Day 10 - Thursday, 14 October 2010

We were all up by 5Am so everyone could get ready, pack their bags and load the van for our trip back to Stollenbosch, but first breakfast at Shelly Point.. Breakfast was at Shelly Beach Golf Resort and Spa where the view out over the golf course was spectacular. Somewhat reminiscent of Pebble Beach with the sea at the background. We were all grateful that we had brought our jackets as the restaurant was in the open air and it was still chilly in the morning.  The coffee was great and the breakfast a standard, egg, sausage, bacon, toast but tasty. Doug deviated on our exit to the van to stop at the concierge desk and found some great area maps. Which prompted a quick exodus from the van so everyone could pick up a personal copy.

As we mosied down the road it passed over what was possibly the longest train in the world. It was a freight train used to transport Iron Ore from the mine to the port in Langesaan. There were four locomotives at the front of the train although due to the extraordinary length we could not see the end of the train to determine if there were any pusher engines. We then stopped at a new development designed in the style of old Grecian villages.

We drove through the town of Langebaan where the ore train is unloaded to waiting freighters for export. There was a beautiful lagoon surrounded by some very upscale homes - business must be good here. The next stop was in the town of Darling and a museum featuring a actor, female impersonator and comedian with the name Evita Peron. He is quite well known in South Africa for his efforts to encourage folks to get to the polls and cast their votes during elections. His message is similar to that of our Tea Parties' as one of his posters' banner is "election or Erection"!

As we meandered down the road again we passed a sign for "Butterfly World" and thought that it would be a fun thing to see. We entered the enclosed area where we walked among  many varieties of butterfly. One of the most unusual was a "leaf Butterfly" which looks to me as a Seahorse named a Leafy Sea Dragon with its wings developed into the shape of the leaves of the tree in which it resides. There was one section of the enclosure containing many chrysalis, hatching even as we watched. In the center of the enclosure was a Koi pond where any butterfly venturing too close to the surface of the water was quickly snapped up for lunch.


There were other offshoot enclosures that housed more surprises. One contained some magnificent Iguanas and colorful Parrots. Another has some large Boa Constrictor snakes, Marmosets and a small deer called a Blue Duiker all free to roam the garden where they want. A new wing to the tropical garden is the Reptile Bay where Madagascan reptiles (chameleons and plated lizards), tortoises, Australian skinks and bearded dragons and a couple of noisy parrots are housed. As some of the group departed the building they were "treated"?? to a couple of turquoise's in a mating frenzy - another once-in-a-lifetime experience.

We arrived back in Stellenbosch and roamed the streets visiting small shops and even a bazaar housing many booths with touristy souvenirs although I did notice that many were made in China. They did a good business with some of the group but I found nothing of particular interest. We stopped at a local Mugg and Bean for coffee and a light snack. We were off for the final adventure of a very full day. JD and Marianna Kershom hosted us to drinks and dinner at their home on the Winery that JD Manages. Marianna works for Hugo in his office. We went through a serious quantity of wine, cheese and biscuits before dinner. I did get my allotment of fish during this trip and we were again served grilled Snook, salad, vegetables and more wonderful homemade bread and jam. Indoor grilling seems very common in South Africa as most of the homes we visited, and there were many, had large steel boxes with grates for grilling over open wood fires.
 
The party continued after dinner and we were entertained by the dancing of all the ladies. The men were busy consuming more wine and had little time to dance, notwithstanding the fact that we have no rhythm. We headed back to our lodging around 10PM to be ready early for our trip to the airport in the morning.

What an honor to be invited into their home and shown such awesome warmth and hospitality.