Where the two oceans DO meet

Sundays are supposed to be for sleeping in which is what we did. And flapjacks, which is exactly what we found when we eventually got to the breakfast table. After the girls had finished oohing and aahing at the presentation we all tucked in and yes, they tasted as good as they look.

Needing once again to walk off our overindulgence we made our way to the Southernmost Tip of Africa, the official meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

We were met at the newly constructed boardwalk by

Of the Black Oystercatcher, a watermill and an old clock

There is something about fresh sea air and the sound of waves breaking that guarantees a good nights sleep and that is exactly what we all got that night. As a photographer though I resisted the urge to sleep in and went out early to get some shots in that lovely early morning light and Agulhas didn’t disappoint.

Once everyone else had woken up we went into Struisbaai for breakfast at Pelican’s Harbour Cafe. It’s not gourmet but what was impressive was that every part of our cooked breakfast was hot which everyone commented on. Then we lost half of our group who went off to

Arriving at Agulhas National Park

In the continuation of series of weekends away with SANParks our group was reunited on Signal Hill where we loaded up the trailer and started out on our journey to Agulhas National Park.

April in the Cape can be a bit of a gamble weather wise, it’s either cold and wet or it’s warm and sunny. As you can see it was absolutely stunning as we left Cape Town and just three hours later we arrived at Lagoon House, where some of us stayed whilst others were in the Rest Camp. The location of Lagoon House is

Dias Festival Air Show 2013

A couple of weeks ago Hilton Mundy and myself went to Mossel Bay to film The Dias Festival Air Show took place over the weekend of the 2nd February in Mossel Bay. This festival was 1st established back in 1988 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the landing of Bartolomeu Dias at Mossel Bay.

The air show was organised by Sharon Malcolm & Hans Potgieter & ran like clock work from start to finish. The aircraft that partook in the display were the Eqstra flying Lions, L-39, RV-7, RV-8, Cessna 337, T-28 Trojan, Zlin 50, Pitts Special, Magni M24 & Starlite choppers. One of the highlights of the day was the 27m South African Flag hanging from skydiver Ralph Ridge.

Sit back and enjoy these four minutes of action packed highlights from the show.

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Finally hiking Hout Bay Corner

I don’t like doing hikes that I haven’t done before, I prefer to tread paths that I know. Last year I broke with tradition and was reminded of why this is, after following a path that came to a dead-end and retracing our steps several times decided the prudent action would be to go down the way we’d come up. I look up at the Twelfth Apostle mountain every day from the garden and for the last 10 years have wanted to climb up the back to the top and come down the front. And there is a path, I just didn’t know where it was until now.

The Twelfth Apostle above Llandudno Beach

My dad saw an advert in our local community newspaper to join The Peninsula Ramblers on a guided walk up Myburgh’s Kloof, known as one of the few spots to see the Red Disa flower, continuing to the top known as Judas Peak and then down Hout Bay corner. This was exactly the hike I had wanted to do before and so I was very keen to go along and finally learn the route.

An afternoon overlooking Bitterpan – Timelapse

On a recent holiday in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park we decided to give ourselves a break from sleeping on inflatable mattresses and stay at the Bitterpan Wilderness Camp. This exclusive camp is elevated above the red sand dunes of the Kalahari and situated on a one way only 4×4 route. Half way between the Nossob and Mata-Mata, this camp is in the center of the wilderness and seemingly in the middle of nowhere. About a two and a half hour drive from Nossob, up and over dune after dune, we couldn’t believe our eyes as we pulled up to this tented camp. Looking out over this brilliant white salt pan surrounded by red dunes was just surreal. Watching the clouds grow and dissipate over the pan I thought it would make a great timelapse so set up my camera to take a shot every 15 seconds for about 5 hours from mid afternoon till after sunset.

NB: Look out for the pride of lion that cross the pan to come to the water hole and their attempt to catch a lone eland about half way through the video.

For more photos from the Kgalagadi, click here.

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Beginning 2013 on a high!

What better way to start the New Year in Cape Town then a hike with friends for a champagne breakfast on top of one of many mountains we live beneath.

Cheers to that and if this view is in any way indicative of things to come it should be a great year!

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Looking back at Rory in South Africa during 2012

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,800 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 8 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Lion’s Head – by the light of the moon

A hike up Lion’s Head at full moon has been on my list of things to do since my family moved to Cape Town in 2002 and I first heard about it. Every year it has come up in conversation around the braai on various occasions followed by “we must do it! When is the next full moon?” but it’s never happened; until now that is! Yesterday the weather was as near perfect as can be. No wind, clear skies with great visibility and while the moon wasn’t full (that happens on the 28th) it was very nearly there and more than bright enough for our hike. We met at the start point at 6:00pm and started up the winding path that resembles the ridges of a snail’s shell spiralling up the mountain. Being one of the hottest days this summer, we soaked up the shade on the city side of Lion’s Head where we took a break to sip on some water and marvel at this view of Cape Town.

It took us just under an hour to make it to the top, nearly 2200ft above sea level, where we chose a comfy-looking rock from which to enjoy our

Going for a quick flight over Riebeek Kasteel

I have always had a love for aviation and a few years ago I took a step towards something I had always thought I wanted to do which was getting a pilot’s license. I started flight training with a friend of mine, Hilton Mundy at a little airstrip called Delta 200 out near Melkbos, up the West Coast from Cape Town. For various reasons I stopped my training but Hilton carried on and while it was a long road he eventually got his Private Pilot’s License (PPL) about 5 months ago. Having followed his progress and sharing a love of aviation, ever since I have been looking forward to going flying with him.

It was a couple of weeks ago that the weather was favourable and we were able to get up in the air. Taking off from Morningstar Flight Academy, where Hilton completed his license, we pulled the Ikarus aircraft out of the hangar and after a bit of trouble