Africa Day Twelve (Sunday Dec 7)

Woke up around 6am.  Opened the curtains and what do I see but two naughty monkeys on the front porch.  More came by including a mother with a baby clinging to its tummy.

                             

Kissies?

                                          
 After breakfast, we left and did another run through the southern part of the park before leaving for Cathcart.  

After the park, we'll follow the black line towards Grahamstown, then directly north to near Adelaide, across to Fort Beaufort and north and east again to Cathcart

Cathcart is our destination tonight

Ok, pose for us!

You can see the sea and sand dunes in the distance.

A jackal ran by

A tree full of weaver birds

Grahamstown

Lots of wild prickly pears here in the Eastern Cape

                                            

Citrus growing region

Probably Citrusdal

Purple haze of jacarandas

What I called the Valley of Desolation but actually there really is one - not here, near Graaf-Reinet

Right after the valley of desolation came the hills of paradise

Nico Malan pass

180'

Outskirts of Cathcart

My cousins' sheep farm - as far as the eye can see is their ranch

3km driveway

Their house and farm buildings

Colourful rooster

We drove down to Thomas River for lunch

Remnants of the old railway line

Some residents at Thomas River are very passionate about making this remote place a tourist destination.  There are several museums, collections and displays in this one horse town.

A mega-nest built by swallows.  Seemed like it has morphed through the years.

And I mean collections!

This is an old library

Back at their house/farm

We decided to go horse riding 

Getting the stirrups the right length

One of the best rides ever - over rolling green hills.  This is one reason I love the prairies so much!

When we came back from our ride, I noticed one of the horses had gotten stuck (about a year or two old).  We had to cut wire and maneuver the wooden poles so he could be freed.  He seemed none the worse for wear but was clearly embarrassed!

Photo of the old farm before the 'new' house was built.  Currently it's a third generation owned farm and about to change hands to the fourth.