2nd weekend: relaxing on the coast

first of all, if you read nothing else in this post: the eastern coast of south africa is an underrated, perfect vacation spot and you should all go there. probably tomorrow. 

this week's trip: orientation

after only a short drive of 1.5-2 hours, MB and i arrived friday afternoon to the bewilderingly lovely colonial masterpiece that is fairmont's zimbali lodge.

drive up to the reception

our room overlooked the vast coastal forest which blankets the land down to the indian ocean. the ecosystem here was quite different from the savannah/bush where we're staying at the lodge. we were instantly warned about the vervet monkeys who lived on the property: much smaller and gentler than their baboon cousins, however wickedly smart and able to get into the rooms (for snacks!) if you left the balcony door unlocked. i saw one briefly and mistook it for a cat; probably for the best or i might have attempted to play with it!

view from the balcony of our room

the property was quite vast and different buildings were somewhat isolated from each other requiring golf-cart drives between them; our driver the first night described the previous night's drive when he was stopped short secondary to a large python (of which he could see neither the head nor the tail as both were in the woods) completely stretched across the road. in case this wasn't enough, there was a full page in the welcome book in the hotel room dedicated to "what to do if you get a snake bite" which humorously began with "please phone the reception" followed by "remain as calm as possible." spoiler: we didn't see any snakes! 

what we did see: beautiful, beautiful things! we spent most of the weekend napping at the pool, reading, admiring wildlife, and even dipping our feet in the indian ocean. as many of you reading this in NY can attest to, the pool and/or beach and a temperature allowing for entering said bodies of water without developing frostbite is a sight for sore eyes this winter. all hail the southern hemisphere! genius! 

the site of most of this weekend's action

even in the peacefulness of it all, i felt like i learned a lot about this part of south africa and its wildlife. i'm a bit of an amateur photographer (all credit to my husband, Henry, who i miss dearly back in NY), and what you'll find that follows are my attempts at documenting some of the beautiful parts of nature we experienced this weekend. cheers, you guys! here's to another great week at edendale... and more adventures along the way!

until next time,

sharon

one of the many, many lizards we met. 

macro shot: beetle, ants, blooming flower. 

another macro shot: spiny caterpillar

the indian ocean: no swimming! (see: strong tide and sharks)

sea dune greenery

one more macro: seaweed washed up on the coarse sand.

the universality of sea and sand. can't beat it.