Odds and Evens

Hard to believe, but it has been nearly one year since we arrived in South Africa. We had been picking apart photos, talking, negotiating, second guessing, dreaming, questioning, worrying, and working on logistics for nearly six months before we actually saw sv Harmony live and in person for the first time. We were thrilled and relived that she was in such good shape and as we have got to know and care for her over the past year we continue to be amazed at her condition and performance. She had been sitting for so long, but now she is ready to go do what she was built to do and so are we!

Our first photo with Harmony, January 2017

Luderitz, Namibia, December 2016.

Leaving Luderitz headed back to Cape Town, December 2016

It's been quite a year. We have spent the entire year in Africa (Angela in South Africa and Namibia, David in South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania and Mauritius.) To commemorate our one year anniversary away from US soil we thought we would put together a list of things that we miss from our former land based life in the U.S. Of course, friends and family are at the top of both of our lists, but here are some others:

1.  Amazon, particularly prime shipping

2.  eBay
3.  Proper Mexican food

4.  Taco Bell (don't judge)

5.  Fast Internet

6.  Hot baths

7.  Home cappuccino machine

8.  Electric toothbrush

9.  Comfy leather recliner 

10. Fostering dogs

11. All the tools we left behind

12. Dishwasher

13. American politics

14. Just kidding 

Can you figure out who added each item to the list? David is odd (but everyone already knew that) and Angela is evens.

We have been so blessed this year and are grateful for each and everyday we get to enjoy this new lifestyle that we have embraced. We wish a healthy and happy 2018 to all of our friends and family and encourage you all to do whatever it takes to make your dreams come true. We are looking forward to more traveling in 2018 and our longest and most difficult passages yet. We will be taking on the "Wild Coast" of South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar and Tanzania. Hope to see some of you on board this year!

Trip Report: Knysna - Cape Town - Saldanha - Luderitz

After more than six months without a blog post, no one will ever accuse either of us of being prolific writers. A lot has happened since our last post. Most importantly, after owning Harmony for ten months we finally sailed her away from what has been her home port for the last ten years.

Our friends Mark and Liz joined us for the trip from Knysna to Cape Town. The trip was roughly 290 nautical miles and took about 40 hours. Winds were variable, as high as 34 knots. We learned that the autopilot stopped working when the water pumps were running and we ripped the main sail. But hey, that's what shakedown cruises are all about.

Sunrise somewhere between Knysna and Cape Town

We spent three weeks in Cape Town doing lots of shopping, boat maintenance and repairs, and provisioning. We had the water pumps moved so they no longer interfered with the compass and we had the main sail repaired. We endured 74 knot winds at the Royal Cape Yacht Club. 

Royal Cape Yacht Club
Photo Credit: Mark Beard

View from our cockpit at Royal Cape Yacht Club

We were able to convince Mark and Liz to join us once again for the next two legs of the trip. First was a 60 nautical mile day sail to Langabaan. Still having issues with autopilot, we hand steered in two hour shifts. We saw dolphin, whales, and seals and anchored for the night in a beautiful secluded spot in Kraal Bay with views of kite surfers.

Our backyard while in Kraal Bay
Photo Credit: Mark Beard

Liz and Mark made it clear in no uncertain terms: they were not hand steering all the way to Luderitz. We concurred, so we motored to Yacht Port in Saldanha where we fortunately found a competent repairman to fix the autopilot.   

How many men does it take to fix and autopilot?

After a night at the dock in Saldanha, we set off for the 420 nautical mile trip to Luderitz, Namibia. We had purchased a new furler in Cape Town so we were finally able to use our code zero sail. Conditions were very calm, almost no swell with variable winds up to about 30 knots. Captain Dave did an excellent job at selecting a good weather window for this voyage.

David and Mark working on the code zero sail

The sunrises and sunsets were incredible. The most magical moment was on the last night, right at the moment the sun went below the horizon we heard and saw two orcas off the port side of the boat. Unfortunately we didn't capture the moment as nature was much faster than our camera.

Sunset right before we saw two orcas.
Photo credit: Mark Beard

After nearly 60 hours we reached the Luderitz Harbor at 13:42. We anchored, got a few hours of rest, had a nice breakfast and then moved to a mooring.

Luderitz Harbor. If you look closely you can see SV Harmony anchored way off in the distance between the two flags

Raising the Namibian courtesy flag after checking in
 at customs and immigration

After a few days of sight seeing, Mark and Liz have returned to Knysna. We really enjoyed having them on board and are very thankful to have had their help during this part of our journey. We remain in Luderitz. We plan to spend the next four months or so in Namibia and South Africa waiting out cyclone season before heading to Madagascar in April. We promise at least one blog post before then.

Oh, and by the way, this is a picture of our guest cabin. This is where Mark and Liz stayed. They survived nearly 800 nautical miles and more than two weeks with us. Won't you at least consider coming to visit us?

   

Exploring South Africa - Oudtshoorn and Addo

With the boat still undergoing a re-fit in the factory and the month of April chockablock with South African public holidays (during which the factory is closed), we thought it was time to get out and explore a bit of this gorgeous country.

Oudtshoorn

We began with a road trip to Oudtshoorn, a farming town about 120 kilometers to the northwest of Knysna. We had a wonderful weekend, staying at a farm in a valley at the foot of the Swartberg Mountains. On our way to our accommodations we stopped for a wonderful lunch and wine tasting at Karusa Vineyard & Wines.

We recommend Karusa's Litchi Bomb Muscat Blanc. It is a bit sweet, but very drinkable on a hot day.

The farm where we stayed is in the middle of the photo. It's surrounded by sheep and ostrich.

Half way up Swartberg Pass - we came up the cliffside road on the left.

Ostrich Breeding Pair Outside Our Room

As Oudtshoorn is known as the ostrich capital of the world, no trip would be complete without a visit to an ostrich farm and a delicious ostrich fillet dinner. More like a lean steak than chicken.

Cango Caves

On Easter morning we headed over to the Cango Caves. Feeling a bit daring, we opted for the "Adventure Tour" which went beyond the normal tourist route into some of the lesser travelled parts of the caves. The tickets came with a warning. Several of the passages were tight, one only 27 centimeters high which is about 10.6 inches for the metric impaired. David asked the woman at the ticket counter if he was too fat; she just shook her head and laughed. She still sold us the ticket but, needless to say, we were a bit apprehensive. Retired life is wonderful but dieting is not one of its strong suits.

When we bought our tickets, David asked the woman at the counter if he was too big for the tour...she just laughed.

The caves were beautiful. After only 100 meters the tunnel opens into a majestic room called Van Zyl's Hall, a natural amphitheater where they used to perform concerts for South Africa's elite. The acoustics are incredible and concerts there must have been breathtaking.

One of the beautiful rooms in the caves. This was before the tour got "adventurous"

There were about 5 chambers in the normal tour, all paved with brick walkways and very well lit. The views were incredible. Most of the formations are dormant now due to the local drought but several have been dated to over 700 million years old. Some moisture still exists and the detail on the younger formations is exquisite.

After reaching the beginning of the adventure section, our tour was delayed by over an hour because a woman in the tour group ahead of us got stuck. She was blocking the only way in so we had to wait. Several people in our group even turned back, either too impatient or too nervous to continue. When she finally emerged, she looked exhausted and near tears. Needless to say, that didn't ease our fears.

We fit, but just barely. One of the more challenging passages is called "The Devil's Chimney", which required a 3.5 meter climb up a 45 centimeter wide, slippery limestone tunnel. Without a nice tug from our fellow cave tour goers, I think both of us might still be stuck in that chimney. And that was just a warm up for "The Devil's Post Box". With a 27 centimeter slot, this was quite a squeeze. After mumbling, "I'm stuck" I somehow got my butt a bit flatter and was able to wiggle through the crevice. Our guide had to direct David's exhalations in order to get him through.

Devils' Post Box. Do you see the girl peeking through the crevice? Somehow we both made it through that crack!

Addo Elephant Park

The following weekend it was off to Addo Elephant National Park with our dear friends Mark and Liz. Addo is about 300 kilometers to the north east of Knysna, a fun 3 hour drive which marked our first time crossing into the Eastern Cape. Along the way, we stopped for coffee at Bloukrans Bungy which, at 216 meters, is the highest commercial bungy jump in the world. It looked frightening from a distance and, based on the screams, was pretty scary up close too.

Our view from the cafe. You couldn't hear the screaming but, with binoculars, you could guess what they were saying.

We stayed on a lovely lemon farm just outside of the park and enjoyed a fantastic braai upon our arrival. In South Africa, all cattle is grass fed so the beef here tastes amazing. And, with a strong German heritage, the sausage comes in endless varieties that are all delicious. David says he's in heaven.

At approximately 1600 square kilometers, Addo is the third largest National Park in South Africa. It's home to approximately 600 elephants and other game animals including several lions. Though you can book a guided tour, most locals opt to drive themselves through the park. The roads are dirt but fairly smooth and well marked. Mark's Toyota FJ barely broke a sweat.

The next morning we were excited to get up early to see the animals and they did not disappoint! We spotted ostrich, kudu, jackals, cape buffalo (dead and alive), meerkats, bat eared fox, dung beetles, mongoose, and warthogs...so many warthogs!

Beautiful zebra and beautiful lighting...no editing required.

Warthogs were everywhere, constantly digging for food. Hakuna Matata!

Kudu

Strange fact: beetles have the right of way over cars. The flightless dung beetle is considered a vulnerable species. The largest remaining population is located in Addo. As we drove through the park we had to watch for beetles and piles of dung in the road to avoid squashing them. Legally, the beetles and manure have the right of way. Male beetles collect dung and roll it into a ball roughly the size of a tennis ball. To prevent other males from stealing it, he uses his hind legs to roll the ball to a safe spot and buries it for a female to lay her eggs. Sometimes he loses control and the ball goes rolling down the road. Yup, rolling balls of poo have the right of way too.

We were very lucky to see a lioness and her cubs twice in one day (during the cooler morning and evening hours). Lions are shy so most visitors never see them at all. They were pretty far away, so unfortunately we didn't capture any photos of these majestic animals. In the morning, we even heard the lioness roaring to her cubs before we could see her. What an eerie feeling to hear a lion roar knowing there isn't a fence between you.

David and Liz scouting for lions.

We did have one near disaster. David "the Lion Hunter" was very intent on spotting lions. See the gray jacket? He was so focused on finding them that he accidentally put it in the wrong white SUV when he took it off a few moments later. Big problem; it had our only set of car keys in the pocket. Of course, the other SUV drove off before we noticed. We were stranded smack in the middle of lion and elephant country. Luckily, Mark and Liz are veteran car people. They easily remembered the make and model of the other car, spotted it with binoculars, and chased them down with the aid of another friendly visitor. Forty five minutes later, we had the keys back and David swore he'd never hold the keys again.

 

They look nothing alike!

By far the most amazing creatures in the park are the elephants! We saw so many elephants. At times we were surrounded by them and could have reached out and touched them from the car.

We saw lots of juveniles and babies

Elephant Crossing!

This bull walked so close we could have touched it.

On the way home, Mark took us inland along single lane gravel and dirt roads to enjoy the scenery in the mountains and little Karoo. We passed beautiful rock formations, gorgeous grassland valleys with nothing but goats and sheep for miles, and quaint little farming towns.

3 days, 700km, and endless smiles

Overall, the trip to Addo was a fun packed 3 days, filled with adventure and amazing sights. Thank you again to our friends Mark and Liz for taking such good care of us. Because of you, we will forever remember South Africa as a place of wondrous people and great great friends.

David & Angela

Pride in Africa. Everyone is smiling and happy. What a wonderful celebration.

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