Day off...

So yesterday's hike went very well. We had a bigger turnout than I expected (5 in all), and it was the perfect day weather-wise too!!

We started out about 45 minutes late, due to waiting for a couple of no-shows, who in typical Cape Town style had confirmed the day before then decided the morning-of not to pitch, but didn't bother phoning to let us know...

Anyway, we started of a little after 10:00 from Tokai Arboretum, and up we went. And up, and up, and up some more. I thought this would be a 'walk in the park'. Boy was I wrong. But it was fun nonetheless. Except for this one part where you literally have to scramble up a small incline, it was all walkable (there were even some of the hardier trail runners out and about, running where I was careful where I stepped at a walk in case I twist my ankle on the rocks!

But it was all in good fun. And the views from the top were absolutely breath-taking!!

It took us little over an hour and a half to get to the top. Including a refreshing stop to fill our water bottles from a mini-'waterfall' about 3/4 of the way up.

We had a small picnic brunch in the cave itself - and a well-deserved rest. Then it was back down again, to complete a thoroughly amazing morning!


--------------------------------------------------


Today I've spent working. House work that is... I've taken the day off work, but that doesn't mean I've been doing nothing! I've doing about 3 loads of washing already, 2/3 of which is still drying on the line (and I'm keeping a close eye on the skies, just in case the rain decides to fall after all, but so far so good!) I've also been re-installing my work-computer, a task that I've been putting off for a while already...


And other general spring-cleaning activities...


Guess that means I should log off now and get back to work....!

Long weekend...

Yay, it's a loonnggg weekend coming up! Like roughly half of Cape Town, I've taken Friday off to take full advantage of the long weekend a.k.a. mini-holiday. Relax, destress, garden, spring clean my house - looks like it's going to be a busy weekend :-)

So what have you planned for the long weekend (for those who were lucky enough to be able to take Friday off??)

As for me, I'm going on a hike tomorrow morning with my wonderful man, Andrew, and some friends. Elephant's Eye. I haven't been there yet, but it looks be to quite a stunning hike. Here are some links that describe the area (Tokai Forest) and some popular routes:

• http://www.crag.org.za/routes.html#tokai
• http://www.crag.org.za/eye.html
• http://blog.sa-venues.com/provinces/western-cape/elephants-eye-cave/
• http://www.take-a-hike.co.za/Cape%20Town%20Corner/Article%2002f/Hikes%202006%2015/Hikes%202006%2015.htm
• http://hiking-guide.blogspot.com/2009/08/hiking-trail-tokai-arboretum.html

At least the weather looks like it will play along - cool and cloudy with no rain (at least that's how I interpret WeatherSA's prediction of "30% [chance for] 0mm [rain])...

Hike and a picnic brunch, what better way to spend the morning of a public holiday? And sleep it off later the afternoon :P

--------------------------------------------------

Okay, so that takes care of Thursday, what am I doing for the rest of the 'weekend'?

Well, Friday I'm re-installing my work-laptop. It's long overdue, and I don't have the time to do it during my work hours, nor can I afford to give up my pc for a day+ so that the techies can do their thing. I mean, it's not exactly rocket science, installing a PC... Just a mission to reload all of your software and get your short-cuts just right.

Besides the computer, Friday will be put to good use doing some spring cleaning, more washing, hopefully some gardening, weather-permitting of course.

--------------------------------------------------

Saturday and Sunday, those are for pure relaxation! Maybe go see a movie, do some more reading (I was lucky to get hold of the new Dan Brown book - 'The Lost Symbol' - the day it hit the shelves. I read his previous 4 books ('Angels and Demons', 'The Da Vinci Code', 'Digital Fortress' and 'Deception Point') and found each one absolutely brilliant! This new one is just as good! Nothing nicer than to curl up on the couch in the evenings with a good book.