Fair winds and following seas.

Background is Cape of good hope.

December 6th - Simon's Town, South Africa

We arrived yesterday noon on a very windy day . Wind up to 40+ knots. Gloria is safely secured at moorings. The yacht club provides a free water 'taxi' to the dock and back to the boat. Well..it is very nice to get taxied to the yacht club in order to have a much needed warm shower. Although..you may get a little salty spray of sea water on your newly washed, cleaned hair...and everywhere else.

Simon's Town is charming! Lots of little shops and restaurants on Main Street. There are quite a few B&B and houses with beautiful landscape. There are few navy ships, and even a submarine docked here.

Andy said below view looks just like Ireland.
We walked up well maintained stone steps and enjoyed a panoramic view.

December 5th - goodbye Mossel Bay

Last night, captain took all of us to a nice dinner at the Mossel Bay yacht club restaurant. I had local beer on tap, grilled Hake and malva pudding with custard, a typical South Africa dessert.

Chores before we take off..since we moored next to dock, the side of the boat was dirty with some greasy black markings, from those old, black tires fenders. We walked to several grocery stores and bought provisions; Andy scrubbed and then rinsed off the boat. Dishes were cleaned and put away. Sticky mats were put on all counters to prevent things from falling off etc etc.

This morning at 6am, we left lovely Mossel Bay and head towards Simonstown, close to Cape Town.

Marc, Andy and I took a nice walk along the bay.

December 3rd - Mossel Bay, South Africa

We arrived yesterday evening at Mossel Bay. This was by far the most beautiful, picturesque little touristy town we stopped by.
The Old Quarter of Mossel Bay is famous for its well-preserved historic buildings, many of which were built by stone masons from Cornwall, who settled in the town in the second half of the 19th Century.

Taking a walk on the stone walkways along the coast. Beautiful Kodak moments at every corner. Many ideal swimming pools formed naturally. The surrounding mountains made me miss those climbing days ...

We stopped by a popular local restaurant. I enjoyed delicious smoked fish ie. fish braai, lovingly prepared by these guys.

December 1st - sunrise.. sailing south to Mossel Bay, South Africa

December 1st - we awoke at 5 am and headed south towards Mossel Bay. Contrary to the weather forecast there was no wind. Instead, there was a large swell and the strong agulas current against the swell, which caused the wave to be incredibly steep and aggressive. The occasional wave on the deck resulting in very loud smashing, banging and crashing noise.

Sunrise ...like a pair of electric eyes.

There were many high end Oyster sail boats ( see the little white sail in the middle of pic) heading to the same direction as us. They are in for the Cape Town to Rio race rally starting January 6th.  It was peaceful to watch them sail next to us all through our watch.

November 29th - East London, South Africa

We left Durban yesterday 7 AM.. Sailing was good most of the day.
In the evening, we motored sail..suddenly we heard a very load warning sound from the engine room. The impeller broke, again. Marc replaced it and we were able to continue. The wind picked up at night and we were able to sail peacefully.
This morning, we have strong current and rough sea, wind up to about 30 ~ knots so captain decided to take shelter and anchored at East London.

Marc suggested we do a thanksgiving dinner. We had roast chickens, mashed potatoes with fresh mushroom gravy, fresh steam pumpkins with garlic, fresh corn.. And Marc made an apple pie ;) we are thankful to have safe harbor, great home cook meal on board Gloria, and fun crew camaraderie.

Rene at the bow. getting ready to drop anchor...background is east London harbor.

Andy doing flip exercise ..

November 26th - Durban bird park

We took a short walk and local bus to get to this bird park.
I enjoyed seeing all the exotic birds ..but sad to see those in cages..

November 25th - Durban Botanical Gardens, KwaZulu-Natal

Today I escaped to the serenity of the Durban Botanical Gardens.
It is Africa's oldest surviving botanical gardens, world-renowned for their indigenous and exotic plant collections from the sub-tropics – cycads, ferns, bromeliads, palms and orchids, among many other stunning flowers and more than 80 magnificent heritage trees.

The garden of the senses.
Sculpture of garlic (smell), harp (hearing), chilies (taste)... Etc

Indian couple having their wedding picture taken here...

November 23th - Saturday afternoon at Durban promenade

Local spending good time ..a long stretch of promenade with good amenities, facilities, eateries and water theme park for families fun.

And at the beach..there are life guards.. Sharks nets for safety ..
designated swimming area..separates swimmers and surfers.

November 20th - Durban , South Africa

Cloudy and windy day at Durban ..a world of difference compare to the totally remote places we have anchored in Madagascar.
As you can see from this picture,  lots of tall buildings around this very big port. I have nice walks along the broad walk with beautiful ocean view.

A swell like cloud brought up to 50 knots of howling wind, thunders, lighting and even hail! One of the dock fingers broke apart because of the strong storm. Was told this is the worst storm in few years.
We are very grateful to watch it in safe harbor, warm and save with Gloria. Below pic taken by Rene.

November 13th - Game park days, Kwazulu-Natal

Spent a few days at Hluhluwe iMfolozi Reserve, a rhino conservation park. My first safari.  So much anticipation as we drove thru the park and kept our eyes peeled .. the excitement was unparalleled when we had first close encounters with some of these big animals right next to our jeep.

A very huge elephant walking quite fast on the road towards our car, I just freeze as he walked past me..

magnificent white rhino n baby. Notice a bird on his hind leg.
All pictures were  taken while in vehicle.

We saw tons of imapalas.

November 10th - Richards Bay, South Africa

After the last few hours of strong wind, very choppy seas and huge swells, the sea calmed down as we arrived at Richards Bay, South Africa on a cool and cloudy day.
We are parking at a nice marina with water front restaurants, bars etc with modern amenities. What a luxury to be able to just step out to concrete land whenever we wish. More luxury: We also get free! registrations, fresh water and electricity! So we use fresh water to wash and rinse liberally all over the deck and our staysail.
Everyone speaks good english here. First world country feel ! I went for a slow jog for the first time in almost 3 months. The ground seemed swaying side to side beneath me while I jog. Well.. try going out for a run when you are drunk lol.

Gloria approaching marina..we got lucky and doubled park next to the blue color sail boat, on the left of this photo.

Floating lights powered by solar panels. Nice to see clean beaches where children play..

 

'Smart' ? half sank tanker...try zoom in to see the name  'Smart' 

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Ship-buckles-off-Richards-Bay-20130819

November 8th - crossing the Mozambique Channel

Most days we had calm seas but very light head wind, we motored sailed quite a bit . We take turns for a 3 hour watch. Rene and I have the 9am to noon and 9pm to midnight watch. Unlike the other two longer passages where I got a little sea sick for the first few days, on this one, I feel good and strong everyday, with normal appetite.

A friendly bird flew in to visit our galley. I was so relieved she found her own way back out.
She also flew around the cockpit area.. stood n balance, on the big steering wheel  for quite a while..quite entertaining after many days of nothing but ocean scenes.

November 6th - towards South Africa!

It was decided condition is not in our favor go south to Nosy Ve for more surfing. So this morning, after Rene made us a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs with salsa, shredded potatoes pancakes, fresh crusty baguettes with jam, we are heading off to Richards Bay, South Africa.
Estimate sailing about 5 days... Looking forward to the next continent !

November 4th - Tulear, Madagascar

We anchored at Port of Tulear or Toliara. Very windy here 30 to 40 knots ...Roaring 40? dramatic day coz we lost our dingy !! due to a couple of reasons :( besides strong wind. Luckily the local saw it drifted with the wind and brought it back to shore. We were so very grateful and rewarded the 2 finders. Andy and Roger surfed a bit but the condition was not so good...So tomorrow , we will head south to Nosy Ve, west of town called Anakao for better surfing, with likely condition of 'Flame Balls' and 'Jelly Babies'.

Locals barely speak English. They mostly speaks the Madagasi mix with French. We went to the market and loaded up on fresh produce n supplies.

Women selling chickens on market at Bizarre de Ve ie big market.

Local village at Tulier...most walk around without any footwear. Kids play on dirt and muddy shores..

October 26th - Lemurs n big Baobab trees, Baly Bay

Very remote, we didn't n see any locals near where we anchored. We went to search for lemurs in the morning. Was told they love bananas but we ate all our bananas days ago. Marc first spotted them high up on a shady tree. We brought along some pineapple skins n placed them n hoped they would come down to no avail. In the evening, we went by again and saw quite a few playing n swinging on a tree right next to the beach. We enjoyed watching them until there were too many mosquitoes buzzing around us.

Lemurs- This one actually has a baby clinging to her.

these r the Baobab trees, they look like giant Ginsengs.