Gill College

In July 1829, Dr. William Gill was appointed District Surgeon of the newly founded town and district of Somerset. Upon his death in 1863, he left the main portion of his estate to found and maintain an institution for higher education in the Eastern Cape. His will stipulated that no portion of the estate was to be spend on the purchase or erection of buildings. Consequently, Somerset farmers and townsfolk pledged that they would erect the necessary buildings. Gill College…

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Zebra

The Burchell's Zebra is quite common in the Eastern Cape and the majority of game reserves would have them. Have you ever wondered if a Zebra was white with black stripes or black with white stripes? How do you differentiate between a male and female zebra without turning them upside down and looking at the obvious? The males are black and white and the female are white and black.

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Beetles

One of the exhibits at the VW AutoPavilion in Uitenhage featuring two Beetles. The scene depicts the two vehicles in an old workshop. I love the legs wearing gumboots sticking out from under the closest one.

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The Great Fish River

The Great Fish River is one of the great rivers of the Eastern Cape. It originates east of the town of Graaff-Reinet and, 644 kilometers later, flows into the Indian Ocean about 30km east of Port Alfred. Even though the river originates in the arid Karoo, it generally runs all year around. It is possible to use water from the Orange River (diverted through the Orange / Fish River Pipeline) to keep up the flow during dry periods. At the…

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Elephant viewing

Addo Elephant National Park is probably the most popular destination as a day trip out of Port Elizabeth. Visitors can either go to the park in their own vehicles or with a tour operator. Once at the park you can drive through the park in the vehicle you came in as it is a national park, or you can book an open vehicle game drive guided by a game ranger. In the days when I was still a tourist guide…

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Gannet of flight past

I know this isn't the happiest of pictures, but it still fascinated me when I saw it and I couldn't help taking a picture of it. It is a dead Cape Gannet which was washed up on the rocks at high tide. I have actually posted another dead gannet photo before (macabre isn't it?) which can be seen here.This picture was paired with a poem called Death by Benjamin Saccaggi on The Poetry Project website.DEATHThe panorama is mesmerisingAnd the air…

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Schoenies coast

The rugged coastline at Schoenmakerskop looking west towards the village. Schoenies is situated on the southern coast of the city and even though its referred to as a village, its a suburb of Port Elizabeth. I have a special places for Schoenies as I worked in the Sacramento Restaurant over weekends for 5 years. This is where I met the Damselfly, but thats a story for another day. I haven't spent much time there lately so I get my Schoenies…

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Bromeliad flowers

I photographed these Bromeliad flowers, called by some pineapple flowers, in a friend's garden a little while ago. Bromeliads are members of a plant family known as Bromeliaceae (bro-meh-lee-AH-say-eye). The family contains over 3000 described species in approximately 56 genera. The most well known bromeliad is the pineapple, although the pineapple is the only edible one of the family. For more information, visit Bromeliad Society International.

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Tuna Classic

Late last week the annual Algoa Bay Tuna Classic took place from the Port Elizabeth Deep Sea Angling Club in the PE Harbour. The winning catch in this year's competition was a 83kg yellow fin tuna caught 26 miles from the harbour by local fisherman Ruvaan Palm and his team on board the Seriola. In the picture is Brian Webb from the boat Tempissed with a 119.5kg marlin caught on the same day as the winning yellow fin tuna.

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