My aunt, Kathy, is a breast cancer survivor.

I went to Cape Town this weekend with my mom, to take photos of Kathy and Ian.  You may recall that I went to Cape Town a few months ago and took photos for a similar reason.  That photoshoot was to document the start of her journey, and she went to have her mastectomy a few days after that shoot.  A while after the shoot, Kathy and I had a discussion on Facebook, and I booked tickets to Cape Town again.  This time it was to take photos of her with her bald head, and it was to carry on with the story.

Amazingly, the timing was just perfect… not only is it Breast Cancer awareness month (which didn’t come into the planning at all… it was organised around her treatment plans because her last chemo treatment was 3 weeks ago)… but she got the most amazing, amazing news during last week… she’s CLEAR!!

She’s still undergoing radiation, and you’ll see the marks on the scar photos that I’ll post tomorrow, and she’s still got a long, long process with another “designer” drug.. but she’s CLEAR!! How awesome is that!!

The photoshoot started at their home in Somerset West, and I’ll put those photos up tomorrow.  We then drove half way up the mountains close to Stellenbosch to the Idiom vineyards on the Da Capo Wine Farm.  My mom’s cousin is the farm manager at the vineyard, so the trip out there started with a photoshoot and ended in family reunion and an extreme picnic (in the most freezing wet weather)… and we ended the afternoon on top of the hill eating the most delicious cheeses and strawberries washed down with magnificent wines! What an amazing day!

You can see how miserable the weather was here… and in fact it was raining.

We stopped after that, because it was getting too cold and wet.  And then this morning, after a gorgeous breakfast at Tokara, Ian and Kathy took us to Uva Mira, which is a family owned boutique wine farm in the hills around Stellenbosch.  As we parked I noticed this gorgeous door, so after a wine tasting upstairs, she whipped off her wig again for a few more photos.

And then the most rad thing happened! A woman got out of a car, and as she passed us to get into the winery, she said to Kathy “I’m a survivor too”.

WOW!!

She then told Kathy that she had had stage 3 breast cancer 3 years earlier, and told her that her hair will grow back, just like hers had.  In fact, this woman was so proud of how thick and curly her hair had become, and it was so awesome to see and to hear her story.  And that is why Kathy is emotional in the next image…

Isn’t she gorgeous?!!

I’m very very proud of my aunt, and I’m so thankful that I could document her journey like this.  There will be more photos posted tomorrow… of her scar… they deserved a post on their own.

So, dear friends in my computer, I’m going to Cape Town with my mom from 21st to 23rd October.  The aim of the trip is to take photos of my aunt again, because she’s now finished with her chemo and on to her next treatment regime.  Those photos will be done on the Saturday afternoon (and hopefully I can fit in a quick drive to Hermanus in the morning to visit my other aunt and uncle).

And that means that I’m free on Sunday morning (23rd of October).

The question is… tweetup with some Cape Town tweeters and bloggers or does someone want a photoshoot or is there a group of friends that want to organise a portrait party?

Let me know in the comments.  I’ll be staying in Somerset West, but I am hiring a car

And because I can’t blog without a photo… here’s another one I took yesterday with the review lens.  They were playing games on my Mac while I was working on my work laptop.

OK, last post from our trip   I’m sure you’re glad to get to the end of them by now

We stayed with my aunt and uncle in Hermanus for the last night, and one of things we have to do in Hermanus is take a walk along the cliff paths.

On Tuesday morning we were also lucky enough to see a whale in the bay!! It’s a pity the 200mm on my lens wasn’t quite long enough to get a good shot. Yes, that small speck in the middle is the whale … LOL!

And that’s it… we flew home after that.  We really need to get to the Cape more often.  I love visiting the place.

I’ve put all these photos, and more from our trip into a set on Flickr too

After we left Somerset West, we travelled on the coastal road to Hermanus.  My word, what a stunning road!

We stopped at a viewpoint at Kogel Bay, before heading for Betty’s Bay to see the penguin colony

Then we got to the Penguin marine reserve at Betty’s Bay.  Smelly… but good. Loved that you could get so close to the penguins without disturbing them.

Ja ja I know… this isn’t a penguin… but it was running across the rock in front of a penguin

After the Waterfront, our travels really started.

We had wanted to see if we could get up Table Mountain, but the queue of cars was already snaking at 9am, so we laughed that off and we to Signal Hill instead.  Then we drove to Simons Town and unsuccessfully tried to see the penguins there.  And then we drove to Somerset West to say hello to my aunt and uncle and then went to Strand Beach for some fun while we waited for them to arrive for their photoshoot.

And yes, my kids are mad… that water was absolutely FREEZING!! But they had a ball