This photo shows international football icon Pelé coming onto the field with Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon. Though Pelé never actually played (he is 67 after all) he started the match, kicking the ball into play.

Oh, after 90 minutes the game ended 3 all :).

Places of Worship #1

The photo is a bit deceptive - the toboggan ride is much longer and cooler than I've shown here. The cart is pulled (about 200 metres I think) to the top of a wonderfully green hill by means of a slick cable and pulley system. Once at the top the high-speed winding descent starts. It took one or two twists and turns before I had enough faith in the cart to release the brake fully - from then on it was "balls to the wall". :o

Kerry-Anne and I will find a gap to go again soon, so watch this spot for a photo or two more from Cool Runnings.

Oh, the website defaults to Afrikaans if you play the toboggan simulator game, so if you can't read Afrikaans... simply go back to the homepage and click "Enter Site" after which "English" will be given as an option.

War is never good - people tell me that it's sometimes a necessary evil. I've had the privilege of not having to make that decision, so I don't know; but hats off to all who have died defending those who could not defend themselves.

This 14.5-inch Howitzer can be found above the Company Gardens in Cape Town. It was first dedicated in 1926 to the soldiers who died in France in the First World War and later, in 1970, to soldiers who died in both World Wars.

This memorial reminded me of the Tomb of an Unknown Soldier that we saw in Paris, below the Arc de Triomphe.

"Chickdren" just sounds cuter than "Egyptian Goslings" :)

Click on the picture and view the larger version. What do you imagine he was thinking?

The man in this photo sat for ages, looking at passers-by and scribbling on the paper. We're not quite sure what he was writing or drawing, but he appeared deep in thought.

To give you a point of reference, this photo was taken from Signal Hill, facing Table Bay. Table Bay Harbour and the Cape Town Waterfront are just out of this shot, off to the right. Isn't this just the perfect location for a stadium?

The atmosphere around the World Cup is going to be awesome, so if you have the money to travel and if you love football, join us! Be sure to book your place early - accommodation will be booked up quickly and tickets will be sold out before you have a chance to reach for your wallet ;).

Like any boy should, I love bikes - but, they can be really annoying at times, disturbing our quiet suburb by either buzzing backwards and forwards (sounding much like very really loud lawnmowers) or screaming down the road with 1000 cubes of brute force.

I'm torn between loving and hating them.

Oh, "Little Stream" was named such because of the little stream that runs across the property. I doubt that I'll forget the day that Kerry-Anne crossed over the stream's wooden bridge in her wedding dress. She was perfectly angelic.

It happened a few years ago. The day started out as a clear blue Saturday morning (much like it was today, actually). We joined Mark (a friend of ours) and a few others for a walk on the slopes of Table Mountain. We started walking the Pipe Track from Kloofnek Road, heading around to Camps Bay side.

Mark developed a need to go over the mountain - ascending from Camps Bay side and descending on the Cable Station side of the mountain. Kerry-Anne and I (the more sensible ones) voiced our concern at the oncoming clouds, and the distant rumble of thunder.

For reasons unknown to us now, we decided not to split from the group and instead to climb the mountain. About 100 metres from the summit we realised that the lightning (which had been moving in ever closer over the sea) was actually striking the mountain - not far from us either. We felt how the air became charged with electricity, and could smell the sulphur. At that point, everyone knew that it had probably not been a wise decision to climb the mountain. There was absolutely nowhere to take shelter; by then we were so close to the top that it was easier to just climb to the summit and descend the other side.

It was raining, and the top of the mountain was covered in cloud. The cable station was closed - naturally. We lost our way a few times on top of the mountain (it's not quite as flat as it looks in photos), but eventually found the pathway again. Our hike down the mountain was rather speedier than usual, and as I recall, the weather cleared pretty quickly as we descended.

Thank-you Mark for an unforgettable tale.

And tourists, this is a prime example of what NOT to do. Rather take the cable-car. :)

Oranjezicht, a Dutch word meaning "View of Orange", lies at the foot of Table Mountain, where property prices are at a premium. On pristine days like today the suburb boasts superb views of Cape Town and Table Bay.

The cable-way underwent a complete upgrade in 1997. The first time I took a ride in the new cable-car was a few years ago when Kerry-Anne and I joined a few friends to hike up the mountain. By the time we reached the summit it was getting later in the day and some of our party didn't feel up to the climb down. We bought one-way tickets down the mountain. The ride down was much quicker than the climb up! The 360-degree views from the rotating cable car were awesome.

We have other more exciting stories about climbing the mountain in the rain and lightning... but let's leave that for another day, shall we?

Normally only slightly more than a stream, the rain has coaxed this waterfall to pound the rocks below. I keep wondering if the apartments to the left of the waterfall have those noise-reducing windows. Can you imagine trying to sleep with the sound of rushing water? I'd be too scared to drink anything at least six hours before bed time.

Fortunately a large LP gas heater was in close proximity and the restaurant had kindly left a few small blankets on our chairs... for the ladies naturally - us guys are far too tough for blankets ;). Even though the restaurant sported this classical Coca Cola advert nobody would be drinking Coke that night.

The process was awesome to watch - especially in the notoriously windy and wet Cape Town weather. Can you imagine standing on the edge of this crane like the two men in the photo were doing? Even though I could see that they were wearing harnesses - I'm not sure that it's something I would do in windy Cape Town ;).

As you can see, the orange crane is assembled using a portable crane. I tracked the portable crane's owner down by virtue of their name printed on the rig. Take a peek at the gallery on Target Crane's website - they have some truly remarkable vehicles.

Click on the photo if you'd like to see a larger version.

Building of new homes seems to have increased several-fold in the past few years. There's a continuous supply of new houses springing up where ever we look. As one gets closer to the city of Cape Town, the frequency of small, new homes increases dramatically.

Houses in these new areas look very similar and are smaller and more closely packed together. It's very refreshing when we get out into the country and see homes like these - though the building may be run down, the people who live in them live in an area far more beautiful than most.

In doing some writing work for the farm, Kerry-Anne's learned that the land was originally part of the land given to Oloff Bergh by Simon van der Stel, first Governor of the Cape of Good Hope in 1679 and the person after whom the town of Stellenbosch is named.

The Tygerberg Model Flying Club takes the few who can afford it closer to this dream. You'll find this club outside the town of Durbanville on the road to Klipheuwel and Malmesbury in the middle of a huge open field - and if you happen to be in the Cape Town area on 18 November, you'll find the sky full of little model aircraft at their annual airshow - I'll make sure that I'm there!

Oh, did you notice the windsock to the left of the building? Does anyone know what the origin of the windsock is? According to Wikipedia it was a Chinese/Japanese symbol for good luck and longevity.

The day was rather hazy and Table Mountain was sticking out from under a layer of low-lying clouds, so I'd forgive you for not finding it among all the other mountains. It's easy to forget how many mountains and hills are in the Cape Town and surrounding areas; but when I get the opportunity to view the landscape from a high point, I find it always strikes me how beautiful our country really is.

To get a closer shot would have entailed climbing out of the car, but with the rest of the troop in close proximity... I thought it not a good idea. However cute and human-like they may often seem it's wise to remain mindful that these beasts truly are beasts (and ones with huge fangs at that!).

The poster that's being attached to the building by the Men in Red is an Afrikaans ad for one of our mobile phone networks, and translated it reads "get the best broadband for your Rand". It must be fun doing this kind of work, being out in the fresh air above such a beautiful city, abseiling, protecting the world from alien invasion [if you look carefully you'll see that Will Smith is the bloke at the left top corner ;)].