Cabernet or Pinotage???

It's been two months since we arrived in South Africa and have now settled in Stellenbosch.

Found a great place, got cool neighbours and there are loads of beautiful places just on our doorstep.
Loving it!

the view from our house

stellies sunnies 

our beach at Caves - how beautiful is this!

Surfing is just 40 min away, Caves and Pringle Bay are two lovely beaches and the fact that the drive is a very scenic one along the whale route doesn't need much convincing.

Pringle Bay

For the first weeks we stayed in Hout Bay and enjoyed the loveliness of Cape Town and just in time to still marvel at the spring flowers everywhere. 

brrrrhhh

A surf at Llandudno in freezing 7C cold water ......

....or alternatively a stroll around the rocks checking out the views and flowers was quite fun.

The little stopover at Long Beach in Kommetje was worth the drive! The views of Hout Bay are great.

sunset in the back

And of course we couldn't resist checking out the biking in Tokai, which gave us the first impression of how cool mountain biking is in South Africa. Although you pedal up everything, the rewarding views, vegetation and trails just makes you forget about the almost fainting heat. 

beautiful views of Table Mountain on the way up through Tokia

pincussion proteas

Cruising and jumping through fynbos is mind blowing!

This trail in Tokia has probably 30 jumps to keep your legs screaming  

Once we finally arrived in Stellenbosch our exploring could begin.

And the riding is just incredible! 

We love Jonkershoek, plenty of trails in a beautifully set valley, surrounded by radical mountains and again fynbos everywhere. 

At some point I will fall off the bike, not because the trails are rocky and technical but from looking at these bushes and proteas all the time!

mandatory stop for a beer on the way

what a view 

and the sunset was insane

Felix arrived mid December for a visit and just before the holidays we were invited to a braai in Betty's Bay. One of the remotest places I've been to.











We spent Christmas and New Year with family and Felix in Port Alfred. There were a lot of things happening in town, one of them being a sandcastle building competition which we entered. Concerts just a short walk from the house, tubing down the river, sundowner cruise on the river and of course the sunrise surf sessions.

the first one was great...

Barry, Warrick and Pete somewhere down the beach

The next morning they decided to check out somewhere further down the beach, and it was definitely worth waking up again at 4.30am to see this!

but the second was awesome!

Although the surf wasn't quite on it was fun watching the oystercatchers and there was plenty of other things to see. It really is beautiful out there in the early morning.

I wasn't the only one watching...

As a great ending we went back to the first somewhere for an epic arvo session and were rewarded with super glassy waves.

perfect sets rolling through

wave after wave rolls down the point

Barry throwing down

gone flying... 

and again...

but got it!

so glassy, so perfect

We stopped on our way back at Keurbooms for a second Christmas for a few days. It was quite chilled out, the weather just perfect for swimming and enjoying the beach.

Back home in Stellenbosch again we are slowly getting the taste of the coming up 40C heat waves with no wind! Summer here is only just getting started...