Civilization in the Wilderness

Greetings from Wilderness, South Africa!

Michael and I have found our new favorite holiday destination - -South Africa. We absolutely love it here! Cape Town is a lovely Western city on a picturesque coast with mountains around . . .kind of like a mini-San Francisco with the Sierra Nevadas and ocean all together. I personally fell in love with the countryside as we left the coast and headed toward the Garden Route. It reminds me of Texas and the Sierra Nevedas all rolled into one - - vast, open land with rolling grass and mountains in the background. There are lots of cattle and sheep because the soil is poor. I couldn't help but think of my dad and how he would have loved this area as we drove through.

We saw one thing you wouldn't normally see though: herds of ostriches (or is it broods?) They are raised for their meat, which by the way isn't too bad. Even Emily sampled three types of game at a local restaurant just so she could say she had eaten them: kudu, springbok, and ostrich. The kudu steak was my personal favorite of the three though I couldn't help but order the lamb.

After heading east from Cape Town and passing through the ranch lands, we arrived in Wilderness, South Africa. We got to swim in a different ocean this time, the Indian Ocean. It is much warmer than the Atlantic Ocean that Cape Town had to offer. The beaches are beautiful with fine white sand. We were truly blessed to stay in a home that we got last minute which was the nicest one we have ever stayed in our lives. Our hosts were Christians who even offered us a cut rate. The homes are a curious mix of African and Dutch architecture since the Dutch originally settled this area.

We are truly enjoying our holiday!

Lisa

P.S. The van in front of our home with the thatched roof has come to earn the name of "The Beast." We are all in agreement that we will not ever rent a mini-bus again especially when Dad is learning to drive left-handed stickshift on the wrong side of the rode! He has done a good job of getting us around. (But do keep praying for a little extra dose of traveling mercies . . .)