Author: fitravel

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German Settler Memorial

On the Esplanade in East London visitors to the city will find the German Settlers Memorial. It was erected in remembrance of the than 2000 German settlers (men, women and children) who arrived in East London in 1858 as part of the colonial government's plan to try and introduce the black Xhosa speaking people of the Eastern Cape to a European type of society. Originally the British Government offered the colonial government the services of the British German Legion who…

3 Comments
13/12/2009
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Savings lives

I know this isn't a typical PE Daily Photo, but I wanted to do a post on donating blood. I am a regular blood donor (42 donations so far) and donate blood four to five times a year. A person can donate blood every 56 days and every time you donate they take an unit which is the equivalent of 480 milliliters.Thousands of people would die daily if there is no sufficient quality blood in stock. If one donates blood,…

5 Comments
12/12/2009
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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…

6 Comments
12/12/2009
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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.

8 Comments
11/12/2009
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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…

5 Comments
11/12/2009
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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.

14 Comments
10/12/2009
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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…

10 Comments
10/12/2009
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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.

30 Comments
09/12/2009
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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…

3 Comments
09/12/2009