South Africans keep telling me winter is coming but I am not convinced. I do see an odd tree around whose leaves are changing and we do sometimes need to turn on space heaters in the childrens' rooms at night. On the other hand, the sun is shining, swim practice continues and my winter clothes are still tucked far away. Paolo is in the USA this week so at least he is getting a chance to wear a coat for a few days. Some glimpses of early Autumn in Pretoria...
Yep, our dominant cat, 1/10 the weight of Enzo, shares most of Enzo's meals. Our gentle giant knows better than to protest.
Two buddies hanging out on the golf course during a Friday afternoon playdate...
And then enjoying our favorite pizza at Alfie's.
Thumbs up!
Maria developed quite a crush on Nathan. I see this might be happening quite often as she grows. Yikes.
In early April we drove down to Soweto to take a bike tour.
First stop. Our guides were terrific. All have spent their entire lives in Soweto and shared they pride and love for the vibrant community.
Gio loved the 4 hour tour and stayed right up front with the guide the entire time. I was far in the back (with Maria riding on the back of my bike I was not going at warp speed) but Paolo reports Gio kept up a nearly constant repertoire of questions and comments to keep the guide from getting bored. ha ha.
Visiting one of the "mansions" of Soweto. This one is occupied by famed jazz musician Abigail Khubeka.
Taking a break in a Soweto beer hall.
A few days later Maria and I headed out to do a bit of shopping. This particular store has many USA imports. I have a love/hate relationship with the store's set of toddler-sized carts. This is what Maria does when she gets her hands on one of them. I must confess I distracted Maria and ditched her full cart. Phew. That would have been quite a sugar rush.
I have begun a fun Wednesday morning ritual of going out with a group of fellow dog owners for a walk with our dogs in a park near Maria's school.
This sweet pup Walter is 5 months old. Enzo is trying to share all of his wisdom with him.
Without central heating our house does get a bit nippy at night. Bruno and Gio are fighting the chill with blankets and snuggling.
Last week I got to have Gio all to myself on Thursday thanks to student conferences. We headed to our favorite pizzeria.
Gio got a full lesson in pizza making.
Paolo took a quick trip to Zambia and brought back a "BeeBah" t-shirt for Maria.
Time for Sunday brunch....
...and then a Sunday evening fishing lesson. Big brothers are the best.
While the kids fished the furry Bellis (all 4 of them) hung out nearby.
This week Gio began swim training at the University of Pretoria. The other children are older and with more skills but Gio is determined and not intimidated. He is hoping to make the AISJ swim team next year so he is motivated to try to keep up with the big kids here.
This sweet boy next to Gio is a 4th grader at AISJ and did his best to help Gio get through his first practice.
Paolo returns from the USA next week. He has one more small trip soon after (to Namibia, I think??) and then we head to the Drakensberg Mountains for a long weekend away April 27-May 2. We found a resort that allows dogs so Enzo and Bruno are coming along. Should be an interesting road trip!
Our trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. Day 1, March 19: Cape Town- Cape Point National Park
We arrived late last night so did not have a super early start but still got to the Cape of Good Hope with plenty of time to explore.
First cool animal sighting! We would see plenty of these before our trip was over but still exciting to see these two along the side of the road.
Exploring. The water looked very very cold!
Yep. My son is always behaving like a little gentleman.
At least he kept his clothes on!
Dinner tonight at The Codfather. Highly recommended!
Day 2, March 20: Cape Town- Fishing!
Gio's current obsession with fishing made us think he might enjoy an afternoon on a fishing boat.
And he did! Catch #1. Not huge but he was thrilled nonetheless.
I had zero luck, much to Gio's great delight.
Proud of herself. No bites, but did not care.
Gio's proudest moment: a shark!
And, yes, all of his catches made it back into the water to live another day.
Day 3, March 21: Cape Town, Robben Island
Paolo's only request for the entire trip was to visit Robben Island. So off we went in very rough seas. Happy to report no one in the Belli family gets sea sick!
Our guide once we arrived at the prison complex. He is a former prisoner himself and now lives on the island conducting tours. His stories were fascinating. I only wish I could have heard more but I ended up being outside for much of the tour throwing rocks with Maria. Life with a toddler....
One of the communal prison rooms.
Gio's favorite part of the visit? The ride back where we got to sit with a rugby team.
Day 4, March 22: Gansbaai, Shark Cage Diving
Following our Robben Island tour we left Cape Town and drove to Gansbaai where we checked into a lovely Bed & Breakfast (see links at the end of this post for info) and wandered a bit around this town devoted almost entirely to shark cage diving!
The boys headed off in the early morning. I was quite happy that children under the age of 8 are not allowed on the boat (yes, we embellished Gio's age a bit) so I got to stay back with Maria! Here are the boys coming back into port 4 hours later.
All fingers and toes seem to still be attached. Gio found one other child on the boat and they had a great time together. Cold but proud of themselves!
This is what happens after you have swum with Great White Sharks.
Regaling us that evening with stories of his time in the cage.
Day 5, March 23: Eco Tour
Maria was thrilled to get a chance to go on a boat again (she loves them!) the next morning when we headed up in search of the "Big Marine 5" (whales, Great White Sharks, seals, African Penguins and dolphins).
I was not able to take pictures of anything but the seals but I promise you we did see all of the Big 5! It was quite exciting. And this seal population on Dyer Island was amazing.
Well, not all of us saw the Big 5. This is why I did not capture many pictures!
Love the grumpy face.
Once back on land we donated money to buy two penguin houses. The African Penguin population is expected to be extinct by 2030 without radical intervention. These houses will hopefully increase their breeding success. So sad. Humans are, as usual, to blame thanks to harvesting of both their eggs for eating and their guano for fertilizer (they normally make caves in their giant piles of guano to lay their eggs).
Hitting the road again for the drive to Mossel Bay.
Day 6, March 24: Mossel Bay
One of them is ready to hit the beach!
Hanging out in our hotel room (Maria is not a huge fan of sand...."too dirty"!)
Our little cave man.
We finally got her to come down to the beach!
Day 7, March 25: Addo Elephant Park
Our final stop on our adventure was River Bend Lodge in Addo Elephant Park. It was a long drive (5 hours) but once we arrived we were all excited to go out on our first truck safari. In case you are wondering, Maria has taken to wearing Gio's t-shirts!
We had our own truck complete with a carseat for Maria and a wonderful driver named Elias.
Here we go!
When we found out last May that we were moving to South Africa the first thought that sprung to my head? "I might get to see a rhino!!"
And today we did- a spectacular male Black Rhino on an early evening stroll. I was beyond thrilled.
Day 8, March 26: Addo Elephant Park
The next morning we headed back out with Elias. First thing we saw was this ostrich family. Hard to see in this photo but there are 5 babies running along in between their two parents. Soo cute!
And then we saw the African Flightless Dung Beetle. Only found in Addo! A bug that eats poop? Gio was thrilled!
Look who popped out of the bush right beside our truck?
This fellow was thirsty!
Drinking....
Mud bath....
Investigating a lion kill (a kudu was the victim)
Buffalo
A picnic break.
We were surrounded by zebra and Maria was determined to get a closer look.
Off she went. We had to chase her down!
We had been following a lion's tracks all day but never saw him. Here we are heading home after we had given up....
...and just as we were nearly back at the lodge guess who we found?!
Day 9, March 27: Heading Home
Easter Morning and time to head to the airport. Gio and Maria were tearful at having to say goodbye to Elias. Sorry to see this vacation come to and end...
Back in Jo'burg airport. Time to go get Bruno, Enzo & Pepperoni!
What did Maria do as soon as we got home? Put on her backpack and declare she was off to school. Someone is done with Spring Break!
