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went from Port Elisabeth to Stellenbos,
on the Ado Elephant National Park,
then Knysna 
to Aestos B&B
, From that to La Plume 
at Volmoed 
near Oudtshoorn, Further to Somerset West
, Guesthouse De Molen,
and the last destination is the Monkey Valley Nature Resort.
was not too long. At first we drove along the coast
and had many a spectacular view of the Southern Cape coast.
It was a varied landscape, dry but lush green as well. At George we went north through a mountain range with a spectacular scenery. When we passed the passes, the area changed into a half desert, the Klein Karoo. There are rivers and brooks, and in the plains where water is supplied, agriculture is possible. It is the ostrich capital of the world. Ostriches are held for feathers, meat and leather. A century ago it was high fashion and a kilo ostrich feathers fetched more than a years’ family income. And ostriches produce quite a lot, so the farmers became filthy rich, and that showed in the magnificent buildings and farmhouses they build. Our destination today was such a paradise, called La Plume, our guesthouse. 
Built more than a century ago,
it offered the finest hospitality in a Victorian environment
. Furnished with antiques and with a sharp eye for 
sophisticated details 
we enjoyed 
the luxury of the 19th century, with the comfort of the 21th century.
The décor was the Zwartberg mountains far at the horizon. It was hot –as usual in the Klein Karoo- and we enjoyed the pool
, discovered the area 
and looked for feathers.
Everywhere were ostrich feathers. Ostrich are by far the biggest birds in the world, much bigger than the Australian emu and are to big to fly. The males were giant, more than 2 m high and black,
the ladies slightly smaller and brown.
The eggs are big as well. The feathers are indeed light and soft. Mariska loved to play with it
. Her favorite game: I had to blow the feather in the air and she tried to catch it. In the evening we got a delicious 6 course meal with exclusive dishes like springbok carpaccio and –of course- ostrich steak cooked to perfection. Absolutely impressive is that the car was washed before departure.
lots of ostrich 
and vibrant communities. But as well arid agricultural area’s that has been left. In the half desert there were small green area’s where water was available. The area is famous for wine as well and has a long tradition in it. The mountain passes like 
with interesting grasses
the Huisrivier pass, where we saw a crashed vehicle deep down,
were absolutely gorgeous. We often halted to enjoy the scenery. The last pass was the Tradouw pass. 
There we saw a valley side complete covered with protea bushes. In the foreground were lots of aloe.
often in a stunning landscape, the landscape changed in agricultural area. This is better described as destroyed nature, so we chose as soon as possible the N2, a national Main road that took us quickly to Somerset West, to guesthouse De Molen. It was run by a Dutch couple for one and a half year now. It has 10 guestrooms, divided over a few buildings in a wonderful park setting on a steep hill. Our main room was a generous 65 square meters large and we had a roomy bedroom and bathroom as well. The roof was made of the traditional material, a kind of sturdy grass. A big terrace with view 
high over Somerset West completed this amazing facility.
of the relatives of Sally and Peter,
planned to marry 2 days later. On our way we saw townships next to the autobahn that were fabricated from rusty corrugated steel, plastic and other junk. They were stuffed close together, an appalling sight. It was even so appalling that I did not take pictures from this misery. Kaapstad however is a modern and vibrant town. The lunch was at the famous Round House, at the foot of the Tafelberg.
up to the famous
Tafelberg, 
rising 1000 meters above Kaapstad, with almost vertical sides.
But of course there are many paths up, some are dangerous, some only difficult.
We took the ascent that the unfortunate Dutch lady took earlier the week. She fell while descending and died, her partner survived.
Most of the guest preferred to take the cable car to the top.
ascent was breathtaking, not only while it had a magnificent view, but as well while it was steep. 
But it was rewarding when we reached the top.
On the top there was of course a nice view to all sides. It was autumn and only one 
type brilliant colored flower did catch the attention. 
One bird was in our neighborhood. 
Up the mountain
friends and 
relatives,
who came with the cable car, met and waited for the sunset, that happened exactly on time.
as usual. It displayed of course great colors.
That was good for pictures 
but worried us as well as it indicates the approach of a frontal system, and that just before the wedding! We took in the dark the big cable car down to the valley. It is a very modern design, circular in shape that turns slowly, so everyone gets a chance to see the view over Kaapstad. This view was breathtaking as well.
and some blue sky became visible.
It looked like the frontal system has passed. The sun set again, always good for a few nice pictures. Very special was the view to the Tafelberg from the south, with the “tablecloth”cloud
spectacular on the top.
In the evening we enjoyed the open fireplace in our house.
but a strange layer of mist was covering the beach.
The beach at Noordhoek is the widest I’ve ever seen, and is of shining white sand.
In the morning the Bedouin tent was built in which the ceremony would take plac
e. About a hundred guests were attending, most of them from overseas, from all continents. The atmosphere was casual,
in the warm sand. Sally came in at the side of her father,
proud as a queen and beautiful 
. It was very emotional to see the wedding of such a nice couple.
Peter will forever deny it
, but he had tears in his eyes.
Luckily a handkerchief took care 
for that problem. 
The party 
went on in the Monkey Valley Nature resort with a series of activities.
was then filled. For a couple living in London there was only one logical choice, Moet et Chandon champagne, as this company holds a Royal Warrant to supply champagne to Queen Elisabeth II. In total 20 bottles of the noble drink were available.
During the exquisite dinner, the guests were entertained by a music, a band, a magician, dance 
and a few sketches of family. For those still not running out of steam at the end of the evening, the party was continued at the Eagles Nest, high on the hill.
The party was only over after the brunch, next day.
We enjoyed the view, and to our surprise we were welcomed by navy ships spraying water with their fire brigade ships
. Only later we found out that it was not for us, but for a navy open visitors day. 
he vegetation there is fynbos, low trees and shrubs, with small leaves. All over the year flowers can be seen. In fact is it the most rich of the 6 known Floral kingdoms of the world. More than 1000 flowering species are indigenous here and a few only exclusively to this area. Some look very familiar as many are all over the world indoor or balcony plants, like the world famous geranium. One plant is here abundant and rare in the rest of the world, that is the wonderful protea, 
the national flower of South Africa.
of the National park and we climbed a few hundred meters up the rocks, to the Light House,
were a black lizard was basking in the sun. Here we are at the most south westerly point of the African Continent and here the Atlantic ocean meets the Indian ocean. 
The cold Antarctic water meets the warm tropical water. 
That gives a rich source of nutrients and hence life. The area is famous for sharks, whales and whale sharks. And for baboons who try to steal food. 
There were many guards with sticks protecting the visitors from the baboons, and we indeed saw an incident of a baboon, bobejaan in Afrikaans, jumping against a tourist to steal an apple in his hand.
near the sea we went back to Monkey Valley but not after we saw penguins 
at the eastern side 
of the peninsula. 
(what we buy in the shop as amaryllis is in fact Hippeastrum).
like this yellow black striped bug. 
Ants made here a paper like nest in a tree.
Some leaves are very fine, 
no wonder the name is fynbos. Near a dam we took a rest.
by a kind of spider web and interesting flowers.
We followed a remote path that was long not used, shrub and trees were blocking the path.
It was hardly to see where it was. At last we almost lost it, so we had to find a way through the bush and then Birgitt discovered THE find, the Mother of all protea’s: a gigantic protea, 
as bigger than a head, ever bigger than we have ever seen on pictures. We took some pictures of it, 
grateful 
that we had illegally strayed from the worn out pathways.
and screamed exited if she discovered an interesting flower. We were delighted about such a great end of a marvelous holiday.
Further we found more nice protea’s 
and heath in full color,
and could not resist to take a picture.
keeps the memories alive of a wonderful holiday. South Africa is a great country with many nice people, many of them living in gorgeous villa’s and driving shining cars, enjoying the nice climate. It has and a unique nature.
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