Now gone are the days of relying on el-cheapo crappy generic compact digital cameras….enter the new kid on the block, the Rebel T1i, also known as the 500D. I ordered the camera online from the US because I buy a lot of things online, and was gonna buy it locally online anyway…but when comparing prices it was way cheaper than getting one locally. I checked out all the popular online camera stores and ‘real’ stores in SA but none could match the price, even including the delivery. The total cost of the Camera and accessories, as well as shipping was around R7500, and delivery was 1 day ahead of schedule, it took 6 days to arrive from the day I ordered it.

In SA the camera is called the Canon 500D normally, but in the US its called the Canon Rebel T1i, but other than the name, they are identical.

I got a package consisting of the Camera with the standard EF-S 18-55mm IS lense, the best price I could find locally was R7999 for that alone.

Next in the box was Tiffen 58mm essentials kit (locally around R750), consisting of a UV Protector Filter, Circular Polarizer Filter, and Neutral Density 0.6 Filter.

I have heard mixed reviews about this brand, but what the hell, it all looks good, they fit nicely and the quality seems great.

Next was a Fujifilm SDHC-8GB Memory Card with a class 6 rating and a lifetime warranty (around R450 locally)  which is apparently very good for photos and HD video which the 500D can do. I just need to find out how much video can fit on an 8GB card.

The last thing in the box was a Bower battery grip (around R1500 locally), that can take either 2 canon rechargeable batteries, or 6 AA batteries.

I am pretty chuffed with the whole kit, and I have only had 1 day to play so am slowly getting to grips with the camera, but so far I am very impressed.

For all the specs on the camera, check it out at the Canon site here

I’ll be having a bit of a photo binge in the next few weeks, so be prepared to see lots of pictures while I get to grips with the camera.

Path to Echo Valley

This weekend we went on another hike on the mountain above Kalk Bay. This time we parked on Boyes Drive, and entered the park at the sign for Echo Valley. The hike is a pretty easy walk, and its not long before you have some great views of Kalk Bay harbour.

Our aim for the day was to get to Boomslang cave, apparently its also known as Alladin’s cave, and is found above Kalk Bay, and overlooking Fish Hoek and Clovelly. We started the hike from the Kalk Bay side, so we would have to hike around the mountain to enter the cave from the entrance on the Fish Hoek side of the mountain, and exit into Echo Valley.

We took a leisurely walk up and around the mountain, taking time to snap some pictures of the great views of the coast, until we reached the entrance to Boomslang cave.

Boomslang cave goes right through the mountain, from the Clovelly side through to Echo valley on the other side, with a series of cool caverns and passages.

We donned our headlamps and entered the cave, which was a relief from the baking sun outside. Inside the cave it was considerably cooler, slightly damp, and ‘musty’ smelling. The cave is home to some bats, which are pretty noisy, and I was surprised to see a lot smaller population than I have seen in the past. Maybe the bulk of bats have moved to another more secluded part of the cave.

We made our way to the main cavern, where we rested and had some lunch by candle light and explored a few paths, before heading out on ‘all fours’ to Echo Valley. At the exit we tested the valley by shouting and listening for the echo’s back, its actually pretty good!

Instead of making our way back, we decided to go through Echo Valley towards the Amphitheater, where its possible to choose a variety of paths to follow. Again, walking through the moutains the views are excellent, and we took loads of pictures.

Once we reached the Amphitheater we decided to take the path towards Silvermine, to find a waterfall that one of us had heard about. That part of the hike took us over and around the mountain, before we decided the waterfall was not going to materialize, and we should start heading back. We took the path down to the Spes Bona Forest, which is a beautiful forest with board walks throughout, to protect the trees.

After walking through the forest, and trying to make our way back to the main path we came in on, we stumbled across Tartarus Cave, which we were hoping to find. Tartarus cave looks literally like a hole in the ground, and if you are walking past, you cant miss it.

We made our way into the cave, which starts with a large cavern with a passage way right in the back. We took the main passage way which gets quite narrow, and drops a meter or two before going on. At this stage we were quite a few meters into the passageway, before it got really narrow where we were walking, and I can only imagine that to continue further you have to climb up the passage wall and over the narrow passage to the other side. We didnt do this, and opted to turn around instead, happy just to have found the cave. Next time we will make a day of it, and start at Tartarus.

We left the cave and continued to make our way down to the car, all the while taking in the awesome views, and fybos.

All in all, we spent around 6 hours on the mountain, explored 2 caves and had a great day.

Kraal bay

This past weekend (valentines) we took a little trip to Langebaan, it was Natacha, her friend Niki and myself. We were going to pitch tents and camp because we didnt want to spend a lot, wanted to be on the seafront, and because we were going to be busy every day and just wanted a place to crash at night.

Things didnt work out that way though, one place called Seebries, had camping as well as ‘chalets’ available for not much more per night. We rented a chalet for under R200 a night (DAMN!), which had a kitchenette, braai area, two bedrooms (one with 3 beds, and one with two), a bathroom and shower. Definitely a bargain at that price…but not in any way ‘classy’, anyway we didnt care, it was perfect for us, and the bonus was that it was very close to the sea, so we fell asleep to the sound of the waves every night

The weekend was full of fun, we visited Club Mykonos a couple of times, and while we were there we went on the wet bikes (jet-ski’s), and also the speed boat trip, loads of fun!

We also went exploring the beach, and visited Kraal Bay in the West Coast Nature Reserve. Kraal Bay was beautiful, we spent a few hours there swimming, and enjoying the beauty.

On the Saturday evening we decided to go out to Flamingoes, the local and legendary night club that has been in Langebaan since forever. We were quite surprised that they had a R40 cover charge, and a very strict No Chewing Gum policy! The club itself is very big inside, has loads of tables to sit at, but boasts a nice big dance floor. The music is a variation between local ‘radio’ hits, mixed with ‘lang arm’ afrikaans dance classics, as well as a few golden oldies cheese fest type songs thrown in, think the Macarena, I’m too sexy etc. The club was very busy, and it was a laugh to see all the locals rush onto the dance floor and dance ala barn dance style, in unison, like a crowd of synchronised swimmers, all perfectly timed, it was awesome! hahaha

The whole weekend was a blast, and a great time was had by all…we visited lots of restaurants, explored the town, and tried to see everything there. We went up on the Thursday, and came back on the Sunday, so had a well deserved and relaxed break by the sea, it was great

Check out some of the pictures from the weekend

Kalk bay from Ou Kraal path

On Saturday we decided to go for a hike on the mountain above Kalk Bay. The path we chose was the Ou Kraal hiking path, which you can find on Boyes Drive above Kalk Bay.

The hike was very pretty, with great views of Kalk Bay, but the highlight was when we took the route that goes to the ’spes bona forest’.

The forest is great because you walk under the canopy of loads of old trees on a wooden ‘boardwalk’ style path. It reminded me quite a lot of the ‘garden of eden’ near Knysna.

After passing through the forest, we continued on, exploring the paths, and taking pictures of the scenery, and turned around when we reached the Amphitheater.

From the Amphitheater there are about 5 different pathways going in different directions, which are all popular hiking paths. We decided to backtrack back through the Spes Bona forest, and head home.

We really enjoyed the hike, it was not too hectic a walk, and it really is pretty up there…definitely one I recommend to people.

There are quite a few caves in the area, and although we didnt explore any this trip, we will be back soon to visit Boomslang cave and Tartarus cave too, which are two of the most well known caves in the area.

Cheers for now

Bestcapetown.com websites

Yesterday I launched a new website, making use of a domain I had not been using. The domain, bestcapetown.com, is a pretty cool name, and I have decided to make the site a sort of Cape Town portal.

The site is very new, and has almost no information, but its ‘live’ anyway….visit it at www.bestcapetown.com. I am going to work on it in my spare time, to list the best things in Cape Town.

Categories are going to be:

• Best restaurants
• Best night clubs
• Best guest house accommodation
• Best self catering accommodation
• Best views
• Best hotels
• Best beaches

etc etc, you get the idea

I would appreciate any suggestions too, if you have any, let me know. For now, the site is live with the bare minimum info…

I will try to post regularly about the shenanigans I am getting up to and what is going on in my life.

Cheers for now

-F