Grand Finale at the Capital

Biv, Paul and Meredith with Capital club house in the background

There was a special prize for those of us lucky enough to finish in the top 3 of the tour competition. Paul promised those on the podium a game at the exclusive and very private Capital Golf Club in Melbourne. It took a bit to settle on a date since we are back with our busy lives… but on 1^st December Paul delivered on his promise. The lucky ones to go with him were 3 girls (go girls!!!) – Fiona, Meredith and me (Biv).

The capital is absolutely stunning! The entrance resembles the famous Magnolia Drive at Augusta National with the club sitting proud at the end of a road framed by beautiful trees.  We had the golf course and practice facilities entirely for ourselves and so we decided to make the most of it! After a bit of practice we hit the fairways at our leisure. The golf carts were equipped with a handy GPS system and loaded with drinks! The golf course has some fantastic holes and few of them had similar features to The Links at Fancourt. Fiona would’ve probably been the winner on the day but we had decided to just have a friendly one!

Was Fi excited or what?

Trying to follow a good South African tradition, a big meal also accompanied the game…only we had it at the end of the round and not half way like they do! Much easier to play the back nine without a full belly! The meal was a huge and delicious steak sandwich in the well decorated and impeccable club house…very enjoyable!

This game really concludes our 2010 Golf’n’Safari adventure…ohhh…wait…what about the boys vs girls rematch??? Oh well, maybe such a great trip really has no end!

 

Signature hole at The Capital Golf Club

An unforgettable day, an unforgettable tour!

Farewell group photo al Lukimbi

Our great tour came to an end today but not without some undesirable drama which thought us many lessons about life! We started our drive to J’burg this morning after a quick game drive and breakfast. Making good time we were all excited to get to our final destination – the 5 Star Michelangelo Hotel in Nelson Mandela Square.
A couple of hours outside J’burg a loud noise took everyone by surprise before we realised there was a hole on the bus windscreen. Under very unfortunate circumstances a metal bolt came loose from a truck or bus in front of us and went through our bus like a missile. Amazingly, the bolt passed right through the bus missing most of the group but injuring Deidre and Roni. As someone said “it was good bad luck” since the injuries weren’t too severe and we had 3 excellent doctors in the bus. They not only attended these brave ladies, who remained strong during the whole time, but also kept the rest of us calm. Greg and our wonderful driver, Julius, coordinated the emergency services and they were fantastic with paramedics and police arriving in no time. Fortunately, the injuries weren’t too severe and we were all able to continue our journey. The group’s behaviour was something I’ll never forget. Everyone assumed a role without interfering with others, even if that meant just staying away altogether to let the other ones do their jobs. Julius, our lovely driver, was pretty shaken after experiencing an incident he had never seen before.

After some rest in the rooms and reassurance that our friends were ok, the group decided to go ahead with the final dinner at the very famous Butcher Shop restaurant. Greg had initially cancelled it after the incident. We lost our private room, but the dinner was just as lovely with many of us being extremely emotional by realising how quickly things can change in life. It was a mix of emotions – relief that we were all ok and present, sad that the trip was over and excitement about the different golf winners.

Eddy congratulating Terry

With many golf prizes to present, we started with the Leopard Creek results. Eddy presented the Men’s Shark Cup  to one of his best mates, Terry (who had 36 points). Greg had decided a couple of days earlier to provide a perpetual trophy for the best lady player in one round of all future Global Golf group tours -  the girls then decided to call this trophy “The Julius Bolt Cup” in memory of our lovely driver and the infamous, harmful bolt! The inaugural “Julius Bolt Cup” was won by Meredith who had a fantastic 44 points on such a difficult course. Apart from the fame and riches she receives, Meredith also has the honour of designing the trophy!

Greg and Fi with Garden Route Runner Winner Paul

Even though Biv was ‘ineligible’ to win she had the best overall score and her performance was rewarded and recognised by the group in a very touching way and with a lovely prize. Paul, who started the tour in great form, easily won the “Garden Route Road Runner” trophy while Stephen S took out the “Game Park Guru” prize for the second half of the tour – this was a real blanket finish with 6 genuine contenders into the final day.

Game Park Guru - Stephen S

Meredith ‘stole’ the “Tour Champion” title from Paul on a count back – both with 309 points over the 9 rounds!  Her last day 44 points gained 13 on Paul and delivered a countback victory. Fiona’s performance was also very consistent during the whole tour and it wasn’t unrecognised - Paul has promised he will take the top 3 finishing players to The Capital – a very exclusive venue –  as a prize. The lucky ones to join Fiona are Meredith and Biv. Thank you Paul!

Fi and Greg with OVerall Winner Meredith

Many lovely and emotional comments were made about the trip and Eddy made very special mention of Greg, our “Nazi” Tour Director, who put in all the effort behind the scenes to make this tour so successful. Thanks a lot Greg for a job well done! A beautiful token of the group’s appreciation was also presented to him.

I guess that this report marks the conclusion of the tour that has, in many ways, affected our lives forever. Experiences like this don’t come along often - as tired as we are at the end I am sure we are all looking forward to seeing our families and pets back home, or simply continuing the trips for those who go on to different destinations. In any case, I know it won’t be long before we are reliving the many memories of this trip in our minds as well as with each other and our friends.

Presentation and last tour dinner

Something for everyone

Pack of wild dogs - really mean looking animals

Today there was choice of activities for the group. It was another day packed with action for those who chose to play the Skukuza Golf Course and a day of relaxation for those who decided to enjoy the facilities of the amazing Lukimbi Safari Lodge.

The trip to Skukuza started at 6:30 am and, after driving for about 1 1/2 hrs, the group arrived at this special golf course were wild animals are everywhere. As if the game of golf wasn’t enough to keep you on edge at all times, this 9 hole golf course keeps the adrenaline running though your body with “be aware” signs everywhere…”be aware of lions”, “be aware of rhinos” , etc…lucky no one had a real close encounter with them and the experience was, without a doubt, unforgettable for those who went. I believe that Impalas were nearly hit by errant golf balls from some of our players and fear set in when having to hit over lake where about 7 hippos live! Very hard trying to keep an eye on your ball and another one on the hippos! On the way back to the lodge the group also saw a lot of wild animal life.

Those of us who stayed at Lukimbi, had an early morning game drive where we saw a baby hyena with her mum. We also encountered a pack of wild dogs, which is very rare to see since there are only about 2 to 3 thousand left in existence. The hyenas don’t smell badly, they simply stink! And the wild dogs are very well known for being excellent hunters with a 90% conversion rate. Things went quiet for a while before we got a call from a ranger who had spotted lions eating a giraffe on the other side of the park, about 45 min away. We all got excited with the possibility to see them so our morning drive became the “Ferrari Safari” as Paul, one of the rangers, named it. Aaron, the other ranger, took us to the spot in no time and we saw these 2 lions that had eaten so much they couldn’t move!   

After a rest in the lovely rooms where from the baths and the toilets you can overlook the wild animals in the open space –don’t worry the cabins are so well designed they are totally private- we went to have some lunch in the main part of the lodge. Suddenly 7 or 8 elephants showed up to drink water from the creek that borders the lodge! The scene was unbelievable and we could see them so close we felt we could touch them! Watching them interact amongst themselves is fascinating with many of us speculating what their behaviour meant.  It was a real live show and we felt very privileged to be able to observe it.

The weather has been extremely cold which is unusual for this time of the year, especially considering last week temperatures reached 42 degrees. The animals tend to be a lot quieter at times like these and the evening game drive wasn’t as exciting for the entire group, although we still managed to see a baby owl, rhinos, kudus, a chameleon and even more elephants.

Tomorrow morning will be our last game drive in the morning and then we’ll be heading to Johannesburg (about 6 hr drive) where we will be saying our good byes to everyone. Good things don’t last long and it is already sad to think this fascinating experience in South Africa is about to end! Leaving Lukimbi is very sad too since the staff is extremely friendly and seem to enjoy what they do so much. I am sure some of the people in the group will be more heartbroken than others but, as Fiona and I always say, “What happens in Lukimbi stays in Lukimbi”.

Family of elephants at Lukimbi

Leopard Creek Golf Club - a special place!

LCGC Club House and 9th green

We had our final ‘official” golf round at Leopard Creek Golf Club today. This is still in today’s ranking the #1 course in South Africa and certainly the most exclusive. You may call it the “Augusta National” of South Africa. There was no time for an early morning game drive because our tee time was 9:30 am and it took us about 45 minutes to drive from Lukimbi to the golf club which is just out side the National Kruger Park. Not many things are easy when dealing with this super exclusive, super private club - at arrival we all had to sign indemnity forms since the course is very exposed to wild animal life and, even more dramatically, they do not take cash in the Proshop. We were welcomed by Derrick, the golf professional, who kindly gave us a complete tour of the club house and told us about the short history of the place. The golf club is owned by a multi-millionaire and he built it the place only 14 years ago. He decided he wanted the club house to look old - like the original and most traditional clubhouses in the world, and therefore all the furniture, colours, wall decorations, locker rooms and everything in general makes you feel as if you had jumped in a time machine that took you back 80 or 100 years. The club house over looks the 9^th and 18 greens, which are difficult holes where water comes into play when approaching the greens, especially 18^th, which is literally an island green. Pretty nice and challenging!

The owner also managed to get a huge collection of hickory clubs from Scotland. These are very nicely displayed in one of the rooms in the club house. They run little tournaments with these clubs every now and then but the lack of a sand iron in those old sets make it a bit hard to play the bunker shots! The one thing that wasn’t very appealing for many of us (animal lovers) was the heads of the animals hanging from many of the walls of the building. The club only has about 300 members and many of them are internationals. To be a member you must buy a property in the area, which is what golfers like Ernie Els, Gary Player and others have done.

The golf course is actually designed by Gary Player but has a massive Jack Nicklaus influence. There are statues of leopards that decorate every hole, and there were many different opinions within the group trying to figure out if they should at all be on the course or if they were even attractive…

The golf course is certainly challenging with water and creeks running amongst many of the holes. Whether it was because all the final prizes were to be decided after today’s round (and many players were still in contention), or just because you want to have your best game in places like this, the bottom line is that everyone was trying hard. The winners, however, will only be announced during presentations at the final tour dinner at the Butcher Shop in Johannesburg. 

During the famous “Half Way House” break - which is compulsory in many clubs in South Africa - we saw a Rhino standing in the river near by the club house and another later on the 13^th hole! Pretty cool! After the game and many shirts and hats bought in the Proshop, we went quickly back to Lukimbi for an afternoon game drive. This was, once again, was full of surprises with amazing animals and beautiful views. Dinner was lovely and we all went to bed with yet another early start tomorrow. 

View of the 'Half Way House' Rhino

The Kruger

Our first game drive...very exciting!

We said good bye to Sun City at 6 am this morning when we started our journey to Kruger National Park.  There is no easy way to get to this place but the challenge is worth it considering the rewards that await us. First of all, there will be the daily game drives in the mornings and evenings. However, we also can’t wait for our game at Leopard Creek, the current #1 course in South Africa. So, we drove for about 3 hrs to Johannesburg Airport where we caught a little plane that took us to Nelspruitt (40 min), where we jumped in mini buses that took us to the park in a further 90 minute drive.

Driving to Lukimbi, we saw the first animals along the road including giraffes, lots of impalas and birds of prey amongst others. A lovely lunch was prepared for us and it was, according to some, one of their favourite meals on tour – which says a lot considering the standard of the places where we have been in the past few days.

In the evening we went on safari for the first time and we were all like children in a lolly shop! Our knowledgeable drivers and spotters managed to locate a Rhino and her baby and we took great photos of them at a very close range.  We then saw a group of giraffes so large that someone counted 19 of them. Some of them were necking each other which is a sign of dominance amongst themselves, but the ritual seem to be more focussed towards some mating that was taking place too. It was nature at its best!

The weather has changed dramatically in this part of South Africa going from 42 degrees a couple of days ago to 20 degrees today. It was perfect for our traditional Boma Dinner though, which took place in a fabulous outdoor setting around the fire and the meal was very tasty. Time to prepare for golf tomorrow…Leopard Creek, the last game of the tour, is waiting for us and with many prizes up for grabs, I am sure everyone will be trying their best. 

Rhinos - mum and baby

Gary Player becomes even more popular with men!

The rematch!

So far we have played 9 rounds of golf. All were on quite different styles of courses and all of them well liked by the group in general - some more than others, though! Today, however, regardless of the score, everyone thought the course was fantastic and most people said they would like to play it again.  The course we played was the Gary Player Golf Club at Sun City - host of the Nedbank Challenge every year and where the most recognised and best golfers on the planet come to compete.

Even though we weren’t playing for big money like the Pros do, the challenge for everyone was like one of their “majors”! It was the much anticipated girls vs. boys rematch. With smart uniforms kindly arranged by tour organiser, Global Golf, the format was ‘best ball’ match play, meaning the best stableford score per hole would win. The pairs were carefully chosen by the Team Captains – Meredith and Paul. The line up for the photos shows behind every girl her opponent for the day, and those boys were more determined than ever to get us….and…they did, winning 4 out of the 7 matches! Well done to the guys! My only excuse for the girls’ performance is that we were very distracted - not only with the caddies’ sense of humour but also with all the animals we saw in the hills that frame the course, including elephants, zebras and wilderbeast.

Best score of the day was Eddy who had a fantastic score of 40 points putting him ahead of everybody in the “Game Park Guru” competition and making him gain positions in the overall. Congratulations Eddy!

It was again a hot day in this lovely part of South Africa and, being the last day at Sun City, people wanted to make the most of it. After the game some people went on safari and saw many of the animals we saw from the golf course but at much closer range. This safari was like an appetizer for what is coming up tomorrow when we move again and this time to the Kruger National Park. Others enjoyed a relaxing day in the hotel pools while drinking delicious Margaritas! Not a bad way to spend the rest of the day either! A group dinner in Santorini’s - one of the many restaurants the Sun City has to offer- finished off this full-on day.  Big moving day tomorrow and yes…early start again but I am sure it’ll be all worth it!

View of the 9th green on the Gary Player course

And then…there it was…Sun City!

Today's winners - Reg, Fi, Eddy and Meredith

Yesterday was a huge day - after golf and travelling all day we finally arrived at Sun City at nearly midnight. The sleepy ones woke up as we started to see what this place is all about – ostentaciousness, luxury, statues, chandeliers, marble –you name – it’s all here! After checking in, we staggered to our rooms (and I must mention that  elephant tusks decorate the elevators - surely they are not real!) . This morning's game was at one of the 2 championship courses Sun City has –The Lost City course. It was quite a contrast to the courses we have played so far. This course is Gary Player's version of a desert golf course. The course design is interesting and challenging from the get go, but the most challenging hole on the course is the Par 3 where the crocodile pit is! Seven of them live in that area and, believe me, you don’t want to try to retrieve your golf ball if you hit it there!

The team challenge was the infamous ‘pink’ ball comp. Only that this time we used a logo ball...but the torture was the same! 3 out of the 4 balls made the entire 18 holes and it was an unheard score of 42 points that won the competition. Not surprisingly, 2 of those  team members had 42 points each with Reg taking victory over Ed on a count back. Ed was the real winner because he gets a good amount points for the aggregate competition and only gets 2 strokes deducted from his handicap. Reg gets 4 strokes taken of him…and once again, just in time, for the girls vs. boys rematch…not very clever!

A well celebrated birthday also took place today. It was Stephen S’s birthday and we met at the Royal Suite (yes, the suite is bloody amazing!), kindly allocated to the Gilson’s by the hotel. We celebrated with nibbles, cake, champagne, and a taste of Fiona’s skills as a piano player (not bad at all!). We finished the day with a group dinner at one of the many restaurants in this absolutely massive complex only comparable to a “mini Vegas”.

A much earlier start tomorrow will see the girls and boys playing a "Ryder Cup-style" stableford match against each other. The captains are Paul and Meredith and the teams will be nicely uniformed in golf shirts and hats kindly offered to us by the resort.  Once again winning will be priceless!

View of the 18 hole with the Palace int he background

A day of big adventures

Ed and Reg on the signature hole 7th

Contribution to the blog by Paul Van Ryn:

Today had an early start leaving the Fancourt Resort at 6:30 am for an hour bus trip to Pinnacle Point Golf Course. This course was on cliff tops and very challenging with many golf balls lost -  over the side is the Indian Ocean! This course was completed in 2007 and whilst is currently unrated it is expected soon to be included in the list of the World’s Top 100 golf courses, once sufficient analysts have rated the course. This would likely make it the top rated course in South Africa.

Today’s leading players were Roni, with 38 points and Stephen T. with 33 points on a count back over Biv. Great scores considering we have gone back to our original golf link handicaps to start the second leg of the golf tour called the “Game Park Guru”. The weather was very friendly and calm considering that the course will be very tough in windy conditions. After finishing golf and a quick bite and drink we took our bus to George Airport for our flight to Johannesburg and then 2 hour bus trip to Sun City – our venue for the next 3 nights. All didn’t go to plan as we had a 3 hour wait due to a booking mix up, providing time to write post cards, post on blogs, play cards or go to the café.

The shot that made Paul famous! 

Contribution to the blog by Meredith:

Best shot I’ve seen on tour so far....

The wind was kind to us at Pinnacle Point which made it easier to appreciate the spectacular scenery of a golf course perched on an ocean cliff side surrounded by appalling unsympathetic architecture…OK back to the shot...

7^th PAR 3 – 111 meters where the tee and the green are completely separated by a ravine, the carry is about 100 meters and the pin was at the front. Paul cracked a pitching wedge long into the back greenside bunker then flew out of the bunker long back into the ravine. The ball ended up suspended 15cm up in the branch of a shrub. Undeterred, Paul played his third shot delicately balanced on the hill to within 3 feet and dropped the putt for bogie 4 – A Masterpiece!

View of the 18th hole

Contribution by Biv:

AS good aussies do they turned the wait into a bit of a party and took over the lounge offered to us by the Fancourt Resort. There was a “Nearest the Pin’ competition about the total weight of the luggage – 17 people, 14 golf bags & 15 suitcases…take your bet! A previous golf winner  proved to be very good in other calculations too! It was  Helen, who after a late change won the bet just 4 kg over the weight of 428kg! Well done Helen!!! Edddy shared some of his knowledge about Sun City with us - sounds like a really exciting and exotic place!

View of the 12th hole

The complete package

Helen O'R., Paul Van R., Meredith R., and Lindy H., at the 'drinks party

The Fancourt Resort has everything a golfer could wish for. From 2 spectacular golf courses to an amazing spa centre, tennis courts, bike rides, sushi bar, yes…a bar too…etc. So, today, some of the fanatic but a bit weary golfers in the group couldn’t resist the temptation to play the second course at this resort (the Montagu course) while others decided to take it easy and make the most of the facilities the resort has to offer. The weather was perfect for any activity!

Montagu is a completely different course than the Links. This course is a parkland style course that sits amongst a residential development with very beautiful and interesting architecture. There is also such a great variety of birds here that a guide to identify the different kinds has been developed by the resort. Some of the holes on the course have water in play and the fairways can be quite undulating. The fact that the course is so stunning and well manicured  doesn’t take anything away from its difficulty - after all just like the Links, it is also a Championship course. The only downside of this course is that if you were to play it regularly, you will be changing your shoe spikes quite often, since the walks between greens and tees are quite long – so much so that for a normal round here they allow 4:50 min!

An interesting finishing hole with a creek running in front of the green makes the perfect entertainment for the 19^th hole spectators who can sit and enjoy a cold beer in the well located terrace of the club house! Nothing better that to see other golfers suffering too when their ball goes in the water!

The report from the massages and beauty treatments were good and, overall, regardless of what you did everyone had a good time. We finished the day with a ‘drinks party’ at the O’Reilly’s room before heading for an early dinner.

Tomorrow, we’ll be leaving the hotel very early to play Pinnacle Point – one of the most scenic courses you can find. After golf we’ll be flying to our next destination Sun City! Can’t wait!

Perfect weather and lovely course, what else can we ask for?

The real deal

Robyn, Ed, Marsh and Biv -note the size of her caddie

The Links Course at Fancourt lived up to its reputation as a true golf challenge. It was built as a dramatic links style course (albeit 20 kilometres inland from the ocean!) on a flat piece of land that used to be an airstrip. Gary Player moved an incredible amount of dirt and created an amazing series of windswept, grass-covered dunes. This is a very unforgiving golf course that needs precision off the tee and the right club selection into the demanding greens. The fact that is quite exposed to the wind increases the challenge and not even the great knowledge of our caddies telling us where, how and sometimes what club to hit helped most of us! The golf course is fair and its unique revetted style of bunkering makes it quite fascinating. Here is where the 2003 Presidents Cup was played. It was a special event because the Team Captains were legends of the game, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. The event featured players of the calibre of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els (probably South Africa’s favourite golfer), Phil Mickelson and others.

The caddies always add to the entertainment - some of them have interesting personalities and are good story tellers, some other ones are shy and quiet and some other ones are quite bossy! Overall, they do know these courses better than any of us so their advice is usually accurate and well received. It is just a matter of doing what they say!

Today we saw a new winner for whom her caddie became –according to her own words – ‘the second love of her life’! For Helen O’Reilly her caddie was the extra help she needed and he helped her navigate the course without getting into too much trouble. She won the individual with 40 points. Congratulation Helen! Her strong performance wasn’t enough to help her team though! The winning team came from a good combination of players with a total of 95 points – they were: Ed, Marshall, Biv and Robyn.

After golf we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and a casual dinner. As much as we have enjoyed the different courses and the tour itself, the ‘good old’ bodies are starting to show signs of tiredness so a good night’s sleep was very welcome.

Gary Player's version of Hell Bunker

OMG!

"Top Roomies" - Stephen t. & Paul Van R.

So we drove 5 hours to get to our next golf course, Simola Golf Club - needless to say we were all getting pretty restless on the bus. As we approached drove inland from the the ocean we started climbing up the mountain for about 6 or 7km through what looked like quite a poor area. At the top of this mountain we found an elegant housing complex with security gates. Rapidly we jumped in our golf carts (compulsory, later on you will understand why!) and headed to the first tee. And that's when we went OMG......from there on the beauty of the scenery and the golf holes was literally breathtaking.

Not being a golf expert but having played many courses in my life, I have to say I have never seen anything like this! The golf course was built on the side of the mountain and it has some downhill holes where the hang time for the shots feels like a few minutes long! Designed by Jack Nicklaus, this golf course is totally playable and fair despite its 'craziness'. The precisely located bunkers will catch errant shots and you need to know how to read the mountain-side greens - they can be quite deceptive and fool you into believing it is an uphill putt when it is totally the opposite.

It was the "4BBB Roomies" competition and the second last round of the the "Garden Route Road Runner" event for the tour's first half. So,with such an interesting course, who dominated the field? Well I believe the skills acquired playing the Old Course at The National will serve you well on a course like this.  And yes, it was a proud National member, Paul Van Ryn, who claimed victory (with 43 points on his own) with a total of 51 points with his roomie partner, Stephen T. Excellent score boys and a well deserved win!

We arrived quite late to the Fancourt Resort but, even at night, it looks stunning. After a quick bite in the restaurant everyone headed to the rooms for a much needed rest.

The ladder has changed and tomorrow we will be playing the Links Course at Fancourt. this is where the new, artificially high handicaps will be needed! This course was the host of the Presidents' Cup a couple of year ago and promises to be quite challenging. With the "Garden Route Road Runner" title up for grabs and a few people cramped at the top of the ladder, the competition will be fierce!

View of some of the holes of the Simola GC taken from the Club House

Project 55

The fantastic 4 - Terry, Stephen, Lindy and Robyn

It seems like everyone is getting as much mileage as they can out of the tour handicap system - a couple of players (Marshall and Stephen T.) think they have it all figured out...they know now if they don't come up with the top scores of the day after about 10 more rounds they could end up with a handicap of 55 and then attack the field! All I can say is good luck to them and we'll see...

Today, once again, was a beautiful day for golf (25 degrees or so and very little wind), warm but pleasant. The Arabella Golf Course couldn't be more opposite to Pearl Valley. This course doesn't have the beautiful flower beds that Pearl Valley has or the mountains framing the golf course, but its atractiveness comes from its dramatic style, spectacular bunkering, funky holes and rough so tough (and most likely snake territory) that it has been made a hazard.

The teams competition for today was Reverse Irishfoursomes Stableford, where the best score out of 4 players counts on the par 5s, the best 2 on the par 4's and the best 3 on par 3's. The team that combined the best was Robyn, Paul, Terry and Lindy with 89 points! Well done guys! Lindy, also won the individual best score with 40 points on a count back over the 'Director of Golf', Fiona. So, after all the scores were entered into the fancy I-pad (I am only jeslous!)...the result for the individual ladder changed very little...Biv G. is still on top! Catch her if you can is the message!

The day culminated with a lovely dinner in one of the Hotel's private rooms. The table was nicely decorated, the meals were very appetizing and the service couldn't be faulted. A nice way to say good bye to this beautiful venue.

Tomorrow will be a 'big day' with a very early start. We'll make our way to Fancourt but on the way we will stop and play Simola, one of the hidden gems in South African golf. Let's hope the weather continues to treat us kindly so we can continue to enjoy and taste the different flavours of South African golf.

View of the challenging finishing hole at Arabella GC

More photos to come

Moving Day

Winners are grinners!!!

Sadly, we left Cape Town today and the beautiful Table Bay Hotel. On the way to Arabella, our next destination, we played at Pearl Valley Golf Club. It is difficult to describe with words the beauty of this course. Unfortunately, the fairways & greens had been scarified recenty (we had been warned!) and I would love to have played it when in A1 condition. Wherever you look there is a lovely view of the rocky mountains and their silouhetttes. The course is also well manicured and there are a great variety of native flowers decorating every hole. The water comes into play on many of the holes and that proved to be quite a challenge for some...no need to say but it wasn't the female players!

So, that brings us to the next big topic...who was victoriousin the big match between the girls and the boys? Well...we are not going to say who lost but the hints are there and let me just tell you the girls are going to be bragging for a long time...

There is a rematch though later in the tour and we sincerly hope that the men had better luck than St. Kilda!

We left Pearl Valley and our lovely driver , Andrew,  took us on a spectacular drive to the Arabella Western Cape Hotel and Spa - our home for the next 2 nights. We finished the day with a group dinner at the Jamani Restaurant where presentations took place.

After the girls' celebrations, the individual winners were announced. Biv happened to have the best score (43 points) but was  inelegible to win the prize - just because she was one of the Tour Leaders - all she got was 4 strokes off her handicap! OK, so it looks like all the new handicap system is going to keep us honest anyway! The first prize was then allocated  to a deserving winner, Meredith,  who managed 40 points on this very challenging course. She overtook Deidre only by one point. Well done Meredith and well done to the girls!!! But seeing as the  'Golf Operations' team (Fi & Greg) plays to their own drum they decided to take 4 strokes off her too! Not fair!

Tomorrow looks like another promising day golf and weather wise and, with a later start, we are definitely ready for a sleep in!

View of the most difficult hole at Pearl Valley

Click here to see more photos from today

This is what we came here for!

First tour event winner,Stephen S, went from 10 to 6 hcp!

Today we finally hit the fairways at the Royal Cape Golf Club. As much as we have enjoyed the previous 2 days, some of us we getting itchy feet to play some golf and once again the good weather was on our side. The golf course was in great condition condition although many players found the thick kikyu grass a litlle confusing - especially on the green surrounds. Royal Cape GC is flat but very picturesque as it has the tradional Cape Town rocky mountains as background. 

The four teams were quickly 'baptised' by the Director of Golf - Fiona Law. She can work wonders with her new ipad too! So, we saw Charlie's Angels (Ed and 3 girls), Tierney's Tarts (Stepehn T. and 3 girls), Testosterone Tigers (no need to explain...4 boys obviously) and the Happy Couples (Robyn & Reg  and Meredith &Marshal.)

The competitive spirit in most of us was also coming out to try to establish our credentials on the Aggregate Stableford golf ladder. It started today and will go on for the rest of the tour. Winning early, however, may not be the best strategy during this tour. The 2010 Golf'n'Safari handicap system is almost as controversial as Golf Australia's latest version. After each event your handicap gets affected as follows:

Winner - Loses 4 strokes
Runner Up - Loses 2 strokes
Everyone else - Gains 2 strokes

Whether the system works or not we'll find out at the end but for now it seems to be quite popular - the majority of the players are happy with 2 strokes added to their handicap for NOT having the top 2 scores of the day! Sounds good to me!

Some people had a good score on their own, and some had the help of the valuable caddies...well, at least some of them were helpful! Ed didn't need any help and managed to score 39 points to take 2nd place. Stephen S. stole his thunder and took the winner position with 40 points - I am sure his caddy got a good tip!

Tomorrow's round is at Pearl Valley Golf Club and it will be the most anticipated match of all - Girls vs. Boys!!! Winning will be crucial and priceless since the real prize will be the right to brag about it for the rest of the trip!!! Gotta go to bed now...need to be in top form for tomorrow to help my team...GO GIRLS!!!

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A taste of Africa

Today was a day of sightseeing, relaxation and a taste of the African culture. We started early in the morning with a tour to the Cape of Good Hope (the most south-westerly part of Africa). Our tour guide was a funny but knowledgable guy calle Oloof. He entretained us all the way with the history of the area and general information about the country. We had few stops along the way - one of them in a market place, where you could get anything from handcraft souvenirs to diamonds and tanzanitas (a beautiful blue precious stone original from Tanzania). Despite intense interest from Lindy & Robyn (in particular) Paul was the only one to boost the local economy. The route along the atlantic ocean was very scenic with amazing cliffs, beautiful long beaches with white sand and some very expensive real estate - some of them holiday homes for celebrities such as David Beckam. The goverment protects some of the land near the beaches and nothing can be built there. They also protect the maritime species in the ocean and there are areas where fishing is prohibited.  The weather was also great and that added to the beauty of this drive.

We also saw some animals along the way including whales (yes...whales!). They are so used to humans there were guys windsurfing around them...unbelievable! We saw ostriches, cranes, african penguins and baboons -which can be pretty scary if they decide they want your food! They just don't dribble looking at you eat...they'll snatch your food! Oloof was very clear in his warnings not to resist if they decide they want your sandwich.

Not everything is nice and beautiful in South Africa though. There is poverty and unemployement. Along the way we saw a couple of spots where unemployed people wait for someone who needs an extra hand for any kind of job. They pick them up and take them to the work place where they'll make $20 a day plus a meal. Most of these people are refugees from other African nations. Unemployment in Cape Province is down to 30% (from 50%).

After reaching our destination and taking some photos at the sign that marks the latitude and longitude of the Cape of Good Hope (mind you trying to get the Americans to atay sway from the sign wasn't easy!) we drove to Cape Point. We walked up to the light house to admire the view from this high and extremely windy place. After a tasty luch we drove back to Cape Town and saw parts of this beautiful city of nearly 4 million people such as The Cape Town University, the new stadium built for the soccer World Cup and the "One &Only Hotel" - which is really the 'one and only' 6 star hotel in South Africa.

We finished the day with a colorful and rhythmic night at the Gold Restaurant in Cape Town. Before dinner we had a demostration and a taste of playing the drums - a very traditional instrument in the african culture that they used to use to communicate to each other. It was fun although may have some bruised hand for tomorrow's golf! (Not ideal, really!). The meal was accompanied by singers and dancers of african music... as it turned out we had our own star in the group, who had all the right moves and was more than capable of keeping up when invited to dance by the african dancer...Lindy surprised us all, and it was lovely to see that everyone got in to the spirit of the night and enjoyed the experience. Bed time...early start tomorrow for golf! What is the course record at Royal Cape?

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What a welcome!

Our first day started perfectly for some of the people in the group...the Collinwood supporters! Obviously! Around 6.30 AM local time we made our way downstairs to watch the footy in Union Bar. Fresh coffee and pastries (not fair having such temptations so early in the morning!) had been prepared specially for our group. It was interesting to see how "Aussie Rules" is truly becoming a global game and it is now broadcast by ESPN. We watched the first half of the game before going for the most amazing buffet breakfast I've ever seen! Someone counted 15 different varieties of fresh juices! Unreal! We finished watching the game and it seemed like the girls were more in a mood to celebrate than the boys, so a glass or 2 of champagne went down very well. All this before 9.30 in the morning!

Later on our trip to Robben Island was cancelled but the weather was so beautiful that we headed for one of Cape Town's main tourist attractions - Table Mountain. It is rare to see the mountain not covered in clouds the local say, so we were lucky. The views from the top of the mountain are incredible with beautiful coastal views from everywhere.

Wine in South Africa is good and quite inexpensive, so pizza and wine was the perfect lunch. After enjoying a relaxing afternoon in the hotel, tonite we'll be having the Welcome Happy Hour. That officially kick starts the Tour and the whole group will finally be reunited.

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The adventure starts now!

Most of us have finally arrived today in Cape Town after traveling nearly 25 hrs door to door from Melbourne...the trip was worth it though! After a quick stop at J'bourg airport, which is huge and very modern, we arrived in Cape Town where the weather temperature is perfect. The hotel where we are staying is called the Table Bay Hotel, a 5 star hotel located right on the Harbour- just gorgeous!

It is hard, however, to totally dettach ourselves from our lovely Australia and especially the things that matter to us the most...like the footy! So, tomorrow morning at 6:30 am the Hotel is opening the Union Bar specially for our group so we can watch the Grand Final! No sleeping in...but...who wants to miss it???

In the afternoon we'll be visitting Robben Island and enjoying the hotel's facilities which look amazing. Time to go to bed now... early start for the footy fans!

Only 4 sleeps away...

It has been over 2 years in the making but it is finally happening...our great South Africa adventure will soon start with amazing golf courses, hotels, sight seeing, animals, food, wine, shopping and more!

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