Cherries and ziplines!

December is cherry picking month in South Africa.  In the markets, delicious, shiny red cherries are in abundance, but some people like to pick their own.

A group from our church in Cape Town spent a day travelling out to Ceres, frequently called 'the Garden of Eden', for this activity.

I had never picked cherries before, so it was a new experience.  Many of the trees were ready for picking, as you can see above (friend, Marilet, in the orchard). The rules say not to eat while you pick.  We weren't sure if that was to increase sales, or because they had been sprayed and would need washing before eating.  But it was far too tempting not to try a few.  Besides you really did need to check that they were ripe!

We discovered which trees were the best, and not necessarily the large black cherries; there are different varieties, colours and sizes, each with a distinctive taste.  I picked three punnets in total.

 After the cherry picking we picnicked in the shaded areas, just enjoying each others company on a lazy Saturday.

Then, my friend Sue and I set off for an arenaline adventure.

Ceres is surrounded by mountains so the location is perfect for the longest zip line in Africa:

 Ceres Zip Slide Adventures is a series of eight slides across the rocky canyons, which funnel the rainwater into the fertile valley below.

We were kitted out with a harness and brake, which would be clipped onto each line, then, taken by minibus up into the mountains to the starting place, where our two instructors gave us the safety briefing:



 There were two others on our tour (people we didn't know, but who gave us much 'dutch courage').  Sue's expression says it all!

Here I am preparing at the first slide...

 ...the successful launch (pitty you can't hear the screams!)...      


 ...and landing (phew!)

Here is Sue on one of the slides...

The experience just got better and better, so by the end we were really enjoying it:

 Near the final landing point, we saw some bushman paintings, which sadly have been defaced:

The zipline experience added much to the day and and for Sue was an important confidence builder.  Well done, girl!!