Stellenbosch

Yesterday we took a trip to Stellenbosch.

We didn't realise that it was the start of the Woordfees, a week-long celebration of literature, theatre, art and music. Everybody and their neighbour and all their cousins were in Stellenbosch for the festivities. The traffic was unbelievable with several roads being blocked off.
We started exploring at Oom Samie se Winkel.

I was not allowed to take photos inside but I wish I could show you the variety of things crammed into that little shop, from every day articles of yesteryear like suspender belts and old shoes, to dried fish, homemade preserves and a flat leather hand  attached to a stick called "Will'ie Luister."
After a quick bite, we made our way to the Village Museum.
A car guard, called Bongani, noticed us ride around the block several times looking for parking. He recognised my brother-in-law's Eastern Cape registration and, being from the Eastern Cape himself, allowed us to park in the company parking across the road.

The museum consists of four houses built between 1709 and 1850. We were welcomed to each by a hostess dressed in clothes of that era. The first was Schreuderhuis (1709)

The floor was made of cow dung mixed with clay.  Strings of onions, herbs and salted fish hang from the rafters.

Next we visited Blettermanhuis (1789).

The third house is Grosvenor House (1803)
It is furnished in the Victorian style with rich red/maroon wallpaper. It has one of only two hand coloured portraits of Queen Victoria in the world. However, I was more interested in the old cameras.

House number four is O.M.Berghuis which originally had a thatch roof and gables but was altered in the nineteenth century and reflects the style of a typical Stellenbosch dwelling of the period 1840 - 1870.
 By this time it was getting late and we wanted to avoid the crazy Cape Town rush hour from 3pm. We did leave it too late, however, and my brother-in-law spent the next three hours in traffic.
Nevertheless it was  lovely day outing and we will remember Stellenbosch but try not to visit again during Woordfees.

Table Mountain

What would Cape Town be without Table Mountain? on Wednesday I had fun snapping photos with my cell phone of different views of Table Mountain.

Kirstenbosch

On Monday evening we flew to Cape Town to attend the memorial service for my step mother-in-law. While we were here we decided to explore Cape Town a bit.
Today we battled our way through traffic to visit the Kirstenbosch Gardens.

Glow worm adventure

Prior to coming to New Zealand, I signed up for the New Zealand Groupon, hoping to find good deals on food. No specials came within our price range but, after I had booked and paid for our three special New Zealand experiences, (Hole in the Rock, Ninety Mile Beach tour and Auckland Hop on, Hop off trip) I got an e mail about a glow worm kayak trip up a river for sixty five New Zealand dollars instead of a hundred so I bought two vouchers. They were not valid until after the 12th January so we booked our slot for the 14th. By this time we were no longer in adventure-explore mode but rather family mode so it was a bit out of our comfort zone to travel half an hour and think of paddling upstream. The last time we had attempted kayaking six years ago on the Able Tasman, we battled to keep up with younger members of the group and now we were both six years older. Moreover the day started with rain pouring down and more forecast for the evening.
It was with a certain amount of trepidation, therefore, that we got in the car, armed with rain jackets, warm clothes and my son's go-pro, and made our way to Lake District Adventures in Horahora Rd.

We were kitted out with essential gear and joined the other couple in our group.

It was just before seven when we got into the kayaks.

We paid for extra back supports (the black things strapped on)

With the go-pro attached to the top of my head, it was difficult to take photos.

The current wasn't as strong as we had feared and the journey up stream was very pleasant.  At the half way point we got out to stretch our legs and wait for dark. Our guide, Lofty, produced a hot fruity spicy drink and some nibbles. He invited us to take a leak in the trees but I wan't feeling inclined to, especially after he had pointed out a possum.

While we waited he told us some very interesting things about glow worms. They are not worms but the maggots of  a winged flying insect with thin wings like a dragon fly but smaller. Their bio-luminescence is designed to attract insects which are their prey. He also pointed out native New Zealand trees and told us interesting facts about them.

When it was sufficiently dark, we drifted downstream through the gorge which was well populated with glow worms.  We were told to keep down the noise because it could disturb the insects. (In caves it is just the opposite and visitors are encouraged to make a noise because food is scarce in the back areas of caves and noise might mean extra prey coming in.)  We drifted in near silence by moonlight. It was an awesome experience.
It was too dark for the go-pro but I have these photos with kind permission from Lake District Adventures.

We got back to base after ten and it was close to half past eleven by the time we got back to Hamilton. Despite our apprehensions, it was another wonderful adventure and another illustration of God's wonderful creation.

This was our last adventure in New Zealand before we had to say good bye, pack up everything and undertake the long journey back home. It is the last post for this trip. I have another blog which I have neglected for a while. It is called Coffee in the Rain and is more spiritual and sometimes literary in nature. If any of my blog followers would like to follow that one, please let me know.

Waihi Beach 2

Another beautiful day at Waihi Beach. I set my alarm for 5.30 so I could watch the sunrise.

After breakfast we tackled the Windows Walk, taking the car all the way to the car park at Karangahake.  We set off with the push chair through more beautiful scenery. We hadn't expected the number of stairs we would have to climb.

Again we passed stunning river views

and mining relics.

Just before we reached the highest point of the walk, the pram decided it had had enough and developed a flat front tyre. From then on it was carry the toddler and carry the pram.

At the top we got to walk through a mine tunnel, using torches. Every now and then there was an opening which let in a little sunlight and gave us a view of the river and gorge below.

Apparently the mine had not been particularly successful and had barely broken even which was one of the reasons it is now abandoned.

The down journey of the loop was easier with fewer stairs but one or two suspension bridges. They don't look like suspension bridges at first so I was taken by surprise when the bridge felt unstable.

 

After we got back to the holiday park we had time for a last visit to the beach.

We had to be out by ten the following morning so we decided to visit the Gold Discovery Centre in Waihi after leaving the holiday park just before the deadline.

We didn't take the tour but wandered around on our own, interacting with the displays which were very hands-on.

We got to experience what it was like to drill into the rock-face and witness on a video the results of our detonating a blast.

There was a very interesting theatre production incorporating mirror technology and photo frames which doubled as TV screens in the enacting of the story. Although it was a love story, it gave us a good insight into the conditions in the early days when there was a  strike and strike breakers were called in to do the work and extra police to enforce order.

There is a tour available to see a working mine but since we were in transit (and it was very expensive) we didn't do it.

We learned a lot and from some of the working models I could make sense of some of the ruins we had seen in the last two days. For instance, a battery is a set of stampers working together, powered by a waterwheel, to crush the rock.

We could have stayed much longer but it was nap time and we still had an hour and a half travel time back to Hamilton where the children weren't the only ones in need of a nap!

Waihi Beach 1

We all packed up, put our stuff in the trailer and squashed seven of us into a Toyota Wish.  We headed for Waihi Beach for a three day holiday. The holiday park was crammed with everybody making the most of the last of the holidays.

Waihi beach from the bridge. It is a lovely swimming beach 

The next day we all caught the train at Waikino station....

to the Karngahake Gorge Historic Walkway.

The Waihi area is gold mining area and the walk took us past an abandoned gold mine which gave me lost of fun shapes to play with photographically.

We also saw beautiful scenery and had our lunch besides a river.

The initial plan was to walk all the way to another walkway called the Windows track but after asking directions from a group of maintenance guys who laughed at the thought that we were planning to take a one and a half year old, a four year old and a six year old on such a long walk. So we decided to abandon the second part of the hike for the following day.