Would you like a dop?

Dop. 

(pronounced “dawp”) – Afrikaans term for any alcoholic drink.

As you guys prepare snacks and drinks for SuperBowl Sunday (Go Broncos!), I thought I’d tell you about the types of adult beverages ZA’ers prefer. South Africans are known for being beer drinkers, but they also like many other types of alcohol including brandy and wine.

From our POV, here are some of the most popular:

Amarula Cream – It is a sweet and creamy after-dinner liqueur that is made from the fruit of the marula tree. It is a favorite of elephants, monkeys and baboons who are said to get drunk and p-a-r-t-y as they eat the fermenting fruit in the wild.

Brandy – South Africans. Love. Brandy.

Rum – Rum and coke = big time. They even sell double-barreled flasks – one side holds Coca-Cola and the other holds rum.

Whiskey – Believe it or not, Jack Daniels is considered a luxury whiskey here. You have instant Rockstar status if you drink it.

Beer – Castle lager, brewed in ZA, is by far the most popular beer. Carling Black Label, Grolsch, and Windhoek are also popular. Ever heard of a Shandy? In its most basic form, it’s 50% beer and 50% citrus soda (i.e. Sprite or 7Up). People LOVE Shandies here.

Ciders – South Africans (and my husband) love ciders. Hunters and Savanna are the front runners here.

Wine – As you may remember from my Stellenbosch recap, wine is hugely popular here. Wine was first produced back in 1659. Fun fact: Pintotage is a red varietal that is found only in South Africa.

Van der Hum liqueur – a blend of brandy, wine, naartjie (orange) peel and spices. This stuff dates back to the Dutch East India Company and is still made in many South African homes.

Obviously, these are just the most popular that we’ve seen. I am sure there are many others that we haven’t seen!

Warning: Too many dops will make you think you can do this…

Enjoy your weekend. We are headed to an Elephant Sanctuary on Saturday!

Love,

Jess & Mat

A rabbit…where?

Have you heard about the infamous bronze rabbit? 

People around the globe are either outraged or humored by the fact that a bronze rabbit is cleverly hidden in the ear of the brand spankin' new 30-foot Nelson Mandela statue in Pretoria! The statue was unveiled in mid-December on the Day of Reconciliation, a holiday which marks the end of racial conflict here in ZA. I guess it has only recently been discovered due to the height of the statue.

Rumor has it that the sculptors were not allowed to sign their creation, so they added the rabbit as an unofficial signature of sorts.

{image source: www.independent.co.uk}

Needless to say, the South African government is calling for immediate removal of the rabbit. I read that the government is working with the sculptors to properly sign their work of art, presumably due to the vast amount of media attention this is getting. ha!

{image source: www.independent.co.uk}

Crazy, huh?

Love,

Jess & Mat

blue diamond

Did you see the latest gem to come from South Africa? A rare 29.6 carat blue diamond was found at the Cullinan diamond mine, which is about 35 minutes from our house! This is coincidentally the same location that the largest diamond in the world was found. I want one!!!!

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25838015

{image source: BBC}

Love,
Mat & Jess

safari #2

January is halfway over and our time in South Africa is winding down. We are in the process of planning our final big African adventure to Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world and is also one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the world. Pretty cool! I'll keep you posted on the activities we have planned during the trip.

Today I am posting photos of the safari that Mom and I went on during her visit. She loved it as much as we did the first time! Her favorites are the elephant and the leopard. Seeing the animals in the wild is surreal and exciting. Hope you enjoy our photos…

{baby giraffe} 

{baby kudu}

{dung beetle}

{female kudu}

{giraffe bending its long legs to get a snack}

{i love their faces. just look at those eyelashes!}

{hippo}

{young hyenas watching giraffes at the end of the path}

{hyenas on the prowl}

{impalas with tiny baby}

{impala with a cool bird on his back}

{jackals}

{male kudu. do you see him?}

{male leopard - the only one we saw}

{lioness giving Mom the "I will eat you" stare}

{male lion opened his eyes for a split second}

{mom and baby cape buffalo}

{mom and baby vervet monkeys}

{monitor lizard}

{vervet monkey scoping for food in the dining area}

{disgusting giant millipede. iPhone is there for size reference}

{owl we saw on our night drive}

{our game ranger loading his rifle before our afternoon bush walk}

{my favorites - rhinos!}

{enjoying sundowners on our evening game drive}

{giant thorns on the acacia (fever) tree}

{warthog family. do you see the babies?}

{waterbuck with the heart-shaped nose}

{weaver bird nests}

{male wildebeest marking his territory by rolling around to disperse his scent}

{wildebeest taking a break from rolling}

{zebras}

Love,
Jess & Mat

cape point & cape of good hope

Happy New Year!!!!!! Can you believe it’s 2014? 

The next stop on our tour is Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Both of these historic landmarks are at the tip of the Cape Peninsula and nicknamed the “Cape of Storms” for the notoriously horrible weather that routinely hits the area. 

Aside from the view, we went to Cape Point to see the old lighthouse, which was built in 1859 on Da Gama Peak (the summit of Cape Point). We parked at the bottom of the Peak and had a 45-minute uphill hike to get to the lighthouse. We were pretty tired by the time we made it to the top, but it was very cool to see the lighthouse

After the lighthouse, we hopped back in the car and drove about 10 minutes to the Cape of Good Hope. Many people think that the Cape of Good Hope is the southernmost point of Africa and also where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. But they’re wrong!! Cape Agulhas is actually the southernmost point. The Cape of Good Hope is famous for the thousands of shipwrecks that are just off the coast. The Flying Dutchman is the infamous ghost ship that is rumored to be seen on foggy days!!! I wish we had seen it! 

Here are a few photos from our day:

{look at the greens and blues of this water. gorgeous!}

{before our 45-minute uphill trek to the lighthouse}

{the lighthouse}

{my beautiful mom}

{charming little beach we spotted on the way up to see the lighthouse}

{view from the top of Da Gama Peak}

{thank God we did not see a cobra!!!!!!!!}

{baboon chilling on the roof of the gift shop}

{the 5 most important South African lighthouses}

{ostrich and her 3 babies. look closely for the babies}

Love,

Jess & Mat