White Shark Experience

So I kind of feel like this is a huge milestone for me. I don't know that I ever imagined myself getting in a cage to "view" sharks underwater. It's definitely something I've always thought about, but as far as actually doing it? I'm scared of sharks. It's a weird mixture of complete fear and fascination. I love reading books about sharks, or watching shark week on the Discovery Channel. I can't learn enough about them. But when it comes to diving? It's always in the back of my head and it terrifies me when I'm in the water.

So why did I decide to climb in a cage that's in water filled with chum and a guy throwing tuna heads off the boat? Well I guess the short answer is because I'm completely crazy. But the truth is, what scares me even more than the biggest man eater out there, is missing out on a great opportunity or experience because I was too scared to do it. So that is what made me climb into the cage on Saturday. Once I'd decided to do it, I was completely committed. But my heart was racing the whole time.

I have to say it was really cool, and given the chance again I would be back in that cage tomorrow. These sharks are really incredible creatures, and seeing them underwater takes away all the ferociousness and scary monster image that we're so often given, and turns them into the graceful kings of the ocean that they are.

All the sharks we saw were Great Whites. We were told in the beginning that there aren't any other large predatory animals in the area at this time of year. In total we saw 5 different sharks, the biggest one being around 3.5 meters (about 12 feet). A couple only did quick passes by the boat and some stayed around to check us out more.






Eliot getting psyched up


Chumming












I think these guys ate most of the guts that went over the boat.




Smiling for the camera

The Last big Thing

So this last weekend in South Africa we've planned our final excursion. It's something we've been wanting to do since we knew we were coming to Cape Town. So, tomorrow morning we're heading up the west coast to a place called Gansbaii to....get in a cage.


That's right we're going to witness THE Apex Predator that's refered to here in these waters as Air Jaws. I can't believe we're actually going to do this and I can't think too much about it because then I might not actually go through with it if I do. We're going through and outfit called the White Shark Projects, just so you know who to call if I don't update my blog on Monday morning. Hopefully we get to see some sharks up close. Yikes!

Comfort Food for a Rainy Day

So our beautiful Cape Town weather disappointed us a bit this weekend. We woke up Saturday morning rearing to go kite boarding, and were very disappointed when we got up to our spot and there was way too much wind. There were no other kiters out (never a good sign in Cape Town), and we watched 2 people put their kites in the air, almost fly away and drop them back down again without even attempting to get in the water. Plus, the rain was starting to set in, which was making things even more unpleasant.

Sunday we woke up to our roof shaking, and sideways rain. Before we even got out of bed we decided it would be a great day to spend indoors. Eliot had some work he wanted to do and I thought it would be a great afternoon to do some baking in preparation for all the visitors that are about to arrive. (I do mean ABOUT, Holly's plane lands in just a few short hours.)

On a side note, I went on a diet and Eliot lost weight. There's something really really unfair about the differences between men and women's bodies, and how he loses weight because I make the effort to cook differently. Anyways, it doesn't matter, I don't think I'm fat, but I'm just trying to rein in my recent eating habits that have been spiraling out of control since we left China and entered the world of wonderful food again (aka the world of bread, pasta and other delicious carbs that I haven't felt the need to deny in any way...until now).

(*I realize that this blog doesn't really go along very well with my low carb diet plan, but you should know I've been practicing the BEST self control within my abilities.)

Here's the menu for Sunday afternoon:

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to freeze for quick Chocolate Chip Cookies in a pinch

(Didn't take a photo, wasn't that exciting)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (At Eliot's request)



Lemon-Sour Currant Coffee Cake- A recipe I got from THIS LOVELY FRIEND



Coconut Cupcakes with Curry Lemon Curd and Basil Cream Frosting


~Baby Cakes with Curry Lemon Curd on top~


~Applying the Basil Cream Frosting~




Recipe For Cupcakes:

Sweet Basil Cream
1 1/2 C Heavy Whipping Cream
1 bunch Fresh Basil
6 C confectioners sugar
8oz. packet cream cheese

Sweet Curry Lemon Curd
1 C Sugar
2 eggs
2 Tsp. Mild Curry Powder
3/4 C Lemon Juice (about 3 lemons)
3 Lemons zested
1/4 C Unsalted Butter (melted)

Coconut Cupcakes
1 (18.25 oz) Package of White Cake Mix
1 1/4 C Sweetened Flaked Coconut
3 eggs
1/3 C vegetable oil
2 Tsp Coconut extract

Sweet Basil Cream
Heat whipping cream in saucepan until hot (not boiling). Turn off heat and add bunch of basil, let seep for 1 hr. Allow to refrigerate overnight, strain and discard basil.

Sweet Curry Lemon Curd
In lg microwave bowl whisk white sugar, 2 eggs and curry powder until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Cook in microwave stirring at one minute intervals until thick. Should do this in reasonably large bowl, it tends to grow and bubble a lot while it cooks. Pour through and sieve and refrigerate at least 3 hours (I did mine overnight) until it's the consistency of pudding.

Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius (347 degrees F)
Combine white cake mix and coconut flakes in mixing bowl. Stir in water, 3 eggs, vegetable oil and coconut extract. Scoop cake batter into prepared muffin tins filling 2/3 full. Bake until golden brown (about 20 min) and cool completely.

Frosting
In a chilled bowl whip basil cream and 3 C confectioner's sugar until stiff peaks form. In separate bowl beat cream cheese and remaining 3 C confectioner's sugar until smooth and soft. Fold in whip cream and mix gently until completely combined.

Spread 1 Tsp curry lemon curd on top of cupcake and then put on a dollop of basil Cream frosting. Garnish with baby basil leaf (if you so wish).


~Yummalicious~

It was a great day to take advantage of the weather, stay inside and fill the house with lovely warm aromas coming from the oven.

So now I have tons of Curry Lemon Curd and Sweet Basil Cream Frosting left over. Does anyone have any good ideas to utilize these? I would love any suggestions.
xxx

Kruger National Park- Part III

I think by now I don't have to say that we did indeed see a lot of animals. We're still talking about our trip, and amazed at the things we saw. The lions seem to be the star attraction in the park. Everywhere you go people are looking for lions, and they tend to draw the biggest crowd of cars. But I'm quite convinced that cats don't do ANYTHING at all, unless they're hungry. All the lions we saw were normally lazing around in a shady spot. But they are incredible to see.






Mama and cubs


Loving on eachother



Monkeys:
Probably the most charismatic animals. We had so much fun taking photos of these guys when we went on a walk around our camp one morning.


Vervet Monkeys




Chacma Baboons



Rhinoceros:
The most elusive of all the animals we saw in the park. The rhinos seemed very shy, which I think is probably a good thing. They're one of the biggest targets for poachers. They're horns are sought after in the Chinese markets because they're believed to be an aphrodisiac. Completely untrue, but little seems to be stronger than the Chinese superstition. I read in an article yesterday that in Mozambique they are removing all the horns from their wild rhinos to make them less of a target for poachers, apparently the horns grow back, but I'm not sure this is really the answer.






Post mud bath



Other critters we saw


Mongoose


~When I was a young WARTHOG!~


~When HE was a young WARTHOG!~
(If you've never seen The Lion King that won't make sense- sorry)


~I'm a HIP HOP A-POTAMOUS~


~My RHYMES are bottomless~
(if you've never seen Flight of the Concords that won't make sense either- sorry again)


Hippos and Crocs


The African Buffalo- The deadliest of the Big 5


Wildabeest


Lazy pooch having a stretch.


Spotted Hyena: Strongest jaws in the animal kingdom.


Hyenas taking over a watering hole and making the zebra very nervous. This was before the giraffe saved the day.

And I'm done. It was really a special trip for us, and I'm glad I have such great memories to keep and hold onto. We're really fortunate to be able to experience the place we're living in to such extents, and I'm glad I have an outlet to share it with you.

Kruger National Park- Part II

2nd installment of Kruger photos. The giraffe were so beautiful and I was in complete awe of them. They seem like they're moving slow, but with those long legs they cover a lot of ground really quickly.


Tall horse


Tongue in nose. This was a little guy, you can tell by the light coloring.


We watched this guy for a while. This watering hole was surrounded by hyenas (not pictured) and the zebra weren't quite brave enough to get near it, but the giraffe didn't have much of a problem. We could tell he took some time looking around before crouching down into this awkward position. It can't be too easy to get out of in a hurry.


I thought it was really cool getting some shots of him in this position.


Slowly the zebra started gaining more confidence and went for the water.



Antelope:
Everywhere you look in the Kruger there's some sort of antelope hanging out, feeding on grass or small bushes. Seemingly unafraid of the cars, but always on the lookout for something else lurking in the grass.


Water Buck: Nuzzling or getting ready to have it out? I think they were friends ;-)


Impala: Definitely had the biggest presence in the park.


Steinbok: We thought these ones looked like Bambi. Completely full grown, but probably wouldn't come up past my knees.




More impala. These ones actually were having it out.


Kudu


Birds:
I couldn't believe how many vibrantly colored birds we saw. All different shapes and sizes, and a lot of personalities. Here's just a handful.


Horn Bill


Saddle Billed Stork: Endangered in South Africa and less than 100 in Kruger.


Pink Stork


I can't remember what this guy was called, but he was so pretty and whenever he did his little song he would put his head straight down and shake his whole body.


Grey "go-away" Bird: Not sure how he got the name.




Water Thick-knee


These guys were harrassing us at breakfast and this one took off with the bacon fat I'd left on my plate.


Yellow Billed Kite: Feeding on something in the early morning.




Hammerkop




Vulture drying out his wings.


Vulture sitting on a nest.

I'll post the last of them tomorrow! It's nice stretching my weekend adventure out over a few posts. Tomorrow you can look forward to lions, rhinos and other critters!