South Africa is an absolute gem! I was extremely surprised at the beauty and diversity of this country. I loved the English being spoken, even if I could only understand half the words as the accent is harsh; and what a thrill to read a menu in English so I knew what I was ordering. A huge surprise was the lower cost for top quality food and wine (and sparkling water) which is the lowest we've experienced in all our travels so far.
And yes, we climbed Cape Town's 3 km sheer rock climb up Table Top Mountain:
I'll just add that I threw my hiking shoes out afterwards but Cathy took them out of the garbage the next day so I wouldn't miss our future climbs around the globe.
We decided to do the Garden Route tour- it's a 1,000 km drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth going along the southern shores of the country. The beauty is spectacular. Many, many vineyards but in particular- the Vergenoegd Wine Estate where they 'employ' about a thousand Indian runner ducks that spend the day eating bugs and snails in the vineyards:
We visited the Cango Wildlife Ranch where they were caring for many endangered species. Here's the Madagasgar lemur whose habitat is on the small African island just to the East of South Africa:
Unfortunately, with the destruction of their tropical forest habitat, Madagascar's lemurs have become the most endangered animals on the planet.
I also didn't know that the Peacock is an endangered species:
Poaching, indiscriminate use of pesticides and lax laws in killing the peacocks for their feathers, have put the peacock into an endangered peacock population.
The seashore along the southern coast is gorgeous and the beaches plentiful. I fell in love with Wilderness beach:
The beautiful sandy beach and attractively priced monthly leases had me thinking of coming here during Toronto's winters. Plus the beautiful sunsets:
Another surprise of the landscape are the many mountain ranges, full of Eucalyptus and Pine trees:
Next up- Sri Lanka
Yup to it all!
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