Fun with Dinosaurs {The South African Museum Visit}

 

If you are a Cape Townian and you haven't visited The South African Museum, you are definitely missing out. This post is not about the museum though; rather to share some pictures of the very cool dinosaur exhibit. These photos are from two separate visits, in 2011 and 2013.

Don't these baby dinosaurs look so realistic? These are Massospondylus eggs hatching in central South Africa. This reconstruction is based on dinosaur egg fossils found in The Golden Gate Highlands National Park, South Africa.

Absolutely a fantastic outing for the family. After your visit, take a stroll through the Company's Garden and feed the squirrels and pigeons. 

Till next time, happy exploring.

Le Bonheur Crocodile Farm {and a craft}

 

Before November is over and out, I want to share this absolutely awesome family outing we went on a couple of months back. The Le Bonheur Crocodile Farm must be one of the Cape's best kept secrets. 

If you haven't been, you should go :). 

The venue is so pretty - they offer weddings and birthday parties. You can order a picnic basket, or like us, simply have lunch at the restaurant, where you will find Croc pie and Croc springrolls on the menu!

We went on the guided crocodile pond tour and learnt so much about the African Nile Crocodile. On tour you even get to touch a baby croc. The kids did this with ease. I, on the other hand, had the hibbie jibbies and couldn't wait to hand the croc back. (There's nothing cute about a baby crocodile!)

The pond tour was highly informative. Something we learnt was that one of the differences between an alligator and a crocodile, is that the crocodile's teeth are more visible than the alligators, when his jaw is closed.

 Another nice activity offered is catch and release fishing in the dam. All in all a super outing and very reasonably priced. 

Our outing was followed by a fun activity and craft. We made some simple crocodiles with pegs. Little One painted and I glued on teeth and eyes. Next time, I'd make the teeth smaller, as they got all bent when we opened the croc's mouth. 

 For Little World Play, we recreated the croc pond tour with blue rice, our peg crocs and duplo people. 

Till next time - Happy playing.

Green Point Park Outing

 

It's the wonderful three week Winter break in South Africa at the moment and of course parents all over are wondering where to go and what to do with their young folk. Well last Sunday we took our first visit to the Green Point Park, right next to the Cape Town Stadium, which was built for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. 

I can't believe it's taken us so long to visit - the park is great. It has space, loads of it, and there's lots to explore - the gardens, the play park, an exercise park, a labyrinth, the Biodiversity garden and more. Big One took his skateboard and Little One his bike and they had freedom to safely skate and ride around. The park also has beautiful views of the Stadium, Signal Hill and surrounds and at the one corner, the Mouille Point lighthouse.

Entrance is free and you can take a picnic along and spend the day if you like. If you haven't been, it's a super outing that definitely won't break the bank.

Air Show

A nice way to spend an afternoon is to have your own "Air Show".  The boys (well Big One really) made a whole fleet of aeroplanes and they put on an Air Show for me and the Dad. We then had to rate each plane, based on design, flight etc. The winner was surprisingly this strange round-shaped plane...

Want to see a real Air Show? Last year August we took a visit to the Stellenbosch Flying Club,  where we watched small aeroplanes taking off and landing in the most beautiful setting. With snow-capped mountains in the far distance, we listened to air traffic control and had a yummy meal while doing it. It was  a super way to spend an afternoon.

 

Then more recently we took our US cousins to the airport (Cape Town International) and we spent the morning watching the aeroplanes arrive and depart - exciting stuff! I can highly recommend both of these outings if you have some aeroplane fans in your home.

Cool dude Little One watching an aeroplane being refueled.

Till next time...

West Coast National Park

It's become somewhat of an annual ritual for us and family friends to set out for the hour's drive to the West Coast National Park this time of year.

  The park offers beaches with crazy-crazy waves crashing against the rocks, a breathtaking lagoon, beautiful flora (particularly during August and September), fauna (including game), bird and whale watching, and to top it all...a shipwreck! We are also always "lucky" enough to see snakes when we go. Last year we saw some pufadders up close and personal, baking in the heat on the road, and this year a cobra crossed our paths...or at least our motor vehicle's path (thank goodness!).

If you are a Cape Townian, this is definitely a day out to put on your calender. To see what's on offer visit the South African National Parks website, and for some more info and pictures, including the shipwreck of the "Pantalis a Lemos", you can pop in  here and here. Going to see the wreck is definitely on my to do list when the children are older.

On our way home we were also treated to six giraffe roaming around on one of the game farms we passed. It can be a treat to live in Africa! :)

PS. I have some more Doctor Doctor fun coming up this week...stay tuned!

Waterford Estate

As Cape Townians we are blessed to be surrounded by the most beautiful (wine) farms all just a short drive away. We have many wine routes to choose from and a weekend can easily be spent driving around the most exquisite country side and popping into farms as one pleases. 

On a Saturday afternoon in July we had family visiting from the States and we visited the very beautiful Waterford Estate situated in the Blaauwklippen (blue stone) valley. We spent the afternoon enjoying a special tasting and some of the wines were accompanied by chocolate, which made for a unique experience. The children played in the huge courtyard, while we chatted around a big country table and learned more about the wines produced on the farm. It was wonderful to be in such beautiful surroundings and I can highly recommend it as a family outing. Having said that, the farm does not have a restaurant, so be sure to pack some snacks if you plan to stay for awhile.

     

   (so love this pic of Big One)

Outings like these make me wonder why we ever choose to stay at home on a sunny weekend day. There's something extraordinary about being surrounded by such natural beauty!

Be sure to visit the website (link above) to view fantastic photographs of the estate and read more about what they have to offer.

Happy Birthday Big One!!

Oh dear, where has the time gone? Sorry, I am a little behind in posting, but it's been rather busy around here. Tomorrow it's back to school after an AMAZING 6 week Summer break! So much prep seems to go into this big day...sorting uniforms, organizing stationery, attaching name tags to just about everything! And, to add to the busyness, a rather important person also turned 9 this past weekend!

My little boy is 9...where did the time go?

So, how did we spend this special day? Well with Granny in tow, we went off to Ratanga Junction...Cape Town's very own theme park :). There really is something for everybody and I think it's well worth the admission fee.

  That's Dad and Big One right in front! This rollercoaster (Bushwhacker) was definitely the favourite ride of the day. I think Big One did it about 8 times :)

Little One and Granny. Little One didn't want to get off this one!

The Lady Bugs Ferris Wheel.

We all loved the boat ride.

 Having fun on the Rats and Cats bumper cars.

Big One you are our STAR!! You truly have a beautiful way about you...you make us laugh and you astound us with your creativity and interesting perspective on life. Thank you for being such a blessing. We love you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

To see and read more about Ratanga, click here.

A visit to the Aquarium

We had a WONDERFUL outing to the Two Ocean's Aquarium in August. (I know, I'm a bit behind with posting :)) I thought at the time that Little One was ready to enjoy the experience and I was right. Fun was had by all...even Daddy. I also had a field day with all the photo opportunities and I think I frustrated my family a little as I was always trailing behind.

So here are some pictures of our outing. 

I just loved the tank  with the clownfish. You can crawl in at the bottom (it was a tight squeeze!) and sit in the middle of it. This was a big hit with both children (and me!). I was so focused on the clownfish, that I didn't even notice the hermit crab until I looked at the pictures. Can you spot him?

This is one of my favourite pictures of the day. The sea anemones. Aren't the colours just amazing?

This is one of the smaller shark tanks. I know that the pictures are a little dark, but I was determined to not use my flash at all.

This is the biggest tank and there are huge sharks and a giant loggerhead turtle swimming around in it. I haven't put in a photograph, but there is a semi-tunnel, which is a real treat to walk through.

 Just a little ol' turtle.

A friendly seagull that was after any scraps from lunch.

While we were there we also caught a terrific puppet show, saw sea horses, giant spider crabs, jellyfish, rays...and so much more. If you are ever in Cape Town, this is wonderful outing for the whole family.

 

To visit the aquarium website, click here.

(PS. My only gripe with the day, was my concern about lack of railings in the pelican exhibit. There is a boardwalk and fairly deep water on one side of it. Little One headed straight for the edge, and I strongly feel that there needs to be some kind of railing or sign warning parents of the danger. I emailed the aquarium and voiced my concern about the matter. They have responded and said that they would consider both options and I'm waiting to hear from them for further news in this regard.)