Wildlife at Spier

Spier is known for their wining and dining experience, but I think one of the highlights of a visit to their property is checking out the Cheetah Outreach project.  They also have a birds of prey area, but I’ll save that for my next visit because we only had time for the wildlife.

While we were standing on a raised balcony overlooking the cheetah enclosures, we struck up a conversation with a volunteer named Patrick.  He let us join one of the cheetah tours already in progress.  When it was finished, he asked if we’d like to hang around a little bit longer to meet some of the animals.  Of course we would!

He took us around to see the jackal, the caracal, two active little meerkats, and our last (and favorite)stop was to see the bat-eared foxes.  What soft fur they had, with those large ears and little black eyes.  Patrick shared with us that he and his wife have been volunteering on their weekends with the sanctuary for nearly 13 years!  He was so friendly and very informative, and he made it an experience I know the three of us will never forget.

Running

(photo via here)

As part of my published list of goals for the year, I started running.  I started the first week of January, and I haven’t stopped.  It’s not an activity I’ve ever really enjoyed.  In fact, I used to complain the loudest when we had to run 2 miles each day during tennis season.  But now I’m older, with the desire to get out and do something with my free time on summer evenings or during my lunch break on cloudy winter days.
What I realized tonight, is that my running forces me to ‘be in the moment’.  What’s behind me doesn’t matter.  It has already passed.  What’s in front of me, I can’t see (literally, because I don’t wear my glasses).  When I start to think I’ll run into a scary situation, like a loose guard dog (it’s happened!) a wave of anxiety washes over me.  I feel my chest start to close and my breathing pattern change.  I lose my focus and start to panic. 
But then I learned, I can’t be afraid of what’s in front of me until I actually see it.  In the moment, I’m actually really enjoying myself.  Deep breath, in and out.  Focus on the present and be in it.  I think it’s okay not to have any set goals.  No dreams of winning 5k races, let alone marathons.  I don’t know where the finish line is.  It’s just a series of slight improvements in pace and distance each month, and that’s what is most fulfilling.

Not Surprised

This morning I woke up to the news that Cape Town has been voted the world’s #1 destination by Trip Advisor’s Travellers Choice Awards for 2011.  Also in the top five are: Sydney, Australia, Machu Picchu, Peru, Paris, France, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  I’ve had so many great adventures in and around Cape Town in the last five months, I’m not surprised!