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It's been slow going meeting people in Zim. We have found a few people to hang out with but honestly, I have missed Jamie and Justin a lot. They are the type of friends where the conversation is always flowing, going from the silly and ridiculous to the serious and thought provoking. We like to camp and hike and cook and just enjoy each other's company. We hadn't spent quality time with them since last October (that fateful night that we ended getting robbed at the backpackers). We were over due, desperately. After leaving Durban and picking up the stuff we left in Ixopo, we made it to Pietermaritzburg to Jamie's new flat. She cooked us dinner and we chatted until past midnight, even after the beds were made and we were tucked in, the conversation wouldn't stop. We finally just had to cut ourselves off and promise to continue in the morning. Friday, Jason stayed back to work so Jamie and I went out to run errands and shop. More talking, catching up on the last few months and life and where we are in it at this moment. We had a nice lunch, bought a TV (for friends back in Zim) and bedding, along with a few other bits and pieces. To top it off, we bought ice cream cones and got a lot of funny looks as we walked through the mall with a huge 32" flat screen (I wished it really was mine at this point) in a trolly, licking our cones at 2 in the afternoon - completely indulgent! Justin arrived around 5 and more conversations started. They treated us to a very nice dinner at a Thai food restaurant - a belated wedding present, which included a bottle of wine and some seed packets so we can start our garden in Zim. We were planning on leaving the next morning so we could have a day to rest before the 2 day drive back to Zim but we were easily convinced to stay. Saturday was one of the best days I've had in a really long time. We lolled around the apartment for a bit then managed to get ourselves together to pick up my computer (plug problem) and get take away food from this place called Kari Nicha's - Indian briyani and roti rolls. They don’t have any seating so we found some fields were a college field hockey tournament was in full gear. We plopped down and joined the crowd, not knowing anything about the sport or any of the girls. A little frisbee to run off the good food then out to the Midlands Meander to…meander. Coffee, tea and sweats then off to a micro brewery for some good beer and a delicious meal. A day choc full of things to do and good people. 
We left the next day and made it Pretoria where we stayed with Tommy and Leslie again - more good friends, good food and good company!
The trip from Cape Town was long and slow now that we have a trailer full of Ant & Juliet's stuff (Jason's bosses). Part of the agreement for letting us use the truck was that we bring back the trailer for them. It's pretty big and I was a little nervous to drive with it at first, especially on the windy, tiny, congested roads around Simonstown but low and behold, it wasn't that bad at all. Once you hit the Eastern Cape, the roads become pretty bad, nothing compared to Zim of course, just lots of bad drivers and towns to drive through - and windy roads that have no passing lanes. It was a stressful day of driving but when we reached Ixopo, our friends Leona and Andrew greeted us with a bottle of tequila and dinner. It was great to see them and just relax for a bit. Surprisingly I was really excited to see Ixopo and our old home - Jason pointed out it was technically our first home together. Sheena and Tango, Nick's dogs definitely remembered us, which was also nice.After a relaxing morning/afternoon, we set off for Durban, only an hour and a half away. 30 minutes into the drive we blew our front left tire. We managed to change the tire in record time and get completely covered in grease (hadn't washed the truck yet and leaking oil sprays back over everything) but still made it to Durban in time for dinner. While Jason attended a conference for a few days, I ran around buying new tires, getting the truck power washed and vacuumed, got my hair trimmed, read and even managed a couple hours on the beach, although it got windy and the clouds kept covering the sun so it wasn't the best. The beach front is looking gorgeous and will be stunning in time for the World Cup - they've created a really nice promenade that spans the entire length of the beach. Last time we were here, the beach was almost gone but they've done something (brought in more sand?) and that isn't a problem any more. The stadium is just about finished too and you can see it in the pic below (more of those pics to come in June). 
We had 2 dud meals but the last night we went to dinner at Yossi's, a Mediterranean restaurant that always gets an A+. Falafel burger with olive tapenade, creamy feta cheese and rocket (arugula). Enough said. The day we left, the conference had site visits and a couple groups visited Africa AHEAD's project on Joanna Road (Jason's organization). This is one of the bad shanty towns that has popped up in a neighborhood that has been there for awhile - with no real resources or help from the city. That changed and the city involved Africa AHEAD to run their community health clubs to promote hygiene and due to the community involvement, without anyone telling them to do so, some ladies have created gardens even where space is terribly limited. It's fun to see the fruits of his work and that the health clubs do make a difference!
Sunrise on the morning we set off for the other side of the country…it was hard to say goodbye to such a gorgeous view. 
This is Ant - Jason's boss and his really fun mountain side house. We stayed in the apartment above the garage. Not too shabby! LOVE the thatch roof - although you have to beware of baboons in this area. Last year the nasty little buggers ripped out half the thatched roof! The hazards of living in Africa…
Even though I have been to Cape Town a few times now, I have not done very many of the classic touristy things like going out to Robben Island or going up Table Mountain. Determined to get at least one of these things in, I convinced (very easily) Jason to hike up the mountain with me. The cable car for those lazy folks, takes you up the face of the mountain but a lot of the nice hikes actually start off around the back, in Kirstenbosch gardens. It's a beautiful setting with loads of amazing plant life. As usual, we got a late start (it's just so hard to get out of bed early on a Saturday morning) but we managed to start our hike around 11am. 
The first hour an a half is basically straight up - stair steps (mostly rock but reinforced with wood slats) and even some ladders. Jason suggested we go up the way he went with some of his friends 10 years ago, Skeleton Gorge or something ominous like that. You think that would have been a clue! It was pretty intense but knowing the straight up was only part of the hike, we managed. We weren't in any big rush so we didn't push ourselves too hard and made sure to enjoy the scenery along the way (translation: we had to stop every 5 minutes, pretend to take pictures only to catch our breath and quit panting for a moment).
We ate a late lunch at the top, enjoying the view and chatting with some South Africans. It's always nice to reach the top for fantastic views!
The hike down was just as intense as the hike up. We went down through Nursery Ravine, which I'm not sure was the best choice. This path literally had stair steps the entire way down. Sounds great except that they are large steps and mid way down my one knee started hurting pretty bad. It only happens during serious repetition like this or on really long bike rides and usually I'll take some advil early enough and that helps but I wasn't quite as prepared this time around. For some reason I thought since it was touristy, it would be an easy hike. Not so. Plus we haven't been out hiking in a few months so our bodies aren't used to it anymore, despite our regular running routine. 
Regardless of my knee and sore body the next day, it was definitely worth it. Time to get out and find some nice hiking in Zimbabwe!
We finally made it to Cape Town! We spent 15 hours in the car to get from Harare to Pretoria in one day - the border crossing was amazingly easy - it only took us 30 minutes, which is a record for us! Despite no AC or functioning radio, it wasn't a bad day. And we were greeted by our lovely friends Tommy and Lesley, who had food, wine and even chocolate covered pecans on the bedside table! We met up with our friend Heather the next day and got our start on the next leg of the journey after noon. We made it a whooping 120 kms outside of Joburg before the truck broke down. We're driving a 1990's Land Rover these days and despite having just recently been purchased, the proper maintenance wasn't done and the
gear box died on us. We broke down in the perfect spot though - we managed to find a tow company after a few different calls and were brought back to the small town of Parys (said like the last name Perez but with an 'a' - sortof, it's an Afrikaans word and I have trouble pronouncing most of them). Lucky they happened to have a guy there that works on Land Rovers and there was a guy in a town far away that refurbishes gear boxes. So after only a 2 day delay, we were back on the road by Thursday and by Friday lunch time, we were driving along the coast where we stopped at our favorite restaurant Olympia Cafe and picked up some delicious croissants and shortbread cookies and had a little picnic over looking the bay.
Jason's busy working - that's the reason for the trip to SA. He's facilitating a workshop here and then going to a conference in Durban. Since I'm jobless, I get to tag along and have a different backdrop to do whatever it is I do to pass the time. Wednesday I took a nice walk down to Boulders Beach, which is where all the penguins hang out - you have to pay to actually go into the park but if you just walk down the road, there is a little section that has penguins chilling and you don't have to pay.
This little guy waddled over to the gate and I think was just waiting for someone to open it so he could make his escape. They are so freaking cute! 
The penguins don't just hang out on the beach, they walk up towards the road and nest in the bushes that are all around. There was a couple that had probably been camped out all day, videoing baby penguins in this one bush - I dropped down and hugged the road so I could also get a peak. They were so furry and squeaky.
Please note the lovely backdrop! Jason's bosses live just to the left of this shot, in a hillside thatched roof house and it's gorgeous.
We left the next day and made it Pretoria where we stayed with Tommy and Leslie again - more good friends, good food and good company!
