East London Aquarium

I spent a couple of days in the city of East London, 300 kilometers east of Port Elizabeth, the other day. I didn't have much free time, but I did get to visit the East London Aquarium. The East London Aquarium is by no means a very big facility. It was officially opened on 2 December 1931 which makes it the oldest public aquarium in Southern Africa. The aquarium has a number of large fish tank displays that feature most…

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Wild orchid

I found this flower out walking a couple of weekends ago and it looks like some kind of wild orchid. Unfortunately I can't find it in my book, although you don't need to know exactly what something is to be able to photograph it.

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Rescue exercise

I popped down to the beachfront last weekend to have a look at the guys (and gals) from NSRI Station 6 here in Port Elizabeth doing an airlift rescue exercise. With summer season at hand and more and more boats out there (both commercial as well as recreational), it is important for their guys to be sharp at all times. I have the utmost respect for the NSRI crews as all of them do it purely on a volunteer basis…

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Gamtoos River

Late afternoon next to the Gamtoos River. The Gamtoos River can be found west of Port Elizabeth just before you get to Jeffery's Bay. The river flows through the Gamtoos Valley which is one of the main agricultural areas supplying fruit and vegetables to the city. The valley is also where you will find the Kouga Dam, one of the metro's main water supply dams.For more awesome pictures from around the world featuring a bit of sky, visit Skywatch.

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Cape Rock Scorpion

On a recent camping trip one of the folk in the group encountered this little guy behind the tents. I have never had the opportunity to take a picture of a scorpion, so I was on him like a rash. It is a Cape Rock Scorpion from the family Liochelidae.It belongs to the group commonly referred to as the thin-tail scorpions. These scorpions and are not venomous to people and a sting from one of them should, at worst, be…

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Campanile

The Campanile was built and completed in 1923 in commemoration of the centenary of the arrival of the British Settlers in 1820. The site on which it stands used to be the landing beach where the settlers were offloaded before their long journey to the Grahamstown district. The tower is 51.8 meters high and has 204 steps to the top. It also has a carillon of 23 bells.

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Mohair Museum

Not too long ago I did a series of posts regarding the International Mohair Summit in the town of Graaff Reinet. I just realised that there was still one post on it that I didn't do although I uploaded the photos. During the summit the Mohair Meander was launched. Its basically a route map that takes visitors through the Karoo region and points mohair related places. One of the main features of the route is the newly launched Mohair Experience…

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Holy Trinity Church

The Trinity congregation was founded in 1854 when a group of parishioners broke away from St Mary's Church The original church was built at the bottom of Military Road but a growing need for a church by the people on the Hill saw the church moving to its present site next to Havelock Square. The new church was opened for worship on 1 April 1866. In 1897 a deranged woman set fire to the Church and all but the walls…

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Sacramento Trail

The Sacramento trail follows the coastline between Schoenmakerskop and Sardinia Bay and is about 4km each way. Its been years since I've done the walk and its high time I do it again. Hopefully at some stage during the holidays I will get a chance. Most people take the walk early in the morning and then go for breakfast at one of the little restaurants in Schoenies.

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