Author: fitravel

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Ramaphosa Village

Ramaphosa Village is one of the informal settlements (squatter camps) here in Port Elizabeth. It is situated close to the industrial area of Struandale. You often find informal settlements like this close to industrial areas as that is where the men will most likely find work. The houses consist mainly of wood and corrugated iron. I used to pass through the townships on a regular basis on township tours when I still guided, but at that stage I never really…

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20/08/2009
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PE Bowling Club

The Port Elizabeth Bowling Green Club, the oldest in South Africa, was founded on August 14, 1882. The first lawn, or "green," as they are known by the bowling fraternity, was opened on January 5, 1884 in the picturesque setting of St George's Park. The second green was opened in 1887 followed by a third (1896) and fourth green (1926).The first South African Inter-Colonial contest took place in 1894 between Port Elizabeth and Kimberley.Not only is the club an adornment…

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19/08/2009
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Tugs

Sticking to yesterday's harbour theme. The left hand boat (the yellow one for those who don't know their left from their right) is the harbour pilot boat while the right hand one is one of the Port Elizabeth Harbour's tugs. The pilot boat takes the harbour pilot out to the big ships. The pilot then steers the ship into the harbour and not the ship's actual captain. The tugs are the boats that push and pull the big ships into…

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18/08/2009
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Harbour scene

One of the comments on my previous post, Chokka Boats at sunrise, came from Barry. He's comment was as follow: "Thank's for the photos of the surrounding areas- great for the tourists. But in addition to the postcard shots, how about some "real" shots of the city itself? Surely the industrial areas, suburbs and city centre are what a city is all about?" So in response to this, I want to make a statement and then a promise. Statement: I…

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17/08/2009
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Chokka boats at sunrise

A couple of chokka boats at anchor in Algoa Bay at sunrise. Chokka is the squid that calamari is made from and the coast around Algoa Bay and St Francis Bay are the main fishing grounds in South Africa for it. Locally it is known as white gold. The chokka boats normally come into the bays to shelter against strong winds before heading out again.

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16/08/2009
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Natal Creeping Fig

The Natal Creeping Fig (Carpobrotus dimidiatus) are found in coastal areas from the South East of South Africa and all the way up to Mozambique. Its a succulent which grows very easily and is often very popular as a ground cover in landscaping. The flowers are magenta and its close relative is the Sour Fig (Carpobrotus edulis) which looks very similar but has yellow flowers.

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16/08/2009
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Lion cub

My post tonight on the Port Elizabeth Photo Files is about the Seaview Game and Lion Park and in the picture is a couple handling the big cubs at the park. On my visit there were also small cubs (I didn't get the age, but I think them to be about 5 or 6 weeks old). They are still too small for guests to handle them as they haven't had their inoculations yet.

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14/08/2009
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Seaview Game and Lion Park

The Seaview Game and Lion Park just outside Port Elizabeth has become a institution over the years with many people who went there as children now taking their children. Seaview Game Park's main activity is a breeding project for white lions, although they also have normal lions as well as tigers and a number of game species which ca be seen as one drives through the park. On a Sunday at 12 noon they feed their lions in the main…

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14/08/2009
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Sea View

This is the view towards the coastline from the Seaview Game and Lion Park parking lot. The village (suburb) of Seaview is just out of view to the right of the picture. This is to the west of Port Elizabeth and the area mainly consist of farms and small holdings. Most of the farms are either dairy farms or houses stables.

3 Comments
13/08/2009