Landy Kosmitis’s location@12:23am,7/25 New Jersey http://m.google.com/u/m/wfH3MT

Fun night of drinks, music and fireworks!

Finally back on usa time!

Mmmmmm

And so did we!!! Shark cage diving was quite impressive. I was glad I observed from above though. Lindy lost her sea legs soon after getting on the boat and never regained them until she got back on land. We saw whales and seals too. We returned back to Cape Town and went to Codfathers for dinner to keep our nautical theme for the day. Yesterday we split up and Landy and Jenni went north to some small wineries, they got to taste wine right out of the barrel! The rest of us went into Cape Town to go to Greenmarket Square again and we went to the Castle of Good Hope, a fortress built for the Dutch East Indian Co. in the 1600′s. It is still being used today as a small military post. We all convened back at the villa for appetizers and wine then later went out to Hussar’s Grill for South African game dishes. Today, our last full day, we’re headed down to the Cape of Good Hope. The weather is beautiful and we should have great views.

Love, Rebecca

We were out of pocket for a few days as we were truly in the wilds and boy did we have some experiences. The girls and I arrived at Gorah late morning on Sunday. I felt like Meryl Streep in Out of Africa; the Gorah lodge was exactly like the house in the movie. There is no electricity and there are candles and lanterns everywhere and at night it is so beautiful.There were big fireplaces with fires going and antiques and old pictures. It was windy and cold when we arrived. We had lunch and their lite lunch was a 3 course meal and there is silver service and linens and the whole shabang. After lunch we rested in our tents which by the way despite being a tent without electricity it is quite luxurious. We were told repeatedly not to go to our tents unescorted after dark because of the lions.

At 3:30 we had high tea and just before 4:00 the guys arrived from their hunting and we were all able to go out on the afternoon game drive which was cold and windy but we were well rewarded seeing zebra, hartebeest, ostrich and elephants. We had drinks out on the plains with the elephants in the background. We drove on into dark and a beautiful yellow moon came up and we saw the elephants silhouetted in front of the moon. At one point we also stopped on the road as the group of elephants which included babies slowly and quietly and magically padded by in front of us.

The next day we headed out on our morning game drive about 9:15 after breakfast on the veranda. It had turned sunny and warmer. We had a fun morning out seeing kudu as well as all the animals from the day before plus over 20 different kinds of birds. Back to the lodge for lunch where a huge group of elephants showed up at the water hole in front of the lodge. When we left for the afternoon drive we drove out in front of the lodge as the elephants were leaving and soon they had completely surrounded our vehicle just curious about us. It was unbelievable!

Our morning departure was the highlight. Garreth, our guide, had found the lions close by to the back of our tents and came and got us and we got to see 4 lions cavort and also stalk buffalo that had come into camp. The older male lion put on a show roaring, scratching a tree, posing in the sun on the hillside. It was just a great way to end out stay.

Pictures will follow when we have time to post. We’re supposed to go cage shark diving today but weather is iffy. More later.
Love, Rebecca

Well, we all had a successful day. Ashraf picked us girls up at 10AM for a day of shopping. He took us to some curio and bead shops then to Greenmarket Square, an outdoor market, where we found all kinds of treasures. He also took us into the Bo-Kamp region, an old neighborhood with many colorful houses, and we had lunch of traditional Cape Malay cooking high up on a terrace with a beautiful view of the town and Table Mountain. We got back to the villa about 4:30, regrouped and we walked into Camps Bay for a “sundowner” as they call it here….a drink on the beach as the sun is setting. Then we went to the most interesting sushi and fish restaurant called Codfathers. All the fish is freshly displayed and you pick from the case to create your meal. We had a beautiful platter of delicious food. We want to take the guys there. Speaking of them, David called and Landy had gotten a hardebeast and a springbok and David got some kind of creature, I forgot the name. We all watched the disappointing loss by the US and now we’re up here very early awaiting our ride to the airport for our flight to Port Elizabeth this morning to join the guys at Gorah Elephant Camp. Can’t wait to see some of the Big Five. Time to close down.
Love, Rebecca

Hello everyone, we went to the Netherlands vs. Cameroon game last night, it was a sea of orange and the Netherlands fans are intense. This morning the boys left for the Eastern Cape to be hunters and gatherers. The girls and I will join them in 2 days for a more civilized excursion at the Gorah Elephant Camp. Think “High Tea”, sumptuous meals, and tranquil game viewing drives. Meanwhile the girls and I met Ashraf this morning, our driver for the next 2 days. Lindy and I went to the grocery this morning to procure ingredients for ostrich bobotie, a traditional Cape Malay dish. We also bought vuvuzelas, yes you read right!!! They make a great souvenir! Then we went and picked up Leah & Jenni and Ashraf took us to the 12 Apostles Spa, set on the Atlantic ocean and carved into the rock. We all had some downtime with massages, facials, and manicures. Leah’s massage was in an outdoor gazebo with the Atlantic ocean crashing in the background, Lindy & Jenni had crystal stone therapy, and I had a African Journey themed massage. We’re getting ready to eat our bobotie then in the morning Ashraf will be picking us up to do a little “hunting” on our own, AKA shopping!!!! Got word tonight that Landy got a kudu out on their hunt tonight. More tomorrow but no pictures as the picture geeks are gone.
Love, Rebecca

Wow, the weather has been great, only 1 day of rain so far. We are sitting out on our deck at Sugarbird Manor enjoying another beautiful sunrise with lots of birds. Seester, you would be in bird heaven. Yesterday we went to 2 wineries. One was a biodynamic farm which was really interesting how they produce the wines all organically. We drove to the end of a very rustic road for our other tasting. All the wine estates are set back on very small winding roads with unbelievable scenery. Dinner last night was at Terroir’, probably our best meal yet. We were all excited after having watched the USA win that game. We’re on to another private wine tasting this morning at Ken Forrester followed by lunch then we’ll be headed back to the villa in Camps Bay and we go to our second game tonight, Netherlands vs. Cameroon. By the way, I forgot to mention that we have signed up and gotten reservations to go shark cage diving, that is everyone but Michael and I, we’ll be on the boat but as photograpers. Smart, right???
Hopefully, we’ll have time to post some more pictures later this afternoon before we go to the game.
Love, Rebecca