We are off to the airport and will be back on the 4th!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Last Day
Our last day we stayed at a nice hotel near the airport which has an aeronautics theme (I have to see if this a work tax write off). We went to the Ghana game. The entire stadium was rooting for them which was great. Ghana was the better team and should have won but Uraguay used their hands to blantly stop a goal in the last minute and Ghana failed to convert the penalty and then lost on penalties. Excellent game unfortuate ending. We are al ready to come home ans see our dogs again. Apparently the hotel realized this when they made our bed.
We are off to the airport and will be back on the 4th!
We are off to the airport and will be back on the 4th!
Wine @ Dine
The morning after the game, we found it still raining, but clearing around noon. However, both our trip booked for Robbin Island, and Alex & Vanessa's shark diving were canceled because of high winds. All was still good- we all took the opportunity to visit museums, ride the lift up to the top of Table Mountain
and find good game for dinner! The mountain is the fabulous backdrop for the city of Capetown- the cleanest city we've visited. For dinner, we partook in salmon tartar on a parmesian cracker, beef tartar, duck confit, rare kudu medallions,
wildebeest medallions,
chocolate/orange mousse, & spiced creme brulee. YUM!!! Still, our third and last night in Capetown we had a similar dinner of game after wine tasting all day... Our driver picked us up @ 9 am at the Ashanti Lodge (the hip hostile were we were staying). We drove about 45 minutes to wine county
and started the tasting at 6 different & all wonderful wineries.
First winery was the Goats Do Roam wine
What a day- even more special because this time, Greg was not responsible for driving!!!
The next morning we got up and caught the flight back to Joberg for the Quarterfinal game between Ghana and Uraguay!!!
and find good game for dinner! The mountain is the fabulous backdrop for the city of Capetown- the cleanest city we've visited. For dinner, we partook in salmon tartar on a parmesian cracker, beef tartar, duck confit, rare kudu medallions,
wildebeest medallions,
chocolate/orange mousse, & spiced creme brulee. YUM!!! Still, our third and last night in Capetown we had a similar dinner of game after wine tasting all day... Our driver picked us up @ 9 am at the Ashanti Lodge (the hip hostile were we were staying). We drove about 45 minutes to wine county
and started the tasting at 6 different & all wonderful wineries.
First winery was the Goats Do Roam wine
What a day- even more special because this time, Greg was not responsible for driving!!!
The next morning we got up and caught the flight back to Joberg for the Quarterfinal game between Ghana and Uraguay!!!
Location:Capetown
Wine @ Dine
The morning after the game, we found it still raining, but clearing around noon. However, both our trip booked for Robbin Island, and Alex & Vanessa's shark diving were canceled because of high winds. All was still good- we all took the opportunity to visit museums, ride the lift up to the top of Table Mountain
and find good game for dinner! The mountain is the fabulous backdrop for the city of Capetown- the cleanest city we've visited. For dinner, we partook in salmon tartar on a parmesian cracker, beef tartar, duck confit, rare kudu medallions,
wildebeest medallions,
chocolate/orange mousse, & spiced creme brulee. YUM!!! Still, our third and last night in Capetown we had a similar dinner of game after wine tasting all day... Our driver picked us up @ 9 am at the Ashanti Lodge (the hip hostile were we were staying). We drove about 45 minutes to wine county
and started the tasting at 6 different & all wonderful wineries.
First winery was the Goats Do Roam wine
What a day- even more special because this time, Greg was not responsible for driving!!!
The next morning we got up and caught the flight back to Joberg for the Quarterfinal game between Ghana and Uraguay!!!
and find good game for dinner! The mountain is the fabulous backdrop for the city of Capetown- the cleanest city we've visited. For dinner, we partook in salmon tartar on a parmesian cracker, beef tartar, duck confit, rare kudu medallions,
wildebeest medallions,
chocolate/orange mousse, & spiced creme brulee. YUM!!! Still, our third and last night in Capetown we had a similar dinner of game after wine tasting all day... Our driver picked us up @ 9 am at the Ashanti Lodge (the hip hostile were we were staying). We drove about 45 minutes to wine county
and started the tasting at 6 different & all wonderful wineries.
First winery was the Goats Do Roam wine
What a day- even more special because this time, Greg was not responsible for driving!!!
The next morning we got up and caught the flight back to Joberg for the Quarterfinal game between Ghana and Uraguay!!!
Location:Capetown
Friday, July 2, 2010
Round of 16 Trilogy
Returning from the safari we had 3 games on 3 nights in 3 cities! All in the round of 16 stage.
Argentina vs Mexico was first in Johannesburg.
It had promise to be a good game but Argentina took control early and with the help of a bad call Mexico never had a chance. It was a fun environment however. We got home at midnight and packed our bags and left for the airport at 3:30am to catch an early flight to Durban.
We got into Durban and got a ride to our lodging for the night. It was suppose to be a luxury safari type tent nut istead we found a plain generic tent that was blowing away in the wind. A major rip-off fortunately the wind forced them to move us into a cabin which was marginally better than the Netherlands vs Slovakia was at 4:00 and the stadium
was amazing.
The game was rather average with neither team showing much. Netherlands won 2-0.
Durban had a nice fanfest from which you could watch the game while on the beach. That day though the wind was so bad it was blowing sand so we couldn't enjoy it.
Next morning we flew to Cape Town for Spain vs Portugal.
The hostel we booked ended up being very nice. The stadium was brand new and very nice.
The game was very slow neither team doing much Spain won 1-0.
Argentina vs Mexico was first in Johannesburg.
It had promise to be a good game but Argentina took control early and with the help of a bad call Mexico never had a chance. It was a fun environment however. We got home at midnight and packed our bags and left for the airport at 3:30am to catch an early flight to Durban.
We got into Durban and got a ride to our lodging for the night. It was suppose to be a luxury safari type tent nut istead we found a plain generic tent that was blowing away in the wind. A major rip-off fortunately the wind forced them to move us into a cabin which was marginally better than the Netherlands vs Slovakia was at 4:00 and the stadium
was amazing.
The game was rather average with neither team showing much. Netherlands won 2-0.
Durban had a nice fanfest from which you could watch the game while on the beach. That day though the wind was so bad it was blowing sand so we couldn't enjoy it.
Next morning we flew to Cape Town for Spain vs Portugal.
The hostel we booked ended up being very nice. The stadium was brand new and very nice.
The game was very slow neither team doing much Spain won 1-0.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Safari - Day 3
We awoke again early for a game drive. Our one missing animal on our list was giraffe. Gavin looked hard, we followed a cheetah for bit seeing him up close.
Then as we were heading back we found 2 pregnant giraffes hanging out - our safari was complete!
We packed up and started our 5 hour drive back to JoBurg to get to our evening game.
Then as we were heading back we found 2 pregnant giraffes hanging out - our safari was complete!
We packed up and started our 5 hour drive back to JoBurg to get to our evening game.
Safari - Day 2
We were awaken early by our guide to do a bush walk through the reserve. We saw a few animals such as a civet and worthog. But more interesting was our guide showing us different tracks a signs animals leave. For example signs of a leopard kill of a worthog
the previos night!
After a nice breakfast we were free to relax during the day, sit out on our tent's porch and watch animals at the nearby water hole, sleep etc.
At 3:30 we drove to the other end of the reserve and did another game drive. This time we saw rhinos, elephants,
sleeping lions,
herd of buffaloes,
zebras
all within 20 feet! A very fun and fullfilling ride.
We finished the day again with dinner and watching to our dismay the US loss to Ghana. Had the US won , we had tickets to their next game!
the previos night!
After a nice breakfast we were free to relax during the day, sit out on our tent's porch and watch animals at the nearby water hole, sleep etc.
At 3:30 we drove to the other end of the reserve and did another game drive. This time we saw rhinos, elephants,
sleeping lions,
herd of buffaloes,
zebras
all within 20 feet! A very fun and fullfilling ride.
We finished the day again with dinner and watching to our dismay the US loss to Ghana. Had the US won , we had tickets to their next game!
Safari- Day 1
We got up early to hit the road from Joburg to Kruger Park in NW S Africa. This was a 5 hour drive, but well worth it! As we neared the Kwa Mbili Reserve, we were stopped by a gang of about 6 baboons crossing the road! What a site!!! As we got through the gate, we came upon 2 African buffalo just hanging out on the side under the trees. Both of these sitings made us very excited and hungry for more...
when we entered our "camp" we were greeted by Lucy and Eddie-the receptionist and Busan guide who took our bags and got us oriented to the property- rules and safety issues. We would have animals free-roming through the grounds!! Our "tents" were fantastic with mosquito nets over the beds, sherry on a table in case of a needs for a night cap before bed, and a large, separate open ceiling bathroom with a nice toilet, shower, and sink.
We soon had lunch, rested, and hopped on the truck for our evening animal tour.
Obviously, there are no guaratees as to what we may see- however we were not dissapointed. We were specifically tracking a lioness with her cub with Eddie, and our ranger guide, Gavin. We did not see this lioness, but saw a different lion couple- the male with a dark mane.
After Sundowners ( our favorite time!)
we continued the search in the dark and found a single male lion waking up for his nightly hunt. We were about 10 feet away watching when he gave a mighty roar - very impressive.
We fished the night with a great dinner around fireside and drinks at the bar watching soccer
when we entered our "camp" we were greeted by Lucy and Eddie-the receptionist and Busan guide who took our bags and got us oriented to the property- rules and safety issues. We would have animals free-roming through the grounds!! Our "tents" were fantastic with mosquito nets over the beds, sherry on a table in case of a needs for a night cap before bed, and a large, separate open ceiling bathroom with a nice toilet, shower, and sink.
We soon had lunch, rested, and hopped on the truck for our evening animal tour.
Obviously, there are no guaratees as to what we may see- however we were not dissapointed. We were specifically tracking a lioness with her cub with Eddie, and our ranger guide, Gavin. We did not see this lioness, but saw a different lion couple- the male with a dark mane.
After Sundowners ( our favorite time!)
we continued the search in the dark and found a single male lion waking up for his nightly hunt. We were about 10 feet away watching when he gave a mighty roar - very impressive.
We fished the night with a great dinner around fireside and drinks at the bar watching soccer
Location:Kwa Mbilli
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