Greetings from Cape Town! - Page 5

chrisinhouston · 03-24-2009, 11:05 AM

Do not throw flowers on the dog! Or, most probably it means don't pick the flowers or bring dogs to the monument but I really love the international signs.

xoxoxoBruce · 03-25-2009, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisinhouston

Last post before bed! Beware of the Baboons!!! Even if they look like some kind of antelope.

Chris, this was in the Philly paper today. I said to a cow orker, " Hey, their Baboons look like antelopes". He looked at me very strangely while backing away. Hard to keep the Cellar and real life separate sometimes.

chrisinhouston · 03-25-2009, 01:57 AM

Yes there are signs everywhere in the park warning people against feeding or teasing the baboons. About baboons, I've always wondered one thing... how come they have such a big red ass? Always looks like a bad case of diaper rash!

chrisinhouston · 03-25-2009, 02:51 AM

Decisions, decisions...

Here are the wines that I have purchased at various wineries in the Cape Winelands over the past 2 weekends. Today is Wednesday and we fly out of here on Saturday night. Now I have to decide how much to drink while here in South Africa before having to pack all of this into my wife and my 4 suitcase. We packed lightly and brought big bags so we could load them up but this will take some planning. You need some clothes to wrap the bottles with and to fill the voids int he bags but the goal is not to go over 23kg or about 50lbs per bag. If the 4 of us dine out the remaining evenings and BYOB and pay the incredibly cheap $2.50 or so for corkage we can probably drink between 1-2 bottles per night which is 6 bottles. We could also split a bottle or so at lunch at the game reserve we are going to so that should leave about 12-14 bottles to pack.

Yes, I think that is possible... I love a challenge!

The goal is not to exceed the weight limit or have to add another bag because the charges at the airport are pretty steep and that would defeat the logic of buying these hard to find and great priced wines and bringing them home for the collection. Incidentally, the lowest priced wine I purchaced was about $2.50/bottle and the most expensive was one at $22.00 which is way cheaper then anything from Napa or even the duty free in Europe.

xoxoxoBruce · 03-25-2009, 02:56 AM

So you're saying all future pictures will be blurry.

chrisinhouston · 03-25-2009, 03:31 AM

"Oh the flat plug's connected to the square plug, the square plug's connected to the round plug..."

This is the basic way we hook up to the electric here. South Africa uses a plug similar to the UK but still different enough that you need a special adapter that is not typically available anywhere but here. It looks like a heavy duty one in the states like for a large window AC unit or a clothes dryer. We use a voltage converter to drop the power to 120 and then a 3 into 1 so we can plug in more then one device at a time and then comes our puney little power cords. Luckily the computer AC adapters and my camera battery chargers are duel voltage ready which can eliminate the voltage adapter.

TheMercenary · 03-25-2009, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisinhouston

Some kind of bird dance ritual thing. I don't know what they were doing but it involved on Sacred Ibis sticking his big beak way down the other bird's throat and then pulling some kind of slime out! Yuck!!!

He was just helping her out with a feather-ball.

chrisinhouston · 03-29-2009, 11:07 AM

Today I am posting from JFK airport where I am held over because of a missed connection. We spent the last 2 days in South Africa at the Garden Route Game Reserve, a private game park.

They have a male and female White Rino and she had a baby about 3 months ago. She now weighs around 160 kg and will weigh well over 2 tons when grown. She was quite frisky and I got some shots of her running around and later one of her nursing from her mother as she lay on the ground. The male is in the background and the mother will not trust him around the female for some time as he could get a whim to kill her.

TheMercenary · 03-29-2009, 11:15 AM

The baby looks almost blue. How come momma got her tusk whacked off and the daddy got to keep his? Great pics. Thanks.

chrisinhouston · 03-29-2009, 11:37 AM

The photographer on Safari! My wife took this of me with our guide, Retief Jordaan in our Land Rover. I managed to mount my big Gitzo tripod spanning the passenger side door and resting on the floor boards and the running board. That way I could take the 800mm lens out in the morning rides. The evening rides were too close to sunset and it was quite grey and not the best choice for lenses.

Undertoad · 03-29-2009, 11:44 AM

Once again, simply outstanding! Thanks for sharing this work, Chris!

xoxoxoBruce · 03-29-2009, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisinhouston

Today I am posting from JFK airport ...

My condolences.

Thank you, for a stunning series of pictures, and a unique look at South Africa.

Oh, and a taste of what it's like to be the trophy spouse of a high powered executive.

Shawnee123 · 03-29-2009, 04:11 PM

Wonderful. I love the baby rhino.

Thanks chris.

chrisinhouston · 03-30-2009, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

The baby looks almost blue. How come momma got her tusk whacked off and the daddy got to keep his? Great pics. Thanks.

Here is the lowdown on mama rhino's horn. A Rhino horn is actually not a horn but a type of hair that is very tightly woven to produce a horn like apendage. As you probably know, they are highly prized on the black market and 1 cubic inch can usually go for upwards of $6000 US! Sad but true and all evidence says that the horn boiled in a tea has no aphrodisiac effect as the belief goes. This animal is being poached for a desired effect that is nothing but myth! This Rhino developed a crack in her "horn" that could have hit the nerve and caused a serious infection so they darted the animal and sawed off the horn. The wildlife officials in ZA require the Reserve to keep it in a safe and do nothing with it so it never makes the black market. The horn will grow back and has already grown an inch or 2. The Rhino's actually keep it sharp by rubbing it against objects and the male Rhino here also used his to kill one of the elephants *very \unusal) last year.

TheMercenary · 03-30-2009, 08:27 AM

Very cool! Thanks for the update. I did not know those factoids about them being like hair. Now I will have to do some research. Thanks again.

Oh, and post more pics if you have them.

03-24-2009, 11:05 AM	#61
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Do not throw flowers on the dog! Or, most probably it means don't pick the flowers or bring dogs to the monument but I really love the international signs. Attached Images

03-25-2009, 01:57 AM	#63
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Yes there are signs everywhere in the park warning people against feeding or teasing the baboons. About baboons, I've always wondered one thing... how come they have such a big red ass? Always looks like a bad case of diaper rash! Attached Images

03-25-2009, 02:51 AM	#64
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Decisions, decisions... Here are the wines that I have purchased at various wineries in the Cape Winelands over the past 2 weekends. Today is Wednesday and we fly out of here on Saturday night. Now I have to decide how much to drink while here in South Africa before having to pack all of this into my wife and my 4 suitcase. We packed lightly and brought big bags so we could load them up but this will take some planning. You need some clothes to wrap the bottles with and to fill the voids int he bags but the goal is not to go over 23kg or about 50lbs per bag. If the 4 of us dine out the remaining evenings and BYOB and pay the incredibly cheap $2.50 or so for corkage we can probably drink between 1-2 bottles per night which is 6 bottles. We could also split a bottle or so at lunch at the game reserve we are going to so that should leave about 12-14 bottles to pack. Yes, I think that is possible... I love a challenge! The goal is not to exceed the weight limit or have to add another bag because the charges at the airport are pretty steep and that would defeat the logic of buying these hard to find and great priced wines and bringing them home for the collection. Incidentally, the lowest priced wine I purchaced was about $2.50/bottle and the most expensive was one at $22.00 which is way cheaper then anything from Napa or even the duty free in Europe. Attached Images

03-25-2009, 02:56 AM	#65
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	So you're saying all future pictures will be blurry. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

03-25-2009, 03:31 AM	#66
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	"Oh the flat plug's connected to the square plug, the square plug's connected to the round plug..." This is the basic way we hook up to the electric here. South Africa uses a plug similar to the UK but still different enough that you need a special adapter that is not typically available anywhere but here. It looks like a heavy duty one in the states like for a large window AC unit or a clothes dryer. We use a voltage converter to drop the power to 120 and then a 3 into 1 so we can plug in more then one device at a time and then comes our puney little power cords. Luckily the computer AC adapters and my camera battery chargers are duel voltage ready which can eliminate the voltage adapter. Attached Images

03-29-2009, 11:07 AM	#68
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Today I am posting from JFK airport where I am held over because of a missed connection. We spent the last 2 days in South Africa at the Garden Route Game Reserve, a private game park. They have a male and female White Rino and she had a baby about 3 months ago. She now weighs around 160 kg and will weigh well over 2 tons when grown. She was quite frisky and I got some shots of her running around and later one of her nursing from her mother as she lay on the ground. The male is in the background and the mother will not trust him around the female for some time as he could get a whim to kill her. Attached Images

03-29-2009, 11:15 AM	#69
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	The baby looks almost blue. How come momma got her tusk whacked off and the daddy got to keep his? Great pics. Thanks. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

03-29-2009, 11:37 AM	#70
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	The photographer on Safari! My wife took this of me with our guide, Retief Jordaan in our Land Rover. I managed to mount my big Gitzo tripod spanning the passenger side door and resting on the floor boards and the running board. That way I could take the 800mm lens out in the morning rides. The evening rides were too close to sunset and it was quite grey and not the best choice for lenses. Attached Images

03-29-2009, 11:44 AM	#71
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Once again, simply outstanding! Thanks for sharing this work, Chris!

03-29-2009, 04:11 PM	#73
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Wonderful. I love the baby rhino. Thanks chris. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

03-30-2009, 08:27 AM	#75
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Very cool! Thanks for the update. I did not know those factoids about them being like hair. Now I will have to do some research. Thanks again. Oh, and post more pics if you have them. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

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