South Africa | My Food Odyssey

Jan 13

Cape of Good Hope, South Africa | www.myfoododyssey.com

Names

For our honeymoon we went to South Africa. We drove from Cape Town through the beautiful winelands Stellenbosch and Franschhoek to Oudtshoorn, where I sampled ostrich and crocodile for the first time. (Both were delicious!) While in Cape Town we drove south to the Cape of Good Hope. A small funicular brought us to the top of the point, where we found a signpost with distances to various destinations. Here’s a small selection of photos (taken with an old camera, so please excuse the quality), including one with my new name! Read more

Mar 30

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Why did the elephant cross the road?

Picture the scene. You arrive in the world’s smallest airport on the world’s smallest plane and step out into sweltering heat. Your guide arrives to take you to your campsite and you look forward to your first glimpse of wildlife. Read more

Mar 18

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Wall

If you saw this wall around your holiday accommodation would it inspire confidence or fear? This was the wall surrounding our hostel in Johannesburg, South Africa. Similar walls enclosed all neighbouring buildings. We had driven all the way from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth through towns and vast areas of countryside and we had felt completely safe at all times. When we arrived in Jo’burg, where we were only staying for one night before an onward journey, we were immediately struck by a sense of fear, between the appalling driving of our host (in a car with no seat belts) and the ominous walls and fences around almost every property. We ventured out for about 5 minutes to buy a phone card and I have never felt so threatened and uncomfortable in my life. The lions and leopards we subsequently encountered on our safari were pussycats by comparison. Read more

Feb 2

Bloukrans Bridge Bungy Jump | www.myfoododyssey.com

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Express Yourself

Not for all the tea in China would you get me to jump off a 216 m (706 ft) bridge into open space. While researching our honeymoon in South Africa I discovered the world’s highest commercial bungy jump off Bloukrans Bridge on the famous garden route. From the moment I mentioned the jump to Arūnas insisted he was going to do it. We travelled a little out of our way to get there and when the bridge eventually came into view and Arūnas saw a person dangling in mid-air he froze with fear. I spent a good hour talking him into jumping as he’d probably never have the opportunity again. Read more

Jun 18

Baboon on car, South Africa | www.myfoododyssey.com

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Extra, Extra

While on our honeymoon in South Africa we went to visit the Cape of Good Hope, the most south-westerly point on the continent. In many ways it reminded me of the wilds of South West Ireland – parts of west Cork & Kerry look quite similar. With the glaring exception of the baboons, that is. We came back from our walk to find this guy resting on a car, taking in the view. Baboons can be quite vicious – I’m glad it wasn’t our car! Read more