Author: fitravel

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Dolosse

Harbour walls and breakwaters all over the world make use of dolosse to create that barrier between the ocean and land.  A dolos (plural dolosse) is a concrete block in a complex geometric shape weighing up to 30 tons.  The new Coega Harbour in Port Elizabeth made use of 28 000 dolosse in the construction of its breakwater.  The dolos is named after the knucklebone of a sheep.Dolosse were developed in East London in 1963 by one-time East London Harbour Engineer Eric Mowbray…

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11/05/2013
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Breakwater view

One of the first views of the city that many visitors see as they approach is the one from the freeway with Port Elizabeth in the background.  Very few people realise that at that moment they are driving on what used to be the beach and the ocean is being kept back with the use of a breakwater consisting of dolosse and big rocks. 

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10/05/2013
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Orange-breasted Sunbird

I don't always get great photographs of birds with my super zoom camera as its not nearly as fast as a DSLR, but the other day I was extremely lucky on a trip to Cape Town that this sunbird sat still long enough for me to snap a pic before he flew off. The Orange-breasted Sunbird, Anthobaphes violacea, is the only member of the bird genus Anthobaphes and is endemic to the fynbos habitat of south-western South Africa.  Obviously due to its…

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10/05/2013
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Donkin flag

The giant South African flag on top of the 65m high flagpole on the Donkin Reserve has truly become one of Port Elizabeth's new iconic landmarks.  The flag is visible from just about all over the city (if you have some kind of vantage point) thanks to the fact that the flagpole is the second highest in Africa. Incidentally the highest one, which is in Angola, isn't used at the moment which makes our the highest by default.

3 Comments
09/05/2013
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St Mary’s Cathedral

Up to the time that the British Settlers arrived in Algoa Bay in 1820, the needs of the British garrison at Port Elizabeth had been served by chaplains on passing ships.  By 1825 the settlement had grown to about 500 people.  One of these was Reverend Francis McClelland (the same person who built No 7 Castle Hill).  He was appointed Colonial Chaplain that same year and laid the foundation stone for the Collegiate Church of St Mary the Virgin was laid.  The church was finally…

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08/05/2013
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The lighthouse at Cape Point

Cape Point may not be the most southern point of Africa as many people think, but it must be one of the most dramatic spots on the South African coastline.  To get to the bottom Cape Point lighthouse one has to take a footpath along the point so most people just catch a glimpse of it from the viewpoints around the old Cape Point Lighthouse.  On my visit I didn't even notice the scaffolding around the lighthouse until I downloaded my…

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08/05/2013
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Tugs at rest

The Port Elizabeth Harbour tugs and pilot boat at their moorings, waiting for the next ship to escort into or out of the harbour.

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07/05/2013
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Pollok Beach

Pollok Beach on a sunny day but with winter approaching there'll be less people in the water and more just walking on the beach.  Over the last month or so we have had some beautiful "pre-winter" days.  If only our weather was like that all year long.  Just imagine what an even more awesome destination Port Elizabeth would be.

5 Comments
06/05/2013
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What’s in a star (grading)?

What's in a star? Well, lets first see what is a star?a. A self-luminous celestial body consisting of a mass of gas held together by its own gravity in which the energy generated by nuclear reactions in the interior is balanced by the outflow of energy to the surface, and the inward-directed gravitational forces are balanced by the outward-directed gas and radiation pressures. Eish, that's a bit heavy. Let's just say its the twinkling points of light in the night…

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05/05/2013
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Playing on the Donkin

I climbed to the top of the Donkin Lighthouse the other day for a couple of pics and ... (yes, I am addicted) ... a geocache.  There was a couple of people with a group of kiddies playing by the Anton Momberg sculpture and I couldn't but help to snap a picture of them. 

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05/05/2013