Yesterday was the best beach day we’ve had since we’ve been here in Ballito.  The sun was awesome and the waves weren’t quite as rough as the day before… the only problem again was the cold wind.  But that didn’t deter us from having fun.  We met up with the boys’ school friends on the beach, and the kids had a ball playing with kites, and bats and balls… and playing tag, and hide and seek.

Connor counting to 20 while the others started hiding

Oh the joys of a long lens, and the kids that weren’t watching me I love taking photos like this… natural play

I know, I know, you haven’t seen photos of happy kids playing in the sand and water yet… but today’s weather may have been amazing, but the water wasn’t.  I’ve never actually seen the beaches in Ballito so narrow, and the waves so high at low tide.  In fact, it was also the first time I can ever recall not being able to swim! The lifeguards didn’t even put out swimming beacons today… that’s how hectic the waves were.

By noon, most people had left the beach actually, because the wind was starting to pick up, and there was hardly any space on the beach with the waves being so high.

So this afternoon, while Lance and Connor had a nap, Bradley and I took a walk with my camera along the beach walk, and watched the massive waves pounding the beaches.  The waves were actually coming right up to the grass under the walkways… in most places you couldn’t even see the beaches or rocky outcrops that are normally so high and are normally teaming with fishermen in the afternoons.

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

I’m going to split my favourite photos from our Cape Town trip into a few posts… because I can’t cut them down anymore LOL!

We were in the Cape for 3 nights.  We spent the first night at the Southern Sun Waterfront (which was a small room for 4 people and fabulous for one night, but thankfully not for longer or else the kids would have driven us stir crazy), then went to my aunt and uncle in Somerset West for the second night, and then my other aunt and uncle in Hermanus for the third night.  It was rushed, and a little mad… but we had fun and got to see a LOT! It’s just a pity we weren’t there for longer, and couldn’t organise a tweetup… I would have loved to have met some tweeps from Cape Town.

The plan was to do some sightseeing with the boys on the Saturday afternoon, but due to bad weather, Kulula delayed the flight so by the time we’d checked into the hotel, it was dark.  We went to the Waterfront for a bit to eat, and the kids were completely enamoured by the Wheel of Excellence and threw HUGE tantrums when we decided not to go on it then, but wait for morning.

So as a result, we had to traipse back to the Waterfront in the morning… and they LOVED the wheel… it was worth the wait.

… and then we went on our way