Monkeys, and Cheetahs, and Elephants! Oh, my!

     We had an exciting first week of September. So exciting that it's going to be hard to share it all with you in words. First I would like to say, I really have a great husband. Possibly the best. It says a lot about a person when you WANT to spend countless unseparated hours together. Bobby and I often joke that we are twins because we constantly find each other picking up on each others habits. We laugh because we will pack clothing separately but end up wearing matching outfits. (Sadly---we kind of like doing that.) All around we really enjoy each others company. Thank you Kurt and Terri for raising such a great man.

    Okay enough fluff (sorry about that) lets get to the adventures. We took a short 5 day vacation to a town called Plettenberg Bay about 6.5 hours away. I did not realize this until we set off on this trip, but damn South Africa has some very diverse terrain. We went from the beach, to the wine lands, to fields of flowers roaming with sheep, cows and ostriches, to rolling hills, to desert-ish flat lands, to forrest filled with monkeys, to towns on the sides of cliffs, through the swamp lands, and back to the beach. All that in a span of 6 hours! 

Day 1: Mostly driving. 

                Stopped at a Wolf Sanctuary. (lol they were wolves imported from America)
     This place also served as a farm with a bunch of random farm animals. Donkeys, sheep, ducks, chickens, roosters, etc. Best of all, lots of tortoises roaming around. We even caught two mating. It was amazing. Very loud. Lol. Okay maybe we were a bit strange to find this entertaining...but come on. That is not an easy task for that little guy. We took a video, but uploading it is too much of a process, so you will have to take my word for it.

This isn't something you see everyday. =)

Big puppies

Bobby playing with the Ostriches. 

      Later on dinner on the beach.

View from the table

Day 2: Tried to talk B into bungee jumping.

Worlds highest bungee bridge...he wasn't having it.

    Instead we decided to go zip lining over waterfalls.

After zip linning we drove back into town to hike Robberg Nature Reserve.

On the drive back we came across a family of Baboons.
Just chilling on the side of the road.
This little one has a baby in between its legs.

Hiking up the side of the mountain

This is after we made the turn on the hike. Secluded beaches. Breathtaking

B playing with the snails

We did the half way hike. (Witsand)

Day 3: On this day we had quite an adventure. It first started at MonkeyLand. A free roaming primate sanctuary. All the monkeys are running around just being monkeys. You aren't allowed to touch them, but they come pretty close. Again another place where we have way more pictures than the African uploading internet will allow me to share.

Relaxing monkey

Lemur monkeys eating. 2 week old baby on this ones back.

Me and B posing on the bridge. =)

     After MonkeyLand, right across the parking lot is a place called Birds of Eden. Normally I don't really like birds. Mostly because I am constantly thinking they are about to poop on me. This place was pretty awesome though. Lots and lots of birds just flying around "freely". Again, this was a place where you can look but not touch. (We happened to be the exception to that rule....)

This is a Knysna Lourie. Really cool but very skittish. 

Started so innocently....lol
"Oh wow look at this pretty bird"
I was walking slowly because I wanted a picture...

This bird was evil. lol. He would say "Hello" then dive bomb our heads.
We would duck (I would scream) then we all would laugh--including the bird.
He would chuckle about it and bob his head. Then repeat. It was hilarious
and terrifying at the same time. We finally got away from him...but later
on he finds us at the end of the walk. To again torment us. I have all this captured on video. 

Beautiful!

Aww how cute he's coming over to say hi...

Nope....Bobby being attacked....again

South Africa's national bird. The Blue Crane. Big Guy.

     After the birds of eden we booked a sunset Cheetah Walk. We learned that you walk a dog, a cheetah walks you. =) This was pretty amazing! It was a long walk all through the natural forrest. Really cool to hold on to the fastest land animal while it prowls through the forrest. They have these specific rules while you are holding onto the leash--- never to loop it through your wrist to hold on, don't tug on the leash, don't let the leash lay on the cheetahs back (I guess it irritates the cheetah?) and always let go if it starts to run! It actually at one point during our walk got a fright and it took off while we were holding it. It was scary but at the same time awesome! Ripped out of our hands so fast! Poof she was gone! Obviously she stopped and they caught her.

Before the walk, they showed us around the park. They have all
kinds of cats. We were also permitted to go inside the cheetah "cage". 

Sunset during the cheetah walk.

Day 4: This day is the reason we made this trip in the first place. Part of what we considered Bobby's birthday present. The day began at a place called Radical Raptors. This is a place that rehabilitates birds of prey back into the wild, and the ones who cant go back they keep. We got to see a flying/hunting demonstration and also got to hold the birds.

Owl making its landing!

This was a black Eagle. HUGE talons on that thing! He was also really heavy!

     After radical raptors it was time to check in to the Knysna Elephant Park. Here we got to feed elephants, take a walk with them AND we also spent the night in a suite right next to the elephants quarters. Once in a lifetime event for sure. They were sooo adorable.

B feeding them some fruit.

Walking

Posing with Sally. She is 25 years old.

B posing with Keisha. She is 11 years old.

Feeding Sally after the long walk.

This is the view from our suite.
All they do is eat and eat and eat. 

They finally fell asleep at about 11:30pm.
**They were awake and eating again at 4:30 am**

Day 5: Morning viewing of elephants. Drove home.

In the morning the guest in the suites get a private
 viewing of the elephants roaming the forrest. They happened to
be eating again. =) No surprise. 

About to start the drive home selfie. 

     This was hands down one of the best vacations I have ever taken. We ate some good food, had a blast with some exotic animals and got to spend quality time with each other. Africa sure does have some great perks once in awhile....but we still miss home.

XOXO from South Africa!

Way to the (my) heart

      Warm weather is coming!! Yesterday my mom texted me she was sad that summer is coming to an end. I responded with "Yay! That means its coming here!" We have been having some pretty awesome weather lately. Averaging this month pretty much in the 70's. A handful of rainy days in-between but nothing to complain about. Now that we are getting closer and closer to warm weather we are planning a week vacation to go see some African wildlife. Hopefully next week we will be making final reservations. -- fingers crossed for nice weather, don't want to go in the rain--
      So this blog unfortunately isn't to show off sweet scenery or indigenous African animals. This time I would like to share with you my passion. FOOD <3!!! I am obsessed with food. They say the way to a mans heart is his stomach, but trust me, food is a direct route to mine. Bobby knows that all he has to do to make me happy is feed me. Everything else is secondary. ;) That being said, we have struggled to find food that taste as good as what we are used to back home. Which in turn has lead me to cooking, A LOT! The best way to to explain it just to show you. These aren't in any particular order just stuff I have made in the past few weeks.

4 types of chicken fingers.
Top Left- Italian-ish (tossed in olive oil, Italian
seasoning, paprika and oregano)
Bottom left- plain breaded
Top Right- Parmesan breaded
Bottom right- Ranch seasoningServed with homemade fries and ranch
I preferred the parmesan ones, B liked the italian ones .
 

My first attempt at making chicken curry. I bought the most
mild flavor I could get at the store. To me it tasted like nothing.
It wasn't bad, but I would try something else next time.

Sour Cream and Onion Lays Chip breaded chicken,
served with parmesan baby marrow (American name- zucchini) sticks.
This was surprisingly good. Great actually. Recommend anyone
 to try breading chicken with their favorite potato chip.

Brinjal/Aubergine Parmesan (American translation- Eggplant)
Too lazy to make homemade pasta sauce,
but it was my first time making eggplant. Really enjoyed it!

Dijon mustard glazed thighs with potatoes
(I dont remember exacty, but it was
 mustard, soy, italian seasoning,...with thinly sliced potatoes below it)
This was ok. Might change it up if I do it again. However it was
 nice to have dinner all in one pan. Really simple in that aspect.

Moms spaghetti recipe!! MMMmmm our favorite.
Amazing.

I made another curry. This time it was so good I forgot to get the picture. haha.
I am in love. It was so spicy that our
noses were running, but worth it. 

Eggplant Parm with homemade sauce
(Best part about making homemade sauce--it can last for numerous meals.)
This was the best I have ever made. Euphoric! 

I didnt make this, but included it because it's the
Best hamburger in Cape Town.
(A place called NOB burger, only serves 5 burgers, no sides.
It is gigantic, B and I usually split it.)

Pork Chops served with beans and corn
Pork was ok. Beans were ok. Corn was horrible.
I dont eat canned corn often/ever, holy cow that was gross.
We usually get the corn on the cob, this was late minute
thrown together. Never again.

Meatloaf with marrow chips
Good, but we were still hungry after. 

Mini meatball subs
Pretty good. We both ate them all up, no leftovers. 

     You can see that I love to eat. You may have also noticed, I don't like my food to touch. I am really bad at making a pretty presentation on the plate because it grosses me out. Hopefully we can look past that and just judge on the taste. hehe. Below are a few photos from... well just random really. Things we do and me trying to capture them. =)

Tableview. Just as it sounds. Its a place in Cape Town with
exquisite views of Table Mountain. Also you may recognize
 Lions Head, the little mountain to the right. That is where we live.

A few days ago it was just an average day. Within
minutes this fog rolled in and covered the city. It was
 pretty spectacular to watch being that we were above it.
I even had to Facetime Mom to show her. B wasn't
as entertained by it as I was. Guess I am easily impressed. 

Picture of the crowds below. That is a sure sign the weather is
getting warmer. Lots and lots of people out there.

Driving home from playing golf a few days
ago. I was able to catch the sun go down from the
car window. We were going to pullover, but it went too quickly.
Many more sunsets in our future. 

      That is all I have to say. Hope everyone at back home is enjoying life. Seems like this world is in a bit of chaos lately. Take time to appreciate the ones you have around you. I miss you all more than you could ever know.
***Mom please get your plane ticket soon, it's going on 9 months since I've seen you. I don't know how much longer I can go. =( ***

Cheers for now! XOXO from South Africa!