Author: Jane Whitaker

Market day again –

All very bright and vibrant –

Including the Dragon Fruit –

Then Gordon’s favourite stall –

A different twist on a Chinese takeaway –

Then we went off to Standfontein for some bird watching-

And here’s a pretty flower –

The following photos were taken from the car on the way back – so sorry if they look a little blurred. Just to show the poverty of the townships –

Which stretch for miles –

Well – it’s another of those days –

Has anyone ever seen a molehill on a putting green ? –

And here’s a purple heron –

In a very present 34C we decided to go over the mountains to Franschhoek which has its name etched onto the mountain side –

And then had a warm stroll along the Main Street –

Some African market stalls, very bright as usual –

Then this very happy chappy on the pavement –

A little bit of culture –

And architecture –

Can you get a more perfect box hedge than this? –

And how about some perfect gentleman –

Quite a clever work of art –

A lovely light lunch before we left –

To leave Franschhoek behind –

And drop down to Theewaterkloof Reservoir which was just sand when we saw it 2 years ago and all the water restrictions were in place. Now restored to virtually normal –

And our big coup of the day was to see a pair of Blue Crane –

Absolutely fantastic –

Then we drove back through mile after mile of orchards. Apples galore –

A grand day out.

A quiet day today. Shopping first and these delightful flowers for salads, cocktails etc-

Then off to a beautiful winery for lunch –

With a very posh wine tasting room –

The entrance through the herb garden was beautifully scented –

And the views from the gardens were superb –

Some lovely thatched outhouses –

Massive old Camphora trees from China –

A huge wooden acorn –

And a rhinoceros made out of Nespresso caps –

The shop had some lovely African gifts –

And lunch was equally as tasty –

Haven’t shown you any photos of the property yet so here goes –

View from the kitchen window –

The others are self explanatory-

And the view from our bedroom window –

Then we were off to a very plush golfing resort –

Where we had our own personalised buggy ready –

The practice area so neatly laid out –

A quick look at one of the swimming pools –

Lovely to see water on the course –

A view of the 8th green –

A fine day out at –

So true –

Another of these days in glorious sunshine –

Fabulous view over the 18th green –

And some very nice properties alongside the course –

Not sure of the significance of this –

But a lovely day out –

Then home for tea to be watched by a very sad Coco wanting to share the burgers –

(Don’t worry. He had some!!!)

Off we went to a market at –

Which was reported to be a major Sunday attraction in the Western Cape. Looked more like a downmarket carboot –

Not a dramatic start to the day so we decided to head over to Table View Nature Reserve for some bird watching. Lovely shot of Table Mountain –

But not a lot to see –

A whiskered tern –

And some goslings –

Oh well. Off to feast off a massive Hout Bay seafood platter –

At least the sky is blue –

Visit to the market this morning. Pictures posted last week. Then this afternoon a stroll on our estate in the sun and watching cricket from Johannesburg this afternoon.

Some lovely faces –

Golf day at Somerset West. Home to the white squirrel –

A trip out to –

To see the African penguins. They’re so lovely –

Then we went to –

They had had a big fire through last January –

All the undergrowth and plants were regrowing well but a lot of the trees still bore the scars –

Views of the surrounding mountains were stunning –

With real water in the waterfalls, unlike 2 years ago when we had to shower with a bucket in there to collect water for the toilets!!!! The hillsides were so green this time –