I’ve just updated our photo gallery with pics from month of December. We had the privilege of sharing the holiday season with both Aunt Kat and Grammy Susi. The week before Christmas we all flew down to Cape Town. December is high season for travel among South Africans as it is summertime. So, many of the places we visited were a bit more crowded than usual, but that didn’t spoil our time. Cape Town is a beautiful city and it was so good to see and smell the ocean (Pretoria is about a 5 hour drive from the closest ocean). We stayed at a self-catering guesthouse in Hout Bay and visited the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Cape Point, Boulders Bay, Kalk Bay (for a meal at our favorite restaurant, the Olympia Café), Stellenbosch winelands, and Kat and Susi took the tour of Robben Island. Then we drove 7 hours on a road that reminded us of the 41 heading to Morro Bay- lots of traffic and only one lane in each direction with the occasional passing lane- to Plettenburg Bay. We stayed at another self-catering guesthouse close to the airstrip. Plett Bay is on the Garden Route and is an amazingly beautiful area. Our family enjoyed a hike on the Robberg Penninsula where we saw lots of marine life on the beach and in the tide pools. We also took a tour of Monkeyland, a primate sanctuary.
We arrived back in Joburg on Christmas Eve. After a long day of travel (6 hours drive from Plettenburg to Cape Town, and the 2 hour flight from Cape Town to Joburg) we had to wait much longer than seemed necessary for the shuttle from the airport to a car in the long-term parking lot only to find our car battery had died. While us ladies and kids stood in the covered outdoor waiting area (as it was raining) wondering if Arthur had gotten lost on his way to the car, Arthur tried to push start the car himself. He then came to get some help from the lot guards and we finally arrived home at 11:30pm!
We had a wonderful Christmas Day opening gifts in the morning and then joining others at Pangani for a braai and gift exchange game. We celebrated Arthur’s birthday with crème brulee made by Kat and an amazing meal the following evening at restaurant in Pretoria called La Pentola. We also headed out to the bush for swimming, potjie (a traditional Afrikaans stew slow cooked in a large cast iron pot over hot coals), and a game drive at the home of At and Magdaleen Breet (our co-worker, Daleen’s parents). And finally, we celebrated New Year’s Eve with a game night at Pangani and a few fireworks!
Our holiday celebrations and vacation has now come to an end. We are gradually getting back into the work and school routine. Mairin and Iain headed back to Kliene Einstein Klueterskool on January 4th. Mairin is now in the 2 year old Hasie Klaas (Bunny class) and Iain started Grade 0 (kindergarten). Arthur Paul returns to Northridge Primary and starts Grade 3 on January 10th. Arthur and I are busy preparing for the new apprentices and NCSA07. Katie, Sarah, Carissa, Barbara and Tyler arrive the 19th and 20th for our kick-off braai on the 21st!
