October 17, We're On Our Own Now

We took our time after leaving Glenfinnan Guest House in Langebaan working our way down to Cape Town, and picked up a few good birds along the way.  We had seen European Bee-eaters earlier in the trip, but had great views of about 35 of these brightly colored birds today - a good send-off for Steve &  Priscilla, as we dropped them off at Cape Town International Airport about 1:00 this afternoon.  We had a great 2+ weeks together seeing and experiencing so many things.  So now Tom and I begin what seems like a "second" vacation, being on our own for the next 2 1/2 weeks driving a large loop along the southern coast of South Africa, up north into the Drakensbergs, back west through the Karoo, into the wine country of Stellenbosch, and ending back in Cape Town.  We are staying at a comfortable B&B the next 2 nights called The Trail House in Betty's Bay where we have a little veranda that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, and if we walk out the front door we can hike up into some amazing country.  We had dinner at Jack's Restaurant just across the highway tonight - some of the best food we've ever tasted, and wonderful informative conversation with the wife of the chef.  We have definitely met some friendly, kind people so far in South Africa!  Tomorrow will be spent mostly at the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden in Betty's Bay, where we're expecting to find LOTS of beautiful plant and bird life.

The following photos were taken on a late afternoon walk up the trail from our B&B with the first one being a Cape Rock Thrush, the second a Yellow Bishop, and the remainder being of the flowers and amazing landscape.