Sunday City Escape

April 19, 2015

Groenkloof on a cloudy Sunday.

In Canada, if we wanted to escape the city for a day, we'd head to the mountains. In Joburg, we head to the bush. Today we went to the Groenkloof Nature Reserve. It's about an hour's drive from the city, and somehow this was our first visit to this particular reserve. While not a "big five" reserve, we saw sable, kudu and ostrich along the way. It was a nice day for a small hike: overcast skies, cool temperatures, and uncrowded trails. Thanks for coming along, guys!

 Pumped for the "red" path.

 Kudu!

Taking a breather at the top of a bit of a climb.

 Probably not a good idea to try this in the Getz...

Team photo. 

...and, jumpin' for joy.

Revisited: iwasshot in joburg :)

April 12, 2015

Maboneng on a Sunday morning (artists: Top- Obey, Bottom- Mein)

You might remember when I first mentioned this organization, back in 2013; we bought some funky artwork, and I was completely enthralled with the organization. Since then, we've purchased several more prints, and I have big plans for a wall display back when we're in Canada.

But, I digress. The point of today's post is to show off a really cool walking tour we recently participated in. It was with some of the "iwasshot in joburg :)" photographers, and was lead by Jo, whom I've also written about before. The "tour" included walking around Maboneng on a Sunday morning and learning interesting facts about the graffiti/artwork in the area. More than that though, per the "iwasshot in joburg :)" mission, the tour was about finding beauty where there seemingly is none. 

Starting off at the "iwasshot in joburg :)" headquarters.

As it turns out, we were not the only Canadian in Joburg who thought the tour was a great idea. 

Getting a lesson in artistry from an "iwasshot in joburg :)" photographer.

Attempting to get the right angle...looks kinda cool, but I'd be lying if I said it always works...

Cool arch (artist: Superblast).

M with the kids (artist: Nelson Makamo).

Safari ledge on the left (artist: ROA), and Jo and the cow on the right (artist: Spaza Gallery).

M and Madiba (artist: Freddy Sam).

Madiba through the rubble, and Ponte through the wire.

 

 Grazing sable in front of a very old church (artist: Freddy Sam).

Roar (artist: Sonny).

Proof that graffiti can most definitely be "art" (artist: Sonny).

In and around Maboneng.

This is a building often seen in city-scapes of Joburg. I was happy to finally get up close to it (artist: Steve Espo Powers).

Downtown Joburg (photo courtesy of our fellow Canadian).

M and I in our city (photo courtesy of our fellow Canadian).

So many layers.

M took a photo for this Mama and was waiting for it to process.

Through the looking glass.

Morning of Canadians.

Cape Town...4.0?

April 2, 2015

Cape Town, 4.0.

At what point must I stop tracking our visits to Cape Town? I'm actually not really sure what the number would be anyway- as we've flown into the Cape Town airport to travel to other places in the Western Cape- like when we went to Hermanus to see the whales, and when we went to Franschhoek to spend some time in wine country, for example. While it feels like we have been there a lot, we really haven't spent time in the city itself since December 2013 (or so my blog tells me...). We typically make the trip over a regular weekend, without the luxury of a slew of public holidays to extend our vacation. Extra-long Easter weekend in the Mother City? Don't mind if we do.

In the spirit of full disclosure, the purpose of this trip was really to run the Two Oceans Half Marathon. It is one of the most popular races in the country, and registration sells out within minutes every year. After conflicting plans in both 2013 and 2014, I made it my goal to secure a spot for the 2015 race. I sat guard at my computer in late November last year, counting down the seconds until registration opened. As luck would have it, with fewer than one thousand of the sixteen thousand spots left by the time I got in (less than two minutes after entries opened, no less), I managed to successfully register, and was on my way to the chance to cross the "world's most beautiful marathon" off my bucket list.

As with every visit to this picturesque city, we found loads of new things to keep us busy. We even stayed at the V&A waterfront (at the Portswood Hotel)- a first for us. We hit up a local comedy club, toured the city on the City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus (aka the "red bus"), marvelled at the view from the Cape Wheel, and had a glorious five-course lunch at the ever-acclaimed Test Kitchen. We also spent time with M's boss and his family, who were also there for the race. They are veterans of Two Oceans, and make the trek every year (he does the 56km Ultra as a warm up for Comrades. Enough said). We loved every minute of hanging out with them and sitting by the sea in Hout Bay enjoying a wonderful post-race/Easter Monday braai.

This place perpetually spoils us with new sights and memories, and if it didn't have a special place in our hearts before, it does now, and we're holding it there for keeps.

Graffiti in the Mother City.

More funky graffiti.

The Test Kitchen: supposedly one of the top restaurants in the world, this place books out months (if not years) in advance. I booked our lunch reservation six months in advance.

Five-course tasting lunch.

Lovely date with lovely company.

Awesome space with a very cool open-plan kitchen.

 The Cape Wheel at night: ferris wheels can be for grown ups.

 Enjoying the view from above.

Table Mountain and her table cloth at dusk.

The route.

So excited to get this thing going!

Looking back at the crowd in the pen.

Holding pens pre-race.

Table mountain in the distance as daylight slowly breaks.

So many people (all of whom seem to be ahead of me...hmm, maybe because they are not stopping every 5 minutes to take pictures?)

It's *just* a hill, get over it.

Dark storm clouds over the finish...unfortunately, M missed me at the finish line, as the shuttle from the parking lot to the finish line was drastically behind schedule...oh, and he missed me because I was super fast (not exactly, but I'm going with it...).

Done! 2:11:55, for anyone curious. Loved every minute of this race!

 Contemplating life at the Old Biscuit Mill market post-race.

Splurge on Easter brunch at the Twelve Apostles Hotel. 

It was a little chilly/windy for outdoor dinning, but there was a bunny on the deck. Happy Easter!

 Handsome Hubby (with Lion's Head in the background).

 Camps Bay from the red bus.

Camps Bay. Seriously, this place is real.

Red bus in the Cape.

 Funky night out at a hidden little spot at the V&A- even with the intermittent splashes of Zulu and Afrikaans that went well over our heads, it was a decent show!

Braai and post-race drinks on the beach. Perfection.

Inside Dunes. They even make the inside cool, although, with a location like this, who would really want to sit inside?

 Man, this view is terrible.

Dunes, Hout Bay.