However, the more likely reason for people having believed that ostriches bury their heads is because when they sense danger that they're unable to run away from they flop on the ground and keep their long necks and round heads flat on the ground as to (from a distance) look like an ant hill, or a perhaps rock. Kinda clever if you ask me. :)
Oh, and just for the record, there is no such thing as National Ostrich Day. ;)
The thorns on these trees are long and extremely sharp - I've been stabbed several times. The amazing thing though is that elephants pull the leaves off the tree to feed to their young, and themselves eat the pods and branches (reference). Wow! Imagine eating one of these branches - especially without thumbs! :D
Cocoa contains a substance called epicatechin, which appears to have huge health benefits for humans. Unfortunately cocoa (and chocolate) contain other substances called xanthines that are deadly to dogs and cats. Isn't it strange that a food that's perfectly good for humans is deadly to their most loved pets?
Many years ago, when in primary school, our teacher took us on an outing to the Simba factory. It was fascinating to watch how potatos got skinned, chopped up, and dumped into huge baths of oil. I however remember at the time being mildly disenchanted by the thought that the chips that I loved weren't lovely made by friendly ladies in nice kitchens, but by machines in dirty-looking factories. :(
Seriously though, I wouldn't go around encouraging that you drink the stuff - I guess we all know that it's not the healthiness thing to be drinking. I normally don't order Coke, but every so often I find that I do crave it - do you think that perhaps they plant subliminal messages or do you think the drink is just awfully addictive? *Sigh* The human condition...
Brenda unfortunately passed away 2004, at the age of 39, after suffering an asthma attack and cardio-respiratory arrest, and I recall at the time the mood in the country turned extremely solemn. I believe that even ex Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki visited Brenda while she was in hospital - which, I'm sure, speaks for how important she had been to the nation.
I'm sure that Brenda is still today still.
Alas, it's not so, I don't know of a single takeaway coffee shop in the area! Do you?
Friends of mine have installed a heating system consisting of fine black tubing that's carefully layed to cover several square meters of their roof. The sun heats the black tubing as the swimming pool pump forces water through the thin, warm, pipes. I believe that it's able to heat the pool by up to 10°C - which makes their winter-water about the same temperature as my pool's summer water!
Don't expect eating a Gatsby to be easy - it's large, very messy, yet surprisingly and delightfully tasty. :)
Since the weather in Cape Town currently seems like the kind one would expect to experience in England - you know, the wet, cold and rainy kind, I think it's perfect to write about Winchester Mansions (map), a local little gem where one can go to have the most awesome English tea with scones.
Besides for the service being good and the scones being tasty and warm, the venue is simply exquisite. One enters at the hotel's reception area and walks straight past the concierge's desk to this little courtyard, filled with trees, a large water feature, tables and chairs, and surrounded by the quaint-looking hotel rooms. It really is a beautiful setting for a quiet afternoon outing.
The courtyard is a little chilly on cooler days, so consider taking a light jersey or jacket along if you, like me, easily get cold.
Yes, that hot babe in the photo is indeed Kerry-Anne patiently waiting for me to finish taking photos. :D
I took this photo of the hotel's cigar lounge after visiting Bombay Brasserie. Besides for loving the classically opulent décor of the cigar lounge, what is awesome is that just outside there's a quiet bar area with comfortable chairs and couches that look perfect for enjoying a drink or perhaps cup of coffee after a night out in Cape Town.
It's not every day that you're invited to dine at as magnificent a restaurant as the Bombay Brasserie (map) in the elegant 5-star Taj Hotel. We've heard so much about the Taj that we were super-excited to finally have the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about.
Kerry-Anne and I arrived at the hotel, and in millionaire-style simply stopped at the hotel doors, left the car engine running, and handed the keys to the parking attendant. It was awesome. :D
Stepping into the building, I felt a sense of history coupled with modern style and opulence. Bombay Brasserie, shown in this photo, was spectacular, and the photo doesn't by any means do it justice. The light was soft and intimate and the furniture and décor looked like it had come right out of a rich estate in colonial India. The quiet music and super-comfy chairs and seemed to encourage us to enjoy a long evening of dinner and conversation. It was brilliant.
The waiters were simply impeccable, and even though the Taj is "only a 5-star hotel" the staff made it feel like Bombay Brasserie deserved a sixth. It was really the most attentive, yet not overbearing, service that we've ever had.
Now, I've said so much about everything else, but of course the real reason for visiting such a top restaurant is... the food. In a word, it was "WOW". I think Bombay Brasserie may well be the best Indian restaurant in Cape Town. While the food isn't cheap, it's not outrageously expensive either considering the quality, and the opulence of the experience. I guess you could expect to pay around R300 - 400 per person for a very filling three-course meal with drinks (assuming of course that you're not much into expensive wine or whiskey :) ).
I've saved another photo and a few more details for a follow-up post, so come and check back tomorrow!
I took the photo above only a couple of meters away from the previous one, so if you're familiar with Cape Town, I'm sure you'll work it out quickly.
If you do, please take a moment to leave a comment with your guess. :)
Compared to other cities, Cape Town doesn't have a huge number of skyscraper-type buildings, so especially for residents, this shouldn't be such a tough question. :)
I spent the day at a conference and slept over at the Lagoon Beach Hotel (to the left in this photo). While the room was perfectly good, in fact - pretty nice, I have to advise that if you ever find yourself staying over, make sure that you're as far away from the entrance to the underground parking as is possible. :)
The ride up the hill is really very beautiful at sunrise. From the road you're able to see the bright glow ascending in the distance over the Boland Mountain Range and the low-lying mist over the city and suburbs that slowly clears as the sun heats the air. The city looks so peaceful from the hill that it's hard to imagine that there is anything but friendly happy people waking up from their slumber.
Although the evening cools down substantially around this time of the year, we still have great weather. Skies are clear and there's not too much wind around - wind being something that Cape Town is well known for! I'm just hoping that this weather persists for two months more - I hate watching soccer in the rain. ;)
If you're super religious about reading my posts (and thank-you if you are :) ), you may recall that in April of 2008 I wrote one about Longmarket Street and how (many years ago) farmers used it to get their produce down to Greenmarket Square.
This photo is a different perspective on Longmarket Street. Can you imagine taking a horse cart filled with produce down to the market way below? Wow! :)
The most entertaining spectacle is watching William (our silly, fluffy, cat) try and catch the whole flock of fowl. He (William) really doesn't stand a snowball's chance... poor thing.
(You can watch the first 10 minutes of this South African classic here, on YouTube)
If you plan on visiting Cape Town and come from a cooler climate - like say the UK - then may I suggest if you decide on a day of waking about in the sun, do consider taking a hat along.
I've often seen tourists walking around glowing red from sunburn - like a ripe old tomato. While it's nice to absorb the warm rays of the sun, having it burn you could leave you with sun stroke (it's not fun, believe me), ruin your entire week, and even cause you to end up in hospital.
So friends, when playing in Africa respect the sun, it's especially harsh in this part of the world. Wear plenty of sun screen and (especially if you have fair skin) take a hat along if you plan on being out in the sun for longer than half an hour.
Visit this page on southafrica.info for a list of South African fishing-related links. If you're planning on being in the Cape Town area, take note of the links under the heading for our province, the Western Cape.
Don't you think it's amazing what these guys are able to do with wire, paper and glue? Isn't it awesome that instead of being depressed at not finding work and begging at the street corner, he decided to start making things that he could sell? While South Africa has many people who choose the easy road and rely on handouts, many times more have found ingenious ways of earning money.
Isn't it strange that in some hardship stimulates thought and ingenuity while in others it encourages defeat?
The restaurant has a light, bright and spacious feeling about it. The décor is attractive (don't you love the tiles on these pillars?), and on one side the patrons have a view of people walking in the beautiful open-air mall, and on the other side huge glass windows provide a view of lush green hills.
While not able to compete with views of Table Mountain, Signal Hill, and the ocean, it really is a beautiful setting - arguably one of the most beautiful in the area.
The service wasn't very good at all. Drink orders took very long and after our meal and the passing of far too much time I eventually stood up to find someone to ask for the bill. The manager also had a strange sarcastic and patronising attitude towards another patron who complained about a similar lack of service that we had observed.
Perhaps this was an off day - as I said, colleagues had raved about the restaurant. At this point I'm however completely unsure why.
About a week ago I suddenly had a craving for one of *those* ice creams, and eventually in a moment of desperation I drove to the local Spar convenience shop and bought one of those divine Magnum ice creams (the one dipped in white chocolate and with crushed almonds). In short, it was delicious. Occasional indulgences really are awesome. :)
Looking at this one I can almost feel the cool morning air and warmer rays of orange light. This sure was a beautiful morning at the Waterfront. Wouldn't you agree Beverley? (At the time she was shooting a similar photo slightly behind and to the right of me.) :)
In case you're curious - ostrich fillet is pretty tender, it looks a lot like beef, except that it's slightly darker in colour and you will likely never see fat on the meat. Ostrich is in fact one of the healthiest meats with a fat content lower than that of skinless chicken or turkey, and high in protein and iron.
All this said, while ostrich meat is fairly similar to beef, I have to say that I still prefer a good, thick, T-Bone steak - every time. :)