A big 5 post...

If it is indeed impossible—or at least very difficult—to inhabit the consciousness of an animal, then in writing about animals there is a temptation to project upon them feelings and thoughts that may belong only to our own human mind and heart.

The buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion, and rhino. The big 5. So big in fact, that my last post was far too long to actually fit everything in. I will try my hardest not to make a pun this post*.

'Big' in the name refers to the large challenge in hunting these animals, rather than their size, and thus excludes animals such as the giraffe and the hippopotamus, which is the most dangerous mammal on the African continent. Obviously now there are huge efforts to ensure these animals are not hunted, but the name persists through marketing of private game reserves and protection mechanisms for the last few remaining animals. It does not include baboons, which are the equivalent of foxes back home and considered a bit of a pest. They're quite happy anywhere, and often seem to be surrounded by beer cans, hence their contrived nickname of Beerboons (originated by me).

One of these private reserves is Aquila, situated a couple of hours drive from Cape Town, on a fantastic road that goes through the Du Toitskloof mountains, past scenic Paarl (which has a toothsome restaurant called 'terra mare'). It is breathtakingly stunning.

On to the animals themselves...first up were hippos, which I keep meaning to go hunt (with my eyes only!) after rowing, but have been put off by my last exploring adventure near the lake. I didn't spot them here immediately, but they were more obvious as we passed by on our way out.

Secondly was the first of the big five, with a cheeky water buffalo. There are two types, blue and black, of which you may read about in your own time. At this point I should point out that if you click the pictures they should get bigger.

Followed quickly by a couple of giraffes. George and Gabriella. Pretty sure they were both men, but they begin with G so...for reference, the buffalo was called William Robert.

We then traced out steps (wheels) back, and I genuinely thought that would be it. However, shortly after we pulled into the lion enclosure, and saw nothing...until someone with much sharper eyes than me spotted that the large rock shaped object was breathing. Lions are not threatening at all, and look like pathetic cats really. That said, my cat hates me, and should probably teach me all I need to know. Lenny and Liam basically lounged around, whereas Leanne, Lisa, and Laura were a bit more interested in doing something. Being lions however, I don't think they had much to actually do.

Okay, that had to be it, right? Nope, we stopped for wine. What happened during the wine? Oh yeah, elephants! Ed and Eddie. What happened before the elephants? Rhonda, Ryan, and Robbie the rhinos.

What next?! Oh...only bloody zebras and springboks! The timing is slightly out, we saw springboks earlier, but come on...I see these at work every week, it's hardly a big one. They don't even get names, although if they did, it would be Zachary, Zebadiah (Zebradiah?), repeated ad infinitum, and replacing S with Z for the 'bok.

As noted, Hermione the hippo popped up on the way out, but my photo is really blurry, so I guess I will just have to go looking again! A few days later we caught up with a cheetah (I have been getting faster with my running) before Alex's flight back.

Overall, it's incredible seeing the animals up close. I will get out to a national park at some point and see these animals truly in the wild, but with limited time it's a wonderful experience to see the sheer size of these animals moving in such majestic fashion.

All my trips until now have been great. Safari, Sagoodi!

Song of the month: Circle of Life, by The Lion King, as there's nothing more apt for this post (even if it's not a new month).

*totally worth it

This blog is called the feast of Crispian

One either serves the whole of man or does not serve him at all. And if man needs bread and justice, and if what has to be done must be done to serve this need, he also needs pure beauty which is the bread of his heart.

After a busy, fun break over Christmas, I put off work a little longer to host my first friend visiting, and finally got around to all the tourist traps that exist in and around Cape Town. They. Are. Amazing. Just look at how much fun me and Amal are having!

If anyone is thinking of booking a flight over, don't do it with Thomas Cook, unless you want the Ryanair experience long haul. However, I think Alex's mood picked up once we got to the Roundhouse for sundowners however, with yet another Atlantic sunset which never cease to amaze. This was followed by a day at the cricket, which started with us walking in as the Proteas struck a 6. Newlands has to be one of the best value activities here, although the last international of the season here is coming up next month. This fact is probably good for work, since what I attempted that evening was probably not my finest after quite a few beers.

The following day was a trip to wine country, for a pizza and then fynbos pairings. Unusual, but delectable nonetheless, and followed by a quick safari tour...in the lab grounds! A stunning dazzle of zebras was present, as well as a decent-sized herd of springbok, amongst others. This itself was followed by another first Thursday, where part of the city has a festival atmosphere and many places of cultural interest stay open late into the evening. Oh...and serve alcohol.



Pictured: humans, plants, animals, animals, animals

Then, Kirstenbosch. This is the equivalent to Kew gardens or similar in South Africa, except to my mind absolutely exceeds it. The Cape floral kingdom is by far the smallest of the six, but the biodiversity of it is incredible, and it has over 6000 endemic species. I'd not been at all in 2016; at the time of writing, I've been thrice in January; once to meet Natalie (see '100 day'/December post), once with Alex, and once to attend the fantastic summer concerts.

Other than the incredible landscapes, another conclusion from my first 100 days here has been that the food scene is incredible. This was confirmed with several jaunts. Firstly, 'The Creamery' in Newlands, serving waffles and the best salted caramel sauce ever. A day later, a trip was made to the Old Biscuit Mill market, which had plenty of sights to smell, and is thankfully mostly indoors, since the sun beat down hard. Thirdly, 'Black Insomnia', the world's strongest coffee, available from a coffee shop down the road, and which helped with the workload a lot more than the wine tastings had. Last but not least, there is the V&A waterfront market.

You're about to learn what will at first seem to be useless trivia, but will later realise it comes up in a variety of conversations; the most visited attraction on the African continent* is not Table mountain. It is not the pyramids of Giza, nor even the winelands where I seem to spend far too much time. No, ladies and gentlemen, it is...a shopping mall. I had steadfastly avoided it so far, principally because I have no money, but it actually is pretty good! The bars aren't up to much, but I am quickly realising the best place to watch football is the first place I watched it here, Fireman's Arms, established in 1864, possibly to celebrate the bicentenary of Kronenbourg, but probably not. As a non-sequitor, the football coverage is excellent here, rather than highlights of the last half during half-time it's often compilations such as Rooney's best goals after reaching 250, or the best saves of the season so far. In any case, the V&A has a food market open pretty much any time, lots of activities going on, and some stunning views.

Before I digress further I will move onto other fun activities and scenery. Cape Point, with a trip to see the penguins. Stunning drive back along Chapman's Peak road, which I've incorporated into a lovely, although tough, cycling route. A trip to a bar with a tree. A jazz bar session where upon speaking to the performer an offer was made of piano and saxophone lessons (watch this space). I had a rowing race, but fell in, so we'll skip over that. Otherwise I think that's it.

Oh! Yes, there was one more thing. I don't think it needs words: Turns out it does need words; there were so many photos I made another post.

Why do people want to kill these things for sport?! It's just as sad as some of the wildfires that have scorched the landscape in parts here. Although necessary for the correct growth of fynbos, they should not be overly frequent and certainly should not be started deliberately by more nefarious people of the human race. There is a major drought at the moment which of course doesn't help situations, but there has been some rain this last week which at least has washed away a lot of ash and given some wildlife a much needed quenching.

That's just about it. I have done some work! I've also seen a couple more sunsets. A year ago today I was stood on a beach that had frozen over. Today...well see for yourself.

Some cheesy line about not having the sun set on my time here yet. To finish, the title here is a twist on a line from Henry V, as it's the fifth blog post...I'm sure you got that, but just in case you thought I was done making clever puns...

Song of the month: Holding On, by Matthew Mole, since I'm back and so should pick the same South African artist again.

*Assuming Lydia has checked her facts, I take no blame...Andrew also informed me that number two is the pyramids, and three table mountain, so... the more you know!