Crystal, arrows & china . . .

From Cape Town to Grootbos.Today we had a relaxing morning and breakfast at the Cape Grace, bid farewell to the fabulous staff and drove to the coast with our chatty driver from &Beyond, Oliver.

I must digress for a moment and mention the incredible chandeliers throughout the Cape Grace . . . festooned with china, antlers, brass cups, incredible shells and, my favorite, native arrows; I only hope my pictures do them some justice.

OK – back to our journey . . . it was a beautiful drive through farmlands (wheat and apples), rolling hills, and finally, the coast. We also rode alongside some very large pigs for awhile (my husband loves big pigs).

Once at the Forest Lodge at Grootbos, we met with an activity staff member and planned our stay, checked into our beautiful, private suite and enjoyed a nice, back to normal size, lunch. We then took off for a visit to an 80,000 year old cave. Unfortunately for us, the tide was coming in faster than anyone planned. After going down the 185 steps and climbing over some boulders and rocks, it was determined that if we went in we would likely be trapped by the water and not be able to get out for a long while. Since this did not seem like a good option, we went back up the 185 steps and went whale watching!

Walker Bay was full of whales – and some of them were really huge.  All Southern Right Whales, we were enchanted with their antics ~ adults and babies alike. You could hear them spraying water through their blow holes and splashing, hitting the water hard with their pectoral fins.

We have a lovely, very modern suite – set up like an apartment with separate living room, bedroom, two bathrooms and walls of glass windows overlooking the reserve and ocean. Dinner was a lovely multi-course, gourmet experience that included horseradish hummus, lentil & saffron soup, pork, and a white chocolate mousse for dessert. The meal was served with a special starter from the chef, palate cleanser sorbet between courses, and very unusual (but tasty) garnishes and sauces. Even my husband liked his tempura-style salmon and Thai soup.

Now, I am doing anything to avoid thinking about getting so close to Great White Sharks in the morning ~ we leave at 7!