Saturday 3rd July (continued): when I got back from the shark trip I called in at the shark shop to see Karyn and to pay all my bills and arranged to go out with her later that night. Tried to go to the internet cafe to update my blog, but their connection wasn't working (which explains why I'm trying to remember 2 weeks later what I was doing on 3rd July...). Made my way back to the apartment via Rectory Lane, but took a different set of steps from there, which turned out to be the Capstan steps - finally, HURRAAAHHHHHH! I bumped into some people coming down them (nobody EVER seemed to be walking up, only me) and asked them where they came out at the top. They gave me a bit of a vague look and pointed to another set of steps (the ones I'd taken yesterday) and said "but they're better". I don't know what constitutes "better" steps, but I'd already walked up them yesterday and I don't think the people appreciated the mission I was on... so mission accomplished, I found the mystery steps. They do exist. And now I can sleep at night. Anyway, Karyn picked me up, as planned, at 5pm and we drove back to her house in Fishhoek, just along the coast. I met Karyn's gorgeous 15 year old twin daughters and her lovely little boy, Connor, and we dropped the girls off at a party and took Connor with us to the Southern Right, a pub/restaurant along the coast. We met some of the locals in there and had a good laugh with them - they were mainly taking the micky out of the english and their sporting prowess, but it was funny (I just went off in private and cried afterwards). They were asking me about the sights I'd seen since being in South Africa and I mentioned that I hadn't 'done' the wineries yet, but was heading home on Monday. Karyn suggested hiring a driver tomorrow (Sunday) and driving over that way for some wine-tasting, which sounded like a great idea. With that, Mick jumped in, said "don't worry about a driver, I'll take you there, just pay the petrol and buy me lunch". It's a date. So that's what we did. That's just so typical of the South African people I've met on my trip, they'll go out of their way every time. But I haven't got to Sunday yet... I'll finish off Saturday night first. So Poenas, Chanty and Matt (the crew from the shark trip) came to join us at the Southern Right and we all sat down for dinner while we watched the football (Spain v Paraguay I think - did they play each other?!). Then Poenas ran us all home in his car which was falling apart, dropping off Chanty and Matt first and picking up some of his mum's home-made samosas for me! Bless. I was really sad to say goodbye to all of them - they'd all made the shark trip a fantastic experience for me and I loved every minute of it.
Sunday 4th July: Karyn, Connor and Mike picked me up at 10am, as planned, and we all headed off to Stellenbosch in the wine region. Bliss! Our first stop was Fairview in Paarl (I think), which was Mike's favourite winery. Mike suggested Karyn & I went for the full blown wine- and cheese-tasting session while he amused Connor by showing him around the grounds. Had a lovely time with Karyn and must've tasted about 12 different wines and 10 different cheeses while we were sat there. The sommelier sat us at a table and just brought us the different wines, told us a bit about them (which went in one ear and out the other after the first 2!) and left us to it. The next thing we knew, Mike and Connor were hovvering outside the door and we'd been in there for 2 hours, hahahaaaaaaaaa! I know Mike drove us to a couple of other wineries afterwards, but I have no recollection of their names, what I drank or where they were - think I tried some sparkling wines somewhere along the line, but can't remember what they were like! We drove back to Simon's Town in the sunshine, listening to 60s tracks on the radio, and stopped off at a cheetah sanctuary for Connor. Had a lovely day - a perfect way to spend my last day in SA. Unfortunately Mike didn't get his lunch that we'd promised him (it was his fault for suggesting the 2-hour wine-tasting!), but he said that he'd enjoyed the day as much as we had, so that's good. When I got back I think I had a bit of a siesta, then cooked some of Poenas's mum's samosas, which were fab! I made a start on packing :o( and had an early night...
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