Author: fitravel

This author has written 4733 articles
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Community get together…

Richmond Hill and Central have earned themselves reputations as the crime hotspots of Port Elizabeth. To a degree there may have been some justification for this, but that is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. The activities of the Richmond Hill Sector Crime Forum have made the area an uncomfortable place to commit crimes in, and there has been a marked drop in crime stats recently. This is because the community, instead of isolating themselves behind bars, have joined…

1 Comment
06/12/2008
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Garden Acraea Butterfly

For the last week or so I've noticed a lot of little orange butterflies fluttering around the garden in front of our offices. I've been wanting to hunt them with my camera all week, but the winds been blowing (like it normally does this time of year) and we had a bit of rain so "hunting" for a good photo has been out of the question. Today was a gorgeous day and at lunch time I headed out with my…

1 Comment
05/12/2008
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Enjoy it while you still can…..

Despite a huge amount of opposition from local residents, and despite the fact that much of the land they plan to use is an historic burial ground for the Mfengu people who lived in Richmond Hill in the 1800s, the PWD and Police seem determined to go ahead and erect a 4 storey eyesore on the site next to this lovely historic building. They will effectively block most views of it, as well as casting the park into shade for…

4 Comments
05/12/2008
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Seal Point Lighthouse

The highest masonry tower (28 metre high) on the South African coast can be found in the coastal holiday town of Cape St Francis.The Seal Point Lighthouse was built in 1878 and is situated about 100km west of Port Elizabeth. The Bay itself was named St Francis Bay after the patron saint of sailors and travellers by the the first Portuguese explorers who came into the area in the late 1400's.The village of Cape St Francis started out as a…

4 Comments
04/12/2008
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An invitation……

...something a bit different today....instead of an actual photo of PE, here is a photo of a painting of PE!Looking down Parliament Street towards the bay. Oil on canvas, 750x950mm.I have been invited to exhibit in an exhibition in a private home, along with a group of artists whose work I have great admiration for, so if any of you are going to be in PE this weekend and are into art, here is an invitation for you: Art Exhibition5-6…

1 Comment
04/12/2008
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Aloe Ferox

The Aloe is a succulent plant that is native to Africa and very common in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. There are about 400 different species of Aloe plants.The Aloe Ferox is found specifically in South Africa and is one of only a few that were used traditionally as a herbal medicine. Although the Aloe Vera is the best known Aloe as far as medicinal value goes, the Aloe Ferox also has various uses. Today, the gel found…

2 Comments
03/12/2008
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Amsterdamhoek

At the Eastern edge of Port Elizabeth runs the Swartkops River, and there is a delightful little village on the bank of the river, overlooking the city. This part of it has changed little over the years, as you can see from this photo of our French friend, Gaston, fishing there back in 1959. But over the hill, it has grown a lot, and stretches out towards the East, with shops and garages etc.

6 Comments
03/12/2008
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Moon dancing with Venus and Jupiter

For the last couple of nights we had a bit of a lunar spectacle in the early evening sky. Looking to the west the moon was flanked by two bright stars. To the left and slightly above the moon was Venus, the evening star, and below to the right was Jupiter.

3 Comments
02/12/2008
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Fire in Albany Road

Albany road seems to be an interesting road, recently we featured floods there, from a burst pipe... Yesterday, as I often do when I am wandering around the house, I looked up to check the view through the front window, and there wasn't one! I checked the side window to see if a mist was coming in but it was bright and clear... so I realised I was looking at a fire in the valley.Luckily the fire department were already…

3 Comments
02/12/2008
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The Owl House

Very few people would have heard of the little dusty Karoo village of Nieu-Bethesda if it wasn't for The Owl House. Nieu-Bethesda is situated about 3 1/2 hours north of Port Elizabeth close to the town of Graaff Reinet. The house belonged to a woman named Helen Martins. Martins became bored with her "dull" life and resolved to transform the environment around her. She began an obsessive project around 1945 to decorate her home and garden and used cement, glass…

5 Comments
01/12/2008