We arrive in South Africa

Paris was a great stopping point, but to reach our destination we had to catch another 10.5 hour flight. When we had selected our seats, the plane looked relatively empty, so we were hoping for some stretching room. Things started out looking good, but before long we realized the flight was pretty much full. Susie and i sat next to a South African lady that now lives in London. It was great meeting and getting to know her a little bit.

We landed in Johannesburg at O.R. Tombo airport and after a quick lunch with Guy - a guy that sat next to Toby and Lynne'e - we boarded another flight to head down to Cape Town. Interesting bit of trivia for you all ... both Tam, the lady we sat next to, and Guy went to school in Pietermaritzburg ... yes, the same city i went to boarding school in. It's a small world!

The Cape Town airport is being overhauled for the 2010 World Cup, so it wasn't much to talk about, but the plans for the new airport looked impressive. We picked up our rental car and headed to our first couple night's stay in Wellwood Lodge in Fish Hoek. After a good night's sleep and a great breakfast the next morning we set out in search of some penguins. So to Simonstown - The Boulders - we went.



We found a place to park (and someone to watch our car as long as we were willing to tip them) and headed to the water. There is a really nice wooden boardwalk setup to assist you in your penguin search; and along said boardwalk were some very descriptive bins.



After trekking a while (about 5 minutes) we came upon some birds on the rocks.



Along with another helpful sign.



The area is setup as a sanctuary, but is a good mix of allowing you to easily see the wildlife without encroaching too far into their space. Part of the incentive not to encroach was the nasty green sludge that the penguins were hanging out near. We couldn't figure out what the deal was, but i hope it's not what i think it is.



Susie did find some non-sludged ground to get down and bridge the gap between human and penguin kind. It's a good thing she did, lest relations run afoul (get it ... a foul?).