I had to go to East London for a SA Tourism workshop today and hit the road before sunrise and only returning well after sunset. Which means that I enjoyed both whiles on the road today with the sun rising as I was barrelling down the N2 this morning.
This morning I attended a Geocaching event to kick off the Friend League challenge over the next few weeks. The challenge is pirate themed and involved finding the Lost Treasure of Mary Hyde. We're not really sure ourselves how exactly the challenge is going to go, but the reason for this post is to show you my Geocaching family. Now this is a really special bunch of people. Young and old, singles and families, students and retired people, some more well…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYhdYCsOiiA&w=500&h=400]On the 1st and 2nd of September 2018, Nelson Mandela Bay is playing host to the 70.3 Ironman World Championship here in Port Elizabeth. Check out this stunning host city video that has just been posted by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism. Not just is Port Elizabeth one of the best Ironman venues in the world, it also boasts fantastic scenery, history, culture, wildlife and food for visiting competitors and their families and supporters.
The Russell Road Cemetery is another of Port Elizabeth's historic grave yards dating back to the early days of Port Elizabeth. As the town grew the increased demands on the St Mary's Cemetery next to the Baakens River became too much and a solution had to be found, not just for another cemetery but also to accommodate the different religious affiliations. Small pieces of land was allocated to the various Christian denominations on the town margins in the late 1830's…
In 1829 two stone beacons were erected near the beach that had to be aligned by ships sailing into Algoa Bay from the west so that they could avoid the very dangerous Roman Rock. In 1858 they were replaced by two new stone beacons. These were painted red and white with a black ball on top. The one beacon is located in the Cape Recife Nature Reserve near the lighthouse while the other one, usually referred to as the Lolipop…
One of the first things Karoo Girl asked me when she heard I was going to visit her hometown of Graaff-Reinet, as if I was going to go and see the oldest cake in the country. Now I know most of Graaff-Reinet's attractions, but the cake was a first for me. She directed me to aunty Ira's Antique Shop next to the Graaff-Reinet Tourism info office and that is where we headed on the Saturday morning of our visit before…
When was the last time you drove down Kragga Kamma Road to Coleen Glen? Been a while? Have you ever noticed the little building on the right hand side not far from Cow's Corner? Well that little building has a new tenant, a new jacket and a new purpose. Rest-a-While (Pebble Springs) is the biggest little farm stall around. Not so much a farm stall as in the traditional sense of the word, but who knows what it can develop into…
St Mary's Cemetery at the bottom of the Baakens Valley dates back to as early as 1799 when it was a military cemetery. This changed with the arrival of the 1820 British Settlers and you can still find graves of some of the original Settlers in the grave yard. On the hill above the cemetery stands the ruins of the St Peter's Church. The church was built in 1877 and after the people of South End were forcibly removed in…
In the early days of Port Elizabeth the St Mary's Cemetery was used, first by the military based at Fort Frederick, and later for civilians with the cemetery being under the control of St Mary's Church. As the town grew more burial areas were required by the various Christian denominations and in the 1830's and 1840's the various churches were granted small pieces of land adjacent to each other on the edge of town where Russell Road is today. A…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvMlOJC3ruY&w=500&h=400]I usually stumble on the videos I post here for Video Friday by accident while looking for something to post. This week is no different but it is a stunning short video taken by Jan Jordaan of the PE beachfront and dolphins cruising along the coast