The Penguins, At Last

It was our stated objective to see the penguins in Cape Town. Admittedly, not the sole objective of the expedition, but nevertheless an important one. And we duly did, at Boulders Beach near Simonstown. And very weird it was too, to be walking around on a beach in shorts and bare feet looking at penguins, given that the last time I personally saw penguins was in minus something degrees in the Antarctic! Mission accomplished, though, and deeply satisfying it was, too.



Naturally we had to make the pilgrimage to Cape Point and its famous lighthouse. We subsequently met a woman whose father had been its keeper for many years and who had grown up there, which was a fantastic addition to the record of People We've Met With Unusual Parents (a category into which none of us fall, and certainly none of our children fall!).

Our friends Lucy and Loki in Cape Town very kindly organised a welcoming party for the team, both to celebrate our arrival and to mark the 7th and 16th birthdays of Little Max and big Max respectively. Here, Little Max stares in satisfied wonder at the two enormous birthday cakes cleverly organised by Lucy.

Speeches were made, toasts were offered and a good time was had by all. Amazing how many friends we now have in Cape Town, all of whom were Zimbos once. An additional surprise guest was Phoenella Powles, whose former house on the slopes of Mt Elgon we had visited in Kenya. Touchingly, she had fond memories of my grandmother that were almost too much to hear...!

And then, suddenly, it was all over. We took leave of the others in Jambanja, who had to drive back to Zim immediately, and found we were suddenly and deafeningly On Our Own. Gosh, what a weird feeling that was!

And so now we too will make our way homeward, though taking a slightly lengthier route. Our plan is to come up via Fish River canyon in Namibia, then through the Kalahari in Botswana, and get home for early July when Jake goes back to school and I go back to work. Not long now...