While most other Swedes were having their Christmas ham, this was the closest to a proper ham I got. He was later joined by guineafowl as well as a nyala... quite the buffet!
It's the first time I've ever seen a bush pig, as they usually are quite shy nocturnal creatures, unlike their cousins, the warthogs. Sitting quietly on the porch of your hut for an hour can be rewarding. I also had a visit from an unsuspecting vervet monkey, who got a real shock when not noticing me until he was only a few metres away.
Even though I got neither ham nor presents for Christmas, I got to fall asleep to the cacophony of the African bush at night... and that makes up for almost anything.
/A
I couldn’t believe my fortune, as I knew they had been spotted in the early morning hours in about the same place, and logically should be miles away! They didn't stick around for long though, a few poses and they were gone…
Possibly they were out for a relaxing morning stroll, keeping well below speed limit (both the park’s and their own) at a leisurely 20 km/h. Sometimes they'd stop to have a sniff at their fellow travellers, dog or car apparently didn’t matter. 
They didn't run into the grass or change their pace just because a few motorized beings decided to come along. Shooting you a glance from time to time, as if to see that everyone was still there. What a fantastic feeling, as if I was actually running along with the dogs! 
Suddenly they all stopped, starred into the bush and ran off. But after driving for half an hour, again dogs appeared(!), this time seven of them. To be honest, I have no idea if it was the same pack that now was complete, but I got a feeling that these were different dogs. After spending about twenty minutes with them they also decided to disappear, just as suddenly as the others. 
After a morning like that, you just know that you won’t see anything for the rest of the day… you don’t deserve to! The only unfortunate detail is that my friends weren't with me for this treat, but apparently they had a great time at their wilderness trial, so they weren't too disappointed. I relaxed for an hour or two, having lunch and planned on making it back to camp early. Well, plans are made to be changed...
When the other cars left, I sat alone with the dogs for quite some time. Four of them seemed mostly interested in sleeping in the shade on this hot day. The other two were a bit more active, once all the noise and disturbance was gone.
eating, grooming each other, sunbathing or curiously investigating their newfound “shady” friend. 
One night when I was just about falling asleep, I was startled by a noise just outside my tent. I quickly found my torch and looked out the mosquito net window. Just a couple of meters away, on the other side of the camp fence, a hyena had found a spot to rest.
After only about ten minutes we found them, right where we thought they would be… and we felt very pleased with ourselves (at least I did).
The African sunsets, when first all colours are enhanced and take on a golden shimmer. Sometimes this hour is beautiful enough to bring tears to my eyes. Later the sky turns flaming red and dusk settles like a soft hazy pink blanket… what’s not to love?! 
The elephants! As unbelievable or cliché it may seem, the elephants are probably the animals I’ve missed the most. They are strong enough to push down a sizable tree and smart enough to realize that there are people inside the huge, stinky and noisy beings on four wheels… and yet, they normally accept our presence. I do hope they continue to do so, despite some guides’ less ethical methods to achieve a reaction from them (not our guide, but one in another vehicle). 
It is usually a better idea to sit tight and let them go about their own business. These two seemed totally oblivious of our presence and interacted with each other instead of us and that is so much more rewarding. 
/A
When we reached Seal Island (yes, Walker Bay also has a Seal Island) the crew started to pour a scent trail of “fish soup” into the water and it only took about one minute before the first Great White showed up.
Important to point out is that the encounter doesn't make the sharks associate people with food because the bits and pieces in the soup are too small for them to actually get anything to eat; only the gulls get to feast. 
The group consisted of six Americans and four Swedes and was divided into three smaller groups , since a maximum of four people can go into the cage at the same time. Jonny and I were in the first group jumping into the cage, wearing wet suites and goggles. The water was quite cold and in a wet suite two sizes too big, I wasn't very happy. 
From deck the crew shouted “Down down!” as another shark approached the boat. A deep gulp of air and we stared into the blue-green depths for a glimpse of the most feared predator in the oceans. 
The cold water was totally forgotten when the Great white propelled itself from below us toward the bait. For a second it was close enough to touch... if we had been stupid enough to try something like that. 
At first the fascination made me forget that I had my camera with me, but as the four sharks kept swimming by us, I remembered... You might think an experience like this is frightening but we were actually too excited to be afraid.
Since quite a few of the others this day were suffering from sea sickness, there was enough space for me to jump into the cage with the other groups as well, which entailed that I was in the water the whole time! After an hour in the huge wet suite, in 14 degree water, I was blue and shaking... but happy.
Since it is 1086 metres high, it's enough for the seasons to "change" while ascending. You start out in 20 degrees, wearing shorts and end up wearing a thick sweater and a jacket , regretting not bringing gloves, since the temperature at the summit this day was only about 10 degrees.
Every 20-30 metres or so, we had to stop and admire the view (and to catch your breaths). The vegetation on the mountain side is mainly fynbos, which is unique to this region and the endemic Proteas are probably the most well known of this biome's plants. 
Taking it slowly, the climb from the lower cable car station at, 300 metres, to the top takes approximately two hours. For a while it looked like we were going to be wrapped in the famous "table cloth", but as we reached our goal the clouds started to scatter again. 
Satisfied with our achievement we celebrated by eating an expensive lunch at the Table Mountain café before taking the four minutes (!) long cable car ride down. 
