What a surprise! This morning, Kurt the fax-master had something nice in store for me: A one-on-one tour of the wine country around Cape Town. Sunday is a slow day here. The driver was Phillip, from the Ukraine. He collected me at 08:30. It was just the two of us so he happily started telling me about his move to South Africa in 1997. Fascinating stuff.

He insisted on taking this photo of me. Nice table, eh?

The day was quite nice; although, since this analysis of Napa for a Novice describes exactly what happens on a wine tour, I don’t feel like going into much detail. With that said, because we’re in South Africa, the history was a bit richer and the people kinder, but it was altogether it was the same idea.

The scenery was worth writing home about. So I am!

The only questionable moment came when Phillip stopped at an intersection and called out to a guy standing there. “Hey, Broo. Come ‘ere.”

The guy had a box of fruit. Phillip began negotiating the price. Apparently, his 8 year old daughter asked him to bring home some fruit, but for less than 50 Rand (about US$5.50). After some wrangling, they settled on 40 Rand. I was assigned the task of getting the fruit into the back seat. Payment for my services? One guava. It was fresh (and possibly the source of dysentery…only time will tell).

It may be winter where you are, but it’s early in the season here.

Afterwards, I headed to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront where I took my first helicopter ride. Wow! That was amazing!

There’s nothing quite like flying in a helicopter. I recommend it to you.

That’s the Lion’s Rump, which is the back of the Lion’s Head. Creative, right?

Tomorrow, I hope to explore the Cape of Good Hope. That will mark my farthest journey south as it is Africa’s Southwestern most point.

Wish me luck!