Day 19: Petting Zoo with a View

Alanna loves everything that is alive. Dogs, cats, cows and raindeers are obviously cuddly, but she also thinks that snakes are cute and spends evenings thinking how she could catch and release a mosquito without killing it.

Fantasy animals are even better. She started with unicorns and magical cats, but currently we are in a lenghty werewolf phase. Her howl is becoming pretty realistic.

Imhoff Farm with its petting zoo is Alanna’s happy place. Kiara agrees, as she thrives with the active interaction with the animals – and on all the playgrouds and climbing trees.

For parents, agood view, good food and a glass of wine are all that’s needed.

On the way back we also stopped in Hout Bay for ice cream.

Day 2: Burning off energy

There is a wonderful Finnish word, mökkihöperö, loosely translated as “going a bit loopy from too much time indoors.” After a weekend mostly stuck inside because of the –20°C temperatures, the girls were definitely going mökkihöperö. And, with all that excess energy, so were Stuart and I.

The easiest solution is a half-day at an indoor playground. Alanna and Kiara are big enough to run around on their own, so I can (albeit with a lot of interruptions) sit and edit photos. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones who had the same thought. Do you have any idea how hard it is to recognize your child among 50+ others, all yelling “Mum!” at regular intervals? Luckily, it’s a big place.