Mar 2009

Today we had scheduled a day trip with Coastal Adventures.

Lucky for us we found the pick up spot and before long were headed to a lookout on the cliffs over Howth.

A photo stop was made with views of the lighthouse.

Howth harbor was the next stop – we were promised seals but I didn’t see anything but boats and seagulls.

It was still nice to be out of the city and near the ocean.

From here you can see the Irish eye which our guide explains is a small island that is usually the first thing people see when they fly in to town.

After the Harbor we are taken to Malahide castle for lunch and a tour. The castle area has a big park with flowers and gorgeous trees.

The castle tour took us thru several rooms with gorgeous wall carvings and medieval furniture. It was owned for 800 years by the Talbot family.

During the battle of the boyne all 14 in the family died after breakfast that day.

Beautiful daffodils in park near castle.


Trees on outskirts of park.
This was a lead into our visit to the Battle of the Boyne. This is one of the hugest battles in the history of Ireland. We had a brief walk on the battlefield and a movie, light show and walk around the exhibits.

We were back in town by 1630 and decided to see Marley and Me at the movies. If forgot this was a book about a dog and his family. OF course the movie doesn’t end well for the dog and I was streaming tears. Not really my goal for the movies.
Dinner was at a…..pub again! O’Shea’s was only a block away from our room and served decent enough food. By the time we left they had a band playing Irish music. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay long because we had to be at the airport very early.

Another plus with this bed and breakfast is the breakfast!! Afterwards we headed down by the pier and passed a monument to the immigrants during the potato famine.

Also along with water was a ship that was nicknamed a coffin ship because so many of the immigrants died. There was not enough food on the ship and hygiene was horrible.

Our route to Trinity college went by lots of cute doors which are famous in dublin.

The story goes that a drunken husband came home and went in the wrong door (back then they were all black). He went to bed with the wrong with whose husband came home and shot him. From then on the women painted their doors a different color so their drunk spouses could find the way home.

The book of Kells was inside the library of Trinity college and displays on 4 pages. The designs by the monks are gorgeous and its incredible how long it would take to do that on calf skin.

After checking out the book we walked around the grounds and came across a rugby game. Supposedly it was Trinity vs. a Paris school. It was fun to see the game up close and learn something about Irish sports.


Daffodils along our walk.

Trinity college
Later lunch was at the Boxty house. Boxties are pancakes with meats rolled inside with gravy. I had chicken and Curt had gaelic. They were expensive but awesome.

Temple Bar area.
Next was a walk past the Ha’Penny bridge (named because it used to cost half a penny to get across).

We walked along the River Liffy to the Guinness Storehouse.

The first few floors teach you about the brewing process and then ends with a beer at the Gravity bar on the 7th floor.

The view over Dublin is beautiful but of course the bar on the Saturday before St. Patricks day is very crowded.

The bar tenders make your guiness with a clover on top.

Unfortunately no sporting events were happening in Dublin this weekend but Ireland vs. Scotland was on tv in the pubs. We scored a table at a pub and had fish and chips which we watched Ireland go for the win.
A pub crawl was on the schedule next but where the limit is 50 people there were about 300 +. Everyone could not even get in the first pub so we gave up that idea and hit another one by ourselves.

Today is the day I have been dreading – I leave the 20’s and enter the 30’s. For most of today we were traveling to Dublin, Ireland. We got a Ryan Air flight from Frankfurt Hahn and arrived in Dublin airport by 1900. A short bus ride later we arrived at our bed and breakfast, The Townhouse. The place was adorable and very irish with green walls and black carpet with huge roses.
O’Connell Street is one of the main roads in Dublin and that’s where we headed for dinner at Flannagans. I had pizza and french fries to celebrate my birthday The place was already crazy for St. Patricks day and everyone was wearing green or St. Patricks day costumes.

Me on the Ha' Penny Bridge.

Elephants are the subject of the morning for us at Kwa Madwala Park where they do an interaction and ride.

The park has a boy and girl elephant that were taken from a reserve before they were killed. Their previous home had too many elephants so they were to be killed.

Instead they were trained and live out their lives making customers like us ecstatic. During the night they stay in cages like this one it is resting its leg on.

The guides showed us their keen sense of smell by having us put a shoe or hat in front of the elephant and having her return the items to the right person. The boy showed off his ability to play soccer. The guides had to teach fun games to the elephant while at the same time not getting hurt. Both elephants were teenagers so like to rough house.

THis position is not comfortable for the elephant but it is how the guides get on.

They had one of the elephants lay down so we could see their feet, touch their skin and see the mammary gland.


The animals are trained by giving them food pellets which is like candy for them. The elephants were constantly putting their trunk back for another snack.

THey only have molars to chew their food. THe guides got them to open their mouth so we could see.

Elephant ears have a lot of vasculature because it is their cooling system. They flap the ears to cool the blood.

We got to take a photo with the elephant posing.

When the little show was finished we each got on our elephant and took a ride thru the bush.

The driver guides them by kicking with their heels and a small hooked stick that pulls their skin in the correct direction. Even though the skin feels like a rock it is very sensitive.

The animals are so graceful and it is really not a bumpy ride. It has happened where people fall off which is apparently why we wear the bike helmets.

Next up is breakfast with a cultural interaction with the Swazi people at Matsamo Cultural village. The turn for their area was at the very border of Swaziland. Breakfast was continental with sausage, eggs, pap (ground corn), fruit, etc.

This dance is typical of Swazi people.
After breakfast we were shown around a traditional village where the man has two wives and 25 kids. The guides showed us some of the clothing and the inside of one of their huts.
After the tour was dancing and music. The Swazi people that performed looked as if they were having great fun. The dances included a lot of kicking their legs up past their head and stomping their feet down.

This guy especially enjoyed his part in the show.

THis drummer was taking his job seriously.

The grandfather and grandson.
Of course at the end Genie and I had to go on stage to dance with them which ended up being a good time. It was a fabulous experience. We needed a soda afterwards and just relaxed. The pond by the breakfast location had a crocodile. we were very close so I was able to get his eyes....

...teeth...

and hands....


My expression during the entire trip.

We went on one more drive around Marloth park and found a few elephants to watch. The trip turned out to be a life changing event and the best trip I have ever taken. Thanks to Genie and Andre Retief for a great time.

Back at the lodge we had some time to pack and organize photos before leaving tomorrow

One last banded mongoose showed up at their house for photos.
We are planning to check out some houses tomorrow before heading to the airport.

Balloons Over Africa wanted us at their site to start the balloon ride at 0500 so it was another early day. It was possible to watch the balloon being set up while having tea and coffee. After a brief safety lesson we get in and the balloon lifts off.

The huge balloon is incredible graceful and despite feeling barely any wind it moved quickly. The birds eye view of the surroundings was magnificent while the sun was coming up.

As the balloon came over the hills it was possible to see the shadow of the balloon and get great photos.

Our expectations were for it to be chilly but it was actually quite warm with the hot air blowing.

Landing was in a nature preserve not far from ostrich, wildebeest, giraffe, and zebras. As the balloon was being repacked the passengers had champagne and dried bananas. Shortly after we were shuttled off to another lodge for a wonderful breakfast of bacon and eggs.

The place was gorgeous with flowers and palm trees.

Curt and I made a quick stop at Gecko lodge to change into our four wheel riding clothes and check out of the hotel. A quick trip into Hazyview rewarded us with some beautiful zebra lamps. They are made of strips of bamboo which is very light weight. The white in the zebra stripes is made from crushed ostrich eggs.
The next activity was to be an hour ride on four wheelers.

It was great fun to be guided thru the macadamia tree field and along streams in the forested areas. The course was difficult with lots of twists and turns but worth the effort.

The garden area also had beautiful flowers

A short drive later landed us in Graskop for lunch. The Harry’s pancake house restaurant served wonderful crepe like pancakes with fruit and ice cream folded in the center. Cinnamon and sugar topped it all off. Another 1.5 hours was spent enjoying the curio shops before driving home.

When we got home and went around the corner of the house this kudu bull was their looking at us.

He is nicknamed Mr. Beautiful and Genie fed him some carrots so we could see his "unicorn" up close.
Dinner at their house seemed to be better than any restaurant we ate in and tonight was no different. Rice topped with sweet and sour pork and pineapple with vegetables and chocolate ice cream. Every night I go to bed here stuffed to the gills.