Waterberg Plateau, Namibia--A message from the Admiral

 It's been a while since my last blog entry and another year has passed .I can't 
believe Callisto is 7.5 years old and we have been living on her full time for 
just over 5 years .Some of you may remember we said we would be finished in 5 
years! Right...
My 2014 sailing season was short and ended at the end of April, when we flew to 
Japan for my 60th birthday.  A wonderful country that we will return to sometime 
in the future.
I have also been busy traveling in the USA and England,not like Michael who as 
you will have read in previous blog entries had a lot of sailing miles to cover.
It was wonderful to spend time in California with Julie ,James and Katie and in 
Oregon with Josette.we also had our much needed rest time in Sun Valley.Then 
onto London where I had so much fun babysitting for Sydney ,who will be 3 this 
week! We are waiting to hear the news of the arrival of our second grand 
daughter, due in a week !My mum unfortunately fell and fractured her hip whilst 
I was there,so I delayed my departure from London and arrived in South Africa 
mid -November ,late spring in this hemisphere .The Royal Cape Yacht Club must be 
one of the windiest places on earth ,it sometimes feels like we are sailing at 
anchor,but in fact are tied to the dock!It puts Chicago to shame.The sailors 
here are also very tough and go out in 40 kts +with full foul weather gear for 
fun.
The scenery around Capetown ,the garden route, inner Karoo and the wine lands 
has been spectacular ,I had never realized there were so many vineyards in this 
country ,they must easily outnumber California and France in acreage .Not only 
good wine ,but also excellent food and the the best part of this ideal pairing 
is how affordable it all is.I think  Franschhoek nestled in a spectacular valley 
, has to have the best combination of vineyards ,restaurants with views that I 
have seen thus far on my worldwide tour! 
In early December it was so lovely to have Jen and her friend Ed join us .We 
visited all the main tourist  attractions with them.
These last 10 days we have been driving around Namibia and have had a wonderful 
experience seeing the wildlife up close and personal,as you will have seen from 
the photos.The Etosha National park was amazing!It was wonderful to be able to 
self drive searching for the animals.When we came upon 3 lions just after their 
kill and feasting we were literally 10 feet away from them as I rolled down the 
window and took photos, a real adrenaline rush! I took more than 1500 photos in 
our first week,thank goodness for digital cameras.
Michael has been enjoying all sorts of new meat on our travels .I doubt very 
much I will find this selection on my return home even at Wholefoods....Impala,springbok,ostrich,kudu,guinea 
fowl and oryx so far! Meat seems to be a staple served at every meal in Southern 
Africa ,luckily I am able to find a good selection of vegetables and fruit.We 
made a day trip to Victoria falls which was an awesome sight,and a must to do 
,this was my first helicopter flight,but crossing the borders
Namibia,Botswana,Zimbabwe and back left a bad taste in your mouth,with  the 
enormous amount of paperwork and passport stamping plus  fees .For Zimbabwe a 
British passport holder gets charged the most,we can probably guess why?  $55 US 
per person for a day visit to cross the border(Zambia is supposed to be more) 
Mugabe  is raking it in,but not for the people.......then there are park fees 
etc ,etc and US dollars are the currency of choice.
We have just spent New Years on the Waterberg plateau ,an incredible spot,very 
remote and with beautiful red rocks and spring waters,it reminds me that  a 
good resolution for 2015 would be....
Today, stop often, breathe deeply, relax, allow, accept, and enjoy.
So tomorrow we set off towards the gigantic dunes in the south of Namibia....and 
so we continue,a Happy and healthy New Year to you all.