Wildlife

Our red-knobbed coots hatched 4 chicks over a  week ago  and have been busy leading them on expeditions from the nest - travelling further each time.

In addition to the Sacred Ibis, Reed Cormorants, White-throated Cormorants, Little grebes, and Little Egrets which live on or around the lake, we have also spotted Purple Herons and an Anhinga. There are a couple of birds of prey - perhaps Jackal Buzzards - which circle the lake on a daily basis but I haven't had a good look at them yet.

We have booked a hike down at Phillipskop - near Stanford - with our friendly guide Christoff next week and I'm hoping that a few hours with him will improve my bird recognition.

Sunday cycling again

There was a Sportive race today - 102km at Durbanville - but no one was really interested in it so Cam and I decided to do a long ride of our own.

We met at 6.30 on a cool misty morning and headed out over Helshoogte Pass on a 120km loop ride via Stellenbosch and Klapmuts which brought us back over Helshoogte after about 80km and a stop for refreshments at Tokara when we reached the top

While Cam was faster than me on the downhill - he clocked 77km on the downhill run into Stellenbosch before he had to slow down for the speed cameras - and probably could have left me standing on the straight, I put that down to the fact that he is 50 years younger than me. However I was pleased to see that I could ride away from him on the climbs - particularly on the 7km return climb up Helshoogte.

Now that I know I can ride the distance, I promise I won't mention any more cycling until the race itself - which is now only two weeks away.

Meanwhile I have retired again to my cool shady place to await the Italy/Ireland game and rehydrating with a very pleasant Windmeul Sauvignon Blanc - part of last week's raffle prize

A Slow Saturday

We didn't make it home from Ally & Sue's Braai until after midnight - not sure I could manage too many 7 hour drinking sessions with those girls - must be out of practice.

Despite that we all met at the Yard for brunch on Saturday morning, but thereafter I managed to retire to a cool shady space with the Telegraph crossword and the Six nations on Supersports.

The France/Scotland match was disappointing - Scotland made too many mistakes and it looks as if France have some new talented players - could be interesting to see how they shape up over the next year or so. I wonder if the match set a record for the number of disallowed tries - it could have been an embarrassing scoreline for Scotland if the French hadn't made so many errors themselves.

However the Wales/England match was much more interesting with some bruising rugby - I know that Jimmy C and Bernie will both be disappointed with the result but I think it was a fair result and makes the last game of the competition a potential grandslam decider.

Up to the club for dinner - Sushi night in the restaurant - and a sizeable crowd of Welsh supporters - not an England shirt in sight. A bit loud but very good natured - and the sushi was excellent as was the Vrede and Lust Riesling.

Wine-tasting

Despite the bush fire which is currently burning out of control on the Franschhoek Pass, we managed to keep to our plan on Thursday afternoon - more or less.

We had a very pleasant afternoon and even remembered to get some photographic evidence

More Drinking Issues

I find it hard to sympathise with Jimmy C who complains regularly about the cost of wine in Thailand since he's the one who has chosen to go there on a regular basis for the last few years.

However we are all a little concerned that Linda's mum is going to miss out on her weekly glass of  sherry now that her good friend Nettie - a 94 year-old Croft Original drinker - has decided to swear off the bottle because she is worried that she may break a bone or two if she is unsteady on her pins.

With Sandra in Gran Canaria, Linda and I here in SA and cousin Jim snowbound in Mississauga, who will Isobel have as a drinking partner now? She could join my mother on her regular visits to the Red Lion in Portchester but it is a long way from Airdrie.

Too much choice???

We are planning a wine tasting tour for Thursday afternoon with Sue, Ally, Lynn, Cath and Fi so Linda and I have been researching the wineries around Franschhoek.

The initial list included 27 wineries which might be worth a visit and we reduced this to about 14 without moving from the laptop. However allowing  time for lunch we figured we could only manage 3 or perhaps 4 at most in an afternoon - I realise Jimmy C will be asking 'why lunch???' - but not many of us have his stamina or capacity.

This meant that Linda and I had to make the sacrifice of visiting the shortlist to try to come up with a final plan - tough work but someone's got to do it and everyone else is still working. We found a few places that would be good for us to return to but not right for the group tour and eventually settled on our final list which includes Rickety Bridge, La Bourgogne and Boschendal as our definites and Eikehof as our extra in case we have time.

Since we are also booked for dinner afterwards, and for a hike at La Motte and a braai at Ally's on Friday I am trying to get my cycle training done before hand - not much chance of getting on the bike again until at least Sunday.

Another Sunday, another bike race

As my alarm went of at 04.45 this morning I did wonder what I was doing.

However I managed to get myself up, dressed and on the road for 5.30 on my way to the Windmeul winery for the start of the second PPA sportive. Today I'm signed up for the 91km race starting at 06.30.

According to the PA announcer, there are 800 people entered in the two races today - with over 500 in the long race. Its a fairly straightforward course - mostly long straight roads with the occcasional hill - and of course one long climb up the hill at Riebeck Kasteel.

It was only 16C as we started but the temperature rose steadily through the morning and had doubled by the time I finished. The long hill was a bit of a challenge but otherwise it was just a long hot ride - thankfully with some interesting companions. Happy enough with my time of 3hrs 45mins but will need to increase my range for the 109km of the Cape Argus in three weeks - have to up the training routine I guess.

Just as a farewell bonus, I won two bottles of Windmeul wines in the raffle which put a smile on my face.

National Stereotypes?

For the purposes of research only, we dropped in to Rickety Bridge winery for a light lunch yesterday. While our lunch was excellent and we enjoyed tasting a couple of their wines, we couldn't help but notice the group of French tourists who arrived just after us.
In true French fashion - despite being in a South African winery - they all drank Windhoek lager with their lunch - and that was before they had been in the tasting room!

time to get away

After three weeks at Pearl Valley, it felt like time for a change of environment for a couple of days so we headed about 200km north to Draaihoek Lodge just south of Elandsbaai. The place boasted a private beach, comfortable accommodation and good food. Think they delivered on two out of three.

The beach was everything we expected - miles and miles of unoccupied sand with only the gulls, terns, Cape Gannets and Dolphins for company. We walked as far as we could morning and evening - there is definitely something therapeutic about striding along a deserted beach with only the sun, wind, sea and Linda for company.


The accommodation was comfortable but just a little tired - however it had everything we needed. Unfortunately, the food was disappointing - they have easy access to wonderful fresh fish and seafood but there seems to be a West Coast cuisine which insist in taking great ingredients coating them in batter and cooking them to death. 

Our fellow guests were a mixed bag - mostly German tourists who were happy to socialise together but probably as keen as I was to get into conversation with another foreigner.

Our receptionist was very friendly but probably fitted into a group that I would have to describe as non-gender specific.

We travelled further north to Lamberts Bay with a stop at the Verlorenvlei for some birdwatching on the way. Great flocks of Spoonbills and many other waterbirds but only one new species to add to our list. We also stopped at the Rocherpan National Reserve on our way south but the pan was dry and it was already 31C by 11.00 so we didn't linger long.

Home for the time being

This is our townhouse at Pearl Valley. Although it is on the Golf Estate, the golf course is not visible from the house. We are able to walk the paths around the course in the evenings or early mornings but it is off limits from 7.00am to 7.00pm in case of stray balls...

There is a good variety of bird life on the lake in front of the house including a couple of pairs of Red-knobbed Coots which are sitting on their nests. There are also some huge carp which are close to 3 feet long.

While we get the sun directly on the deck in the late afternoon, when it can get very warm, for most of the day it is shaded and very pleasant. In addition there are some blinds around the edge of the deck if the sun gets to hot.

Otherwise, we are pleased that the house matches the agents description and is well equipped - haven't needed to use the 80 bottle wine cooler yet  - there's plenty of room in the fridge so far.

However, it was announced today that ESKOM - the State electricity provider - has introduced load-shedding again due to generating capacity problems. We are currently at Stage 4 which means that we are blacked out on a rolling schedule for two periods of about 2.5 hours each day. Not sure yet if this will be a short term problem but time will tell. Luckily we have a gas cooker and the gas Braai, so we are unlikely to starve and the power hasn't yet been off for long enough to affect the chilled wines or beers.

Competition for the Kings Wark??

After an early morning cycle on Sunday, I scrubbed up to Linda's satisfaction and we headed to the Polo Club at Val de Vie for brunch - a lovely location, 16 Chukkas of Polo, a welcoming glass of Val de Vie fizz, and an excellent breakfast.

While the Kings Wark, Finn & Bear, Toast and our other brunch venues in Leith could all come close on food quality, the location and weather here definitely give the Polo Club the edge.

Another 6 Nations weekend

Leisurely start to our Saturday - a day off from cycling and yoga. We managed a relaxed and informative gin and Grappa tasting at Wilderer and returned home with a bottle of their Fynbos Gin for Linda - along with some designer tonic - and a Pinotage Grappa for me - a perfect night cap it seems.

Another reason why James P should bring Suzanne to SA for the March Break!

Ally and Sue stopped by for a drink this afternoon, before the rugby started. We watched Ireland's somewhat laboured win over Scotland followed by the Wales/Italy game where I would have to admit I was supporting Conor O Shea's Italian team.  Some interesting games to come and I'm still tempted to try for some tickets for the World Cup games in Japan.

Paarl Mountain

We woke to a cool overcast morning on Friday with the temperature at a very pleasant 20C and decided it would be ideal for a hike in the Paarl Mountain reserve.

As we left the car at 9.30 it was still grey and 21C and we were able to identify the butterflies as they sat warming themselves, but within an hour the sun was breaking through the cloud and the temperature was climbing. By 11.30 as we reached the top of the Bretagne rock - 654m above sea level - we had clear blue skies and 29C and the butterflies were too fast to see but the Anole were happy to pose for us - showing off their camouflage.

Headed home - after a coffee stop in town while they washed the red dust off the car. a couple of hours relaxing and then set off for an hour on the bike - trying to get used to riding in the hot weather.

Only managed one lap before I got a puncture - thankfully only a short walk from home - and by the time that was sorted it was time to get ready for dinner at La Paris - celebrating Ally's birthday.

Back in Roosevelt E. Roosevelt territory

ITS HOT - DAMN HOT!
I'm sure some of you may be interested to know that it is 5C in Edinburgh today according to my smartphone, but the fact that it is 43C here (about 109F for our Canadian friends) is of more immediate interest to us. I think the last time we experienced these temperatures was in 2017 in St Lucia in KwaZulu Natal.

I managed 30km on the bike in the cool morning air, followed by some essential food shopping and a wine tasting at Fairview which allowed us to purchase our wine supplies for the weekend. However by the time we got home for lunch it was already too hot for any outdoor activities.

Currently sitting inside with the blinds drawn and the AC blasting an icy breeze around me - with a chilled Elgin Sauvignon Blanc from Tokara to cool my inner self.

While my conscience is suggesting I should get up and do something useful, the effort of raising the wineglass is as much as I can manage.

Hopefully it will cool down this evening so we can make it to the clubhouse for a sundowner.

PS - Since it was the same price to purchase the new bike as it was to extend the rental until after the Argus, I am now the  proud owner of a very smart roadbike. Not sure what I'll do with it in 9 weeks time but that's a long way off.
Maybe I could take it to Mississauga on our next trip and go cycling with Malcolm and his club!

Monday morning

The grey skies and the rain have passed by and normal service is resumed.

What the weekend is for?

A very pleasant Braai on Saturday afternoon with Sue and Ally and Cam, along with Nicole and Ailsa visiting from the UK - thanks to Cam for the cooking. A glass or two of the Graham Beck MCC, and a Tokara Chardonnay to follow - in preparation for Sunday's ride I was trying to be good.

Home in time for the Six-Nations and a win for Scotland - although they'll need to be more controlled for the other games. Disappointing performance from Ireland - not the start we were expecting.

After the heat wave last week, wasn't sure whether to believe the rain that was forecast for Sunday morning, but sure enough, as I left the house at 6.45 the drizzle started. Thankfully it was dry at the start and stayed that way mostly for the first 60km. It was a very grey morning but the temperature stayed around 20C which was ideal for the race. There were a good number of hills but none of them seemed to match the race profile that had been published so I was quite grateful. However by the time we reached the final 10km marker, the rain arrived and stayed with us till the end.

Managed to complete the 72km course in under 3 hours without any mishaps and was home by 11.30 for a celebratory glass of the Muratie 'Lady Alice' MCC Rosé. Have to admit I didn't stir much for the rest of the day - other than a gentle stroll to the Clubhouse for a sundowner.

A flaw in the plan?

Having set ourselves the goal of only buying wine from the cellar door, we chose the Dieu Donne Winery for our tasting and lunch yesterday. Impressive location on the hillside looking down on Franschhoek, a good restaurant and a selection of 4 or 5 whites and a similar number of reds.

We only needed a couple of bottles of each so didn't expect there would be a problem. However, what happens when you don't like any of the whites? Thankfully, the solution to this unexpected problem was close at hand - visit another winery!

So, after an excellent lunch - the Springbok Loin was particularly good - and with our two Dieu Donne reds - a very drinkable table blend and a good Shiraz - we headed off to Tokara to taste their whites and found an Elgin Sauvignon and their estate Chardonnay more to our taste. Of course, making a detour via the Delicatessen on the way out resulted in the purchase of their premium Olive oil and a Balsamic and a bottle of Rosé just in case. I do love shopping after a good lunch.