vermox

Deworming is a fact of life here in South Africa. Taking a deworming pill every 6 months or so is recommended. Mat and I recently dewormed by taking a pill called Vermox. Luckily we did not have any side effects! Ahhh, the joys of living in Africa…

Love,

Jess & Mat

rhino update

1004.

1004 rhinos were poached in South Africa last year. That is nearly 3 per day! 343 poachers were arrested.

86.

86 rhinos were poached in South Africa in January. Yep, 86 in one month. 21 poachers have been arrested.

You might remember from my last rhino post that the illegal trade of their horns fuels poaching. Asian countries, primarily China and Vietnam, believe the horn has medicinal properties (i.e. a hangover cure) and pay a very high price to get the horns. However, the horns have no medicinal value and are actually similar to human fingernails. Just think: rhinos could be wiped out because of a ficticious hangover cure. So, so sad. The key to conservation is to decrease demand through education - by spreading the word that the rhino horn does not cure anything.

Have you seen this PSA that Price William, David Beckham and Yao Ming made? Note: this YouTube video link might not work on your iPhones and iPads because you need Flash, but it will on a normal computer. You can also search it on YouTube.

If you are interested in adopting a rhino or donating to the Save the Rhino conservation effort, here is a link to help you get started. DO IT!!!!!!  Save the Rhino donation link

Love,

Jess & Mat

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

Jackass Penguins

{you cannot imagine how excited I was when I saw this sign!}

Another highlight of the trip was seeing the insanely cute Jackass penguins at Boulders Beach. Wait, what? Jackass? Yes!! Well, because of their donkey-like braying they were previously named the Jackass penguin. Since several South American penguins make the same sound, they have (unfortunately) been renamed African penguins. They are the only type of penguins found in Africa.

Here are some fun facts about penguins:

-  They can stay submerged for up to 2 minutes. That's a long time for such a small animal

-  The African (Jackass) penguin is endangered

-  Their black and white coloring is not only stylish but also camouflage. White is for underwater predators looking up and black is for predators looking down

-  They are a monogamous and have lifetime partners! Awwwwww!

Next time we visit the penguins, we will go to Foxy Beach instead of Boulders Beach. Rumor has it you can get within a few meters of them. I will probably pass out from cuteness overload.

{my penguin pose. yep, nailed it.}

{first glimpse at penguins. look for the tiny black dots on far left and right rocks}

{closer to the penguins}

{penguins in the lower left corner of photo}

{some penguins, like this guy in the lower left, were still molting}

{catching some rays and a power nap}

{view of Simons Town, across the bay}

How cute are the penguins?!?! We cannot wait to see them again in February when we go back to Cape Town with Dad and Annie. Yay!!!

Love,

Jess & Mat

table mountain

The next stop on your virtual tour of the Western Cape is Cape Town…

Even though we did not want to leave Stellenbosch, we packed our things and headed to Cape Town. We stayed at the Cape Royale hotel near the Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront. The V&A Waterfront is a touristy area with lots of shops, restaurants, and endless entertainment. It is also a harbor and working wharf so there is always something to watch. Next time, however, I would prefer to stay on one of the beaches because they are absolutely gorgeous.

{actively restoring a fishing boat}

On our first day, we decided to take the hop-on-hop-off red bus for an easy way to get acquainted with the city. We saw some cool places but we were really looking forward to one stop in particular: Table Mountain (and Lion’s Head).

You may not remember off the top of your head, but you’ve definitely seen a photo of Table Mountain. It’s one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature! It is a flat-topped mountain that overlooks Cape Town.

Here are our obligatory tourist photos of Table Mountain from the Waterfront...

Going to the top of Table Mountain is arguably the #1 activity to do while in Cape Town. You can hike (if you’re crazy) OR take a cable car (if you’re lazy) to the top of the mountain and get an unparalleled view of the city.  Can you guess which option we chose?! Either way, once you get to the top it truly is spectacular. I could have easily spent half a day up there taking in the view while sipping a glass of vino.

Here are some pics from our Table Mountain adventure.

{cable car, our preferred way to get to the top}

{look closely and you will see the 2 cable cars}

{view of coastal highway}

{daredevils preparing to repel down Table Mountain}

{dassies (aka rock rabbits) gave us an X-rated show}

{high winds create huge whirlpools in the ocean}

{Lion's Head}

{Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned}

{Cape Town Stadium, built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup}

Love,

Jess & Mat