It's been cold here.  Temps of 15 C, but very windy! And they have no furnaces.  Sometimes a room heater! Yesterday morning we woke to see SNOW on the mountains. No wonder it's cold!

the view from our bedroom window.  See the snow????

Yet, everything seems to be blooming!  The air is so aromatic! Trees, bushes and perennial flowers... all in bloom!

don't know the name of this one, but very aromatic

camellia

wisteria

bottle brush.. looks like one too!

Halloween seems to be a non-event here.  We saw orange donuts in a bakery. Andrew only had one set of trick or treaters at his door all evening.

the only decorated yard we saw

Today we drove out to a country fair, about an hours drive from Nelson.  An old fashioned country fair.  pony rides, baking and plants for sale, snacks to eat while sitting on the grass or hay bales.

scones, preserves with cream.  YUMMY

and a pastie!


Jerry is learning right hand drive.  We are very fortunate to have at our disposal, Bella's mum's car. Supper tonight was a typical NZ barby (BBQ) at Bella's brother's house.  A lot of the cuzzies were there!

White bait, caught on Monday, frozen and......

....and fried in batter!  Yummy!!!
the eyes are crunchy!!!

We made it!!! A long flight, but the best one we've had coming here.  Very little turbulence, and we managed to sleep during the night!!! 

Meeting and getting to know our grandchildren is wonderful! With skyping as often as we have been, there was no hesitancy on F's part in playing with us.

She LOVES her Bapa!

snuggling E, the six week old.  love the new baby smell!!!

Fresh flounder for our first supper, caught the evening before by her Uncle Adam

Tide's out!  Our 6:30 AM walk. A view of Nelson in the distance

One more sleep!!!!! One more sleep!!!

 One more sleep, and so much to do! Daughter and family are moved out and settling into their new home, house is almost ready for house sitter, errands are almost done and I'm getting excited!!!!

Our spare room is starting to look like this!!!

Our yard is beginning to look like it's ready for winter and our leaving!! Right now it's 13 C here and 12 C in Nelson!!! It's hard to leave our balmy weather at the end of October, but I'm quite sure by the time we get there, the temps in Nelson will be warmer than here!!! And we will be experiencing t-shirt and shorts weather!!!

This is where we are headed!!!

An aerial view of Nelson

In one month we leave for Nelson, New Zealand again!!! To meet our newest grand daughter! Evie Rose!!!

And to get to know another grand daughter better. Frieda-Mae!!!  I wonder how she will react to us when she sees us in real person, and not through Skype on the computer screen!!! Will we seem huge and scary? Or will she be shy to us strangers? Or will she just accept us as Oma and Bapa, and talk to us as she usually does on Skype??? 

Today I feel nervous about flying! It's such a long flight, and I wish I could sleep while on the flight. I might just try those jet lag pills this time! Or gravol???

Anyway, still lots to do before we leave! Finish that quilt! Prepare the garden for winter!

Our house and yard for the winter! Our daughter and son-in-law's house for their move in!!!  And pack!!!

Stellenbosch to Capetown

From Stellenbosch to Capetown is only about an hour, and we stayed several nights just outside of Stellenbosch! This is wine country! Our favorite wine, Penny Black, comes from the Stellenbosch area! Stellenbosch, as does the entire Capetown area, has a very European feel to it.  Lots of German people here.

Downtown Stellenbosch. Notice the thatched roof

They whitewash some buildings here with limestone, so some buildings look very white.

The restaurant in the garden at the Morgenhof winery!!!

Lunch with a glass of wine...under a canopy of grape wines, hot weather and great friends!!!

Grapes are just starting to grow, as it's spring here.

The view from our guest house, just outside of Stellenbosch!

Breaky on our front stoop.  A glorious day!! A gluten free flax muffin, with fresh fruit salad and yogurt!!! And coffee, of course!

Post House!  A barrel of Penny Black! Our favorite!!!

I promise you! This shipment is leaving for Winnipeg today!  Of Penny Black!

Driving into Capetown!  Another township.  This one has power!

Addo to Stellenbosch

Leaving Addo National Elephant Park behind, it was long day drive to Knyzna, along the garden route! We passed through many townships, usually located on the outskirts of the town. Often they were across a street from the very big and wealthy suburbs, as this is where they are employed!

Millions of people live in townships like this. 

Many have no power and running water. 

Lots of road work happening, but if there is a long wait, there is always refreshments to be bought!

           Coffee break on the beach!!!

Stopped to admire a lot of these in a field along the highway!

                   Handsome, eh?

Biltong...an air dried, plain or flavoured with spices piece of beef! A snack found all over South Africa!  Moister than our beef jerky. 

King protea....South Africa's national flower. It can get to be 12 inches across. This one was only about 8 or 9 inches. Growing wild along our morning hike in Stellenbosch. 

Addo Elephant National Park

The drive from Port St Johns to Addo was beautiful! Reminded me of the rolling hills in Montana or Wyoming!  Just bigger! A long day of driving, so some driving shots!

A Xhosa village. One of many we drove past. 

Each grouping of houses represents a family in the village. 

          Driving through a small town. 

                   Another town!

And, of course, we stop for many a coffee....cappochino or a filter coffee!!!

The next day.....Addo national elephant park!

      We saw huge herds of these guys

                A pregnant lioness

And a weaver bird and her nest, at our guest house. The hole for the nest is at the bottom!