In case you're wondering, the lighthouse in the background is the one at Mouille Point. Take a look here at a previous post about it.

Keen-eyed-Kerry spotted this Dragon Fly sitting first on a discarded cigarette butt and later moving to this piece of grass. My colleagues found Grant and I amusing as we lay on the ground trying to get the perfect photo.

Visiting Spier in the late afternoon followed by dinner at Moyo is highly recommended if you're visiting Cape Town. Moyo is an open-air restaurant and while guests can dine in huge marquees, it's way cooler to sit up in the trees. Yes, I really mean up in the trees. We sat at a long table about 7 metres up in the air on a solidly-built platform. It's quite difficult to explain properly in this short post, but believe me that it's a really great experience and something you really should do if you're visiting.

Half-way through our absolutely huge meal, this man and a few friends came around to serenade us beating on drums, and wearing colourful clothes and ostrich-feather hats. Don't you think he has an awesome smile?

Oh, if you decide to visit Moyo, just be sure to reserve a table in the trees, I imagine that the best spots get booked up pretty quickly.

It must be wonderfully relaxing to take a leisurely stroll through the vines - although, by the way half of this poor fellow's shirt is pulled out and considering his flushed cheeks, I'd bet that his "best friend" took him for rather a brisk walk.

If you're planning on visiting the OBZfestival next year - I'd suggest the Saturday evening as being the best time to go - we were busy and only managed to get out to Observatory this afternoon when the fun was starting to tone down some. :(

If you consider yourself a computer geek, and want to join the in-crowd, then Google "GeekDinner" to find if meetings are held near you.

Disclaimer: Although this mountain-pass-like kloof is one of my weaknesses, I'm actually pretty well behaved on the road - promise - please don't flame me ;).

The story of a sad and lonely cone lying in the gutter across from Blaauberg Beach.

I took this photo at a small art gallery (The Exposure Gallery at The Old Biscuit Mill) a little while ago. The simplicity of the way the photos were hung drew attention to their absolute beauty.

The purpose of the race is to see which car (or bike) can get over the mountain pass the fastest. There was fortunately only one minor incident on the day in which a go-cart that entered the race flew off the side of the mountain. The driver fortunately abandoned his chariot just in time, suffering only minor injuries (or so we were told).

I think the eventual winner was either the black Chevy Lumina in the photo or a white Nissan Skyline. What I do know for sure is that both drivers absolutely can drive.

Thanks JP and Nadine for the awesome day out.

Our electricity supply has been a contentious issue for the last few years. Eskom, our national supplier, miscalculated the amount of electricity a booming economy like ours would require and now find themselves a little short on capacity. So, I guess I won't be buying that nice big air-conditioning unit :(.

Woodstock, South Africa, is an old suburb of Cape Town on the slopes of Devil's Peak and currently an urban development zone with property owners enjoying tax benefits for upgrading buildings. This street hasn't been upgraded yet, but give it ten years and perhaps we'll see the face of Woodstock somewhat differently. See Woodstock's community website here.

Ads like this weird me out a little. They're a bit like those ads for "wobble" parties that we see stuck on the sides of electricity boxes and walls around the suburbs. They have no address, no contact details, only a date. It's almost like they're saying, if you don't know where the party is, you're not cool enough anyway.

Click here to see Pretty birdie #1 posted on 5 November.

Peter, the bird, actually lives at Monkey Town in Somerset West.

According to the Afrikaans wikipedia page (take a look here) people in the surrounding area lodged a request with the governor, Lord Charles Somerset, that a local church be established. The request was granted and the cornerstone was laid in 1825, where after the first pastor was appointed in 1826.

I visited the church a year or two ago when a friend's baby boy was christened. It was an interesting experience being in a traditional Afrikaans church. As an English-speaking person I felt a little out of place, yet strangely not.

Places of worship #2
Places of worship #1

Disclaimer: I didn't see any mean children either, I'm just hypothesising. ;)

Kerry-Anne and I always agree to do our Christmas shopping way before December, but you'll always find us shopping on 23 December. It's really a terrible way to spend the festive season. I remember one year that we took a few hours off and just sat in this mall watching harried Christmas shoppers rush up and down. It left a lot to ponder over.

This wall of glass, to the left of Sanlam's reception area, has water pouring over it into a pool below... I'm not sure exactly what the reason is: perhaps it dampens voices and conversations in the reception area, perhaps it clears the air of pollutants, or perhaps it's just to create a talking point amongst visitors.

Apparently these Hamadryas baboons are among the most dangerous monkeys in the world.

I must apologise for this post being so delayed, I spent a few hours last night trying to get Blogger to work, but it just wasn't playing along.

Please indulge me if this photo looks a little too processed for your taste - it's my first attempt at HDR imaging, thanks to a couple of posts by Gaëlle at Grenoble Daily Photo.

Monkey Town, a monkey sanctuary, was started in December 2000 by owner Roseline Grobler, when she saved an abused Capuchin. Not enjoying the luxury of government grants, Monkey Town looks after more than 270 monkeys by means of funding derived from entrance fees and donations from businesses and the public.

When you're in the area, do stop over at Monkey Town - it really was a treat!

From the lines on the photo you may be fooled into thinking that this monkey was in a cage. It was in fact us visitors who were in a cage-like tunnel. The monkeys are out in the open, surrounded by a tall fence with low-powered electrical fencing - mainly to keep the little children away from the cute monkeys. ;)