We had a wakeup call set for 5:45am...as a backup we set the alarm clock for 5:35am and the clock on my iPad for 5:50am. None of this was needed at all because, I NEVER went to sleep. Well, for maybe 10 minutes I slept. We were given meds to take the night before to combat the extremely rough seas that were in the forecast for our great white shark dive. It made me very sleepy for a few minutes. I quickly fell asleep....and woke up a few minutes later! Ugh! I read a little over 1/2 of Inferno. I was dresses and ready to go well before 6am. I made the long walk up to the lodge hoping for a steaming hot white before our departure for the boat. The lodge was all lit up...but it was as quiet as a mouse. I stomped around...coughed and cleared my throat...SILENCE. About 15 minutes passed by, when Davis entered the lodge. He told me that I had left before he and daddy got the call that the ship couldn't go out because of the gale force winds (80k) and the extremely rough seas! Ugh! Next came Barry to deliver the bad news. We all went back to our cottages...after Barry woke up the sleeping staff and set up replacement activities! That is why our children call him Cappy B....short for Captain Barry! Davis was wide awake so he went on an 8am walk through the forest....he was the only guest with the expert. We went back and tried to sleep. One of us did zonk out, but one of us (me) had no such luck! After we met Davis for breakfast, which was outstanding, Davis went to his cottage and crashed! Barry and I went with the same Grootsbos fynbos and bird expert on a 3 hour 4 wheel drive around the property. A German couple joined us. It was beautiful and very educational. My expert master gardener friends would have really loved it! I also loved seeing the varied birds...'specially the ones with names like "the yellow rumped widow weaver" and the the double collared sunbird ans well as many shrikes and other names that this feeble brain can't remember. Also loved seeing a steenbok! After a great lunch and a nap (for some!) we went on another activity down to the cliffs over the beach to see an ancient Klingpat cave. I thought we would drive to the beach and walk over the sand to this cave...WRONG! I would have signed up for something else had I known that we were going to a cliff where we would descend a million steps.....and you know what that means...ya gotta climb back up! After the climb down..and my knees felt like jelly, we had to negotiate climbing and stepping on rocks and boulders with the waves crashing around us to the cave. I was constantly hanging onto or holding my hand out to both Barry and Davis for help and assurance. And they were great! After walking around the cave, learning about these ancient people, and looking and learning about kelp I had a climb back up. It was not the most fun thing I have ever done!!!! We spotted some whales and went to a house on a cliff where Grootsbos had champagne and appetizers for us waiting. Back up the mountain to our cottage to get dressed for our last dinner at Grootsbos. We had another stellar dinner with gale force winds buffeting the glass walls of the lodge. I am taking an Ambien so that I will sleep tonight! I should record the sounds that the wind and sometimes the rain is making on our cottage. Unbelievable!
Sent from my iPad
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