Monday 19th/Tuesday 20th

Another sunny morning in Cape Town! We headed out for breakfast and ended up in Wimpy in Tyger Valley! Chris loves Wimpy so we all sat and had breakfast before heading out to the Ostrich Farm. Our tour guide was a guy called Victor who showed us around the museum of skeletons and ostrich eggs. It was very interesting learning about these birds - a lot different to my chickens back home! I didn't realise how big these birds are- some reaching nearly 2m tall!

After the museum, we got to go out onto the farm. We saw baby ostrich that were no more than a few hours old - the best way to describe them are hedgehogs on 2 legs! The other ostriches were varied in age but all very big! The ones that are 6-7 months old that are twice the size of me! I got to feed one of the ostrich with corn out my hand. They don't peck, they pick! My chickens hurt when they eat out your hand but with the ostrich you couldn't feel a thing. When Chris last visited this ostrich farm around 10 years ago he got to stand on an ostrich egg, as they can take weight to 120kgs! So it was inevitable that he was asked to stand on the same eggs aged 25! I also got to stand on them and they didn't break (surprise surprise I hear mum say!). We walked round to see a tortoise enclosure with a couple of crocs thrown in for good measure! We were then introduced to Tom Thumb who holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest ostrich! He was very placid and tame; I could've taken him home with me!

We then came to an enclosure with a very big ostrich in - and this one we got to sit on! I was a little reluctant at first so Helen jumped on! I then got on, then Chris had a go. So I can now say I've sat on an ostrich!! We sat and had lunch in the restaurant area but I couldn't quite bring myself to eat an ostrich sandwich……

As we had spent most of the day at the ostrich farm, we decided to leave Boulders Beach where the the penguins are until we are back in Cape Town next week. Later in the evening Chris and I met up with one of his old school friends for a few drinks. It was interesting listening to their old stories about when they were little, and what they used to get up to. They also milled over prices of stuff over here compared to back in the UK. Being a girl I just nodded and smiled! After Ryan had gone we stayed and had a tapas feast by the waterfront (calamari count 3)- it was nice to be on our own and chill out for an evening. We then headed back to the apartment to find it still empty, so we snuggled down with some zoo biscuits (see picture!) and coffee whilst watching The Big Bang Theory on the laptop. A good evening was had by all!

Tuesday morning we were up early as we had a plane to catch! We were flying from Cape Town to Durban (about 2 hours) to visit the family. The thought of another flight got me a little worked up but once we were on the plane and up in the air, the flight was over before it started. Long haul flights have that one bonus - it makes the shorter ones go very quickly! Flying into Durban it was obvious that the weather is different as much of the countryside is green. Durban has a more tropical weather pattern - high and humid temperatures with a hot rain shower during the afternoon then muggy evenings. When we stepped off the plane, the heat slapped you in the face! We were greeted at the airport by Stephanie & Peter - Helen's sister. They drove us to their place in Mount Edgecombe where we had lunch and a game of pool (I won by default!). After sorting our bags and packing our car (much smaller than the hire care we've been used to ha ha) we headed up to Botha's Hill to meet Chris' grandparents, Alan & Norma. Chris' Gran is very funny and it's nice to find someone who understands my British humour! (they are originally from the UK so I can also understand their accent!). They have a HUGE dog called Aaron - it's like being in Twilight stood next to Sam the black wolf!! I could ride this dog! We sat and had dinner with the grandparents and heard lots of stories when Chris & Tim were small. It was nice to see Chris with his Gran; he even did the washing up! I had to explain to his Gran that he doesn't do this at home!

After a long day, we settled down for bed, listening to the chimes of the old grandfather clock…… every 15 minutes and then on the hour! You get the picture…!