Birds, Wine and Walls…
Days 52, 53 and 54
This is our last full week in Cape Town. Where the heck has the time gone? So it’s the week to catch up on all the little activities we told ourselves we were going to do while we are here. On the menu this week are birds, wine and walls.
Birds is the “World of Birds”. Before coming to Africa I never would have thought we’d go to a bird place. But we all fell in love with all the different colors and beauty of the wild birds here. After spending a couple hours winding our way through the “zoo” we decided it is the wild part about birds that is interesting. Birds in cages are not exciting. While there were some with gorgeous colors, they were all in cages. No excitement factor here. I suppose it’s not unlike seeing any animal in a zoo. Yes, you do see it, but it’s in a cage, where is the fun in that? Kruger spoiled us all. No hunt, no fun.
The best part about the “World of Birds” was the monkeys. Yep, squirrel monkeys. The zoo lets the people into this giant monkey cage twice a day for a few hours at a pop. They warn you not to take in any valuables or food. “Remove your sunglasses as monkeys have been known to steal” says the entry sign. Soon after entering the cage we all found out why.
As you walk into the cage a few brave little guys come jump on you. I was wearing the backpack, so they picked me first. Guess they figured out backpacks carry food and other yummies. The monkeys swarmed whoever had the backpack. After about 3 minutes in the cage, Alexa bagged it and waited outside.
The rest of us walked around the cage for a good long time. It was a blast. Each of us took turns with the backpack. Carl had a chance to get peed on by one monkey. Good thing we waterproofed the camera bag!
Our next short trip was wine, at the Groot Constantia vineyard. It is the oldest winery in the Cape. It opened in 1685. The place has gone through lots of ownership changes and now is owned by the state. They make some great wines there. We had a cellar tour where the kids got a chance to learn some chemistry. We learned the differences between French and American Oak barrels. We learned you only put wine in a barrel three times and then you have to pitch it. We learned wine is very particular about temperature, especially with the yeast involved. If it gets too hot, you get grape juice and not wine. Lots of good stuff. And all you thought we wouldn’t be able to teach the kids science.
The vineyard has great examples of Cape Dutch architecture. Cape Dutch is a very popular building style in the 1700-1800’s. The roofline gables all have special significance. Some are fancier than others. Groot Constantia has a beautiful pediment on the scale of the Parthenon on one of the buildings.
Our third stop of the week is City Rock. City Rock is an indoor rock climbing jungle. The place is massive. There are over 24 surfaces of wall to climb, all with a varying degree of difficulty. The hard ones are on the ceiling. Crazy. Picture a three- story wall with lots of multicolored bumps on it. You use the bumps to climb up the wall. Some bumps are big, others are very small, only sticking out an inch or so. It’s a blast.
It has been years since I’ve climbed, so we had to hire a belay helper for an hour. Nestis was a big help getting all our gear on and ensuring no one fell off the wall and smacked the ground. Handy guy to have around.
The kids did great. They both managed to get to the top of two walls, and halfway up on a third. They key for everyone was to not look down. Another key is to use your legs, not your arms. Carl did a great job scurrying up the wall like spiderman. He also looked pretty cute from below.
City Rock is a great place to spend a few hours on a rainy day. We all wish there was something similar at home…
Tags: Birds, Cape Town, Rock Climbing, South Africa, Travel, Wine
Administrator
Birds, booze and bumps: nature, science and P.E. Heck of a school for Alexa and Connor. I feel deprived!!