Before the arrival of the British Settlers in 1820 the needs of the British garrison in Algoa Bay were served by chaplains in passing ships. By 1825 the town of Port Elizabeth had grown to about 500 people and Revd Francis McClelland was appointed Colonial Chaplain. The foundation stone for the Collegiate Church of St Mary the Virgin was also laid that year. The church was finally opened for worship in 1832.
The Wild Coast isn't called the Wild Coast for nothing. It may be paradise but it can get rough out there if it wants. So with that in mind, it's nogal strange that there are only three lighthouses (some websites say four but I'm not sure which the 4th one is) along this whole piece of coastline, Cape Morgan in the South, M'bashe roughly in the middle and Cape Hermes at Port St Johns in the North. Out of the three…
I wonder how many people visiting the Campanile look up before entering and think to themselves, "Self, how am I ever going to climb all those steps to get up there without dying?" Yes, there are 204 steps, but if you take it easy, visit every level and don't think about it too much, you'll be at the top before you'll know it. Or just take the lift if it's working. But ascending the Campanile with the lift just isn't…
I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I do enjoy tasting wine. Here I'm tasting one of Port Elizabeth's own wines, proudly produced at the Theescombe Estate Wine Farm.
Strand Street under the Settlers Freeway isn't really a place where many of Port Elizabeth's suburban inhabitants wander but if you do you'll encounter interesting scenes, vendors and shops that you won't really find anywhere else. The painting on the freeway support pillar is one of a series of colourful and evocative portraits that depict young South Africans from a range of cultural backgrounds. It forms part of Route 67 and is called IDENTITIES.
I have driven between Port Elizabeth and East London so many times over the years yet the Great Fish Point Lighthouse has always just been a dot on the coastline some distance away. The reason? Word has always been that the track up to the lighthouse is terrible and my Polo isn't quite high clearance nor 4x4. A little while ago a fellow blogger posted about the lighthouse and I asked what the road was like. "Not a problem, you'll…
Everybody knows the Winelands in the Western Cape based around Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek. Then there is the rapidly developing Plettenberg Bay Wine Route. But did you know Port Elizabeth also have a wine farm? The Theescombe Estate Wine Farm is located on a 2-hectare smallholding in the Theescombe on the western side of Port Elizabeth. It's not quite a big commercial wine operation yet, but they do make wine and sell it from the farm. But why is it…
As one follows Route 67 from the city centre up towards the Donkin Reserve you pass the Public Library and St Mary's Cathedral before climbing a set of steps up to Winston Ntshona Street (previously Chapel Street). The art piece on the wall by the steps is a statement about the 76 generation (referring to the 1976 Soweto uprising) and represents the spiritual journey undertaken by those who fought against oppression. The art piece takes the form of a pile of…
Most people would prefer a bath (with the drought, not something I have done in a very long time*) in the privacy of their own bathroom behind a closed door. Most people don't mean everybody though. There are those who would jump at the opportunity to take a bath in what is probably the most famous open-air bath in South Africa.I've only seen photos of it, but on my last visit to Hogsback I decided to swing by Away with the…
Ascending the Campanile you don't just get to see the original bell clappers, you also get to see the original clock (below) and bell (above) mechanisim.