Author: fitravel

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Shipwreck memorial in South End Cemetery

Probably the biggest maritime disaster that ever took place on the Port Elizabeth coastline happened way back during the Great Gale of 1902.  On Sunday, 31 August 1902 there were 38 ships at anchor along the then North End Beach.  Rain and a south-easterly wind started to lash the bay and by midnight the storm turned into a hurricane.  By the end of the storm on 2 September 1902, 18 of the ships had been stranded on the beach, while…

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27/04/2017
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Drakensberg Amphitheater views

South Africa has two iconic "flat" mountains.  Table Mountain in the west and the Drakensberg's Amphitheater in the east.  It is below the Amphitheater in the Royal Natal National Park that we camped at Mahai during December and like with Table Mountain I just could not get enough of looking up at the Amphitheater.  Well truthfully, not just the Amphitheater but all the mountains around us, but that's what you do when you live in a city by the coast.…

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26/04/2017
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Oupa en Ouma sit op die strand

There is a fun little Afrikaans rhyme that starts with "Oupa en Ouma sit op die stoep..." (Grandpa and Grandma sit on the porch) and it was this rhyme that popped into my mind on Sunday when I saw this elderly couple sitting on the rocks at the beach.

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26/04/2017
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How old is St George’s Park?

I took a walk through St George's Park a week or so ago and along the way I wondered how many people actually know how old St George's Park is.St George's Park was laid out and opened on 6 August 1861 to commemorate the visit of Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, to Port Elizabeth exactly one year earlier.Flags and streamers were flying in every direction, all shops were shut, people dressed in holiday attire, and expectation stood on…

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25/04/2017
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Lions Head Sunset

Last week I spent some time in Cape Town attending the annual World Travel Market Africa tourism trade show.  The one afternoon after the show I headed up to Table Mountain Road for a walk just before sunset and could kick myself for leaving my camera at the guesthouse the morning.  My phone had to do and I caught the sun setting between Table Mountain and Lions Head through the wild grasses. Moments later as the sun disappeared past the…

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24/04/2017
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Building sand castles

While we were on the beach yesterday and Miggie and her friend were swimming, my 15 year old son chose to rather dig holes and build sand castles.  Perhaps we should all take a break every now and then and build sand castles.

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24/04/2017
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Beach fun at “The Rock”

When we were small one of our favorite places to go on a Sunday afternoon was "The Rock".  The Rock refers to the rock below Something Good with the gap through which the waves wash into the little natural tidal pool.  Today we spent a couple of hours on the beach and Miggie and her friend Dinky had a great time leaping off the rocks into the swimming hole. For some reason I forgot my camera at home but luckily…

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23/04/2017
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Conservatory lines

I just can't get enough of the lines in the Pearson Conservatory in St George's Park.  Great for photography.

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22/04/2017
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Maitlands from the air

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3lvc_XWa1A&w=500&h=400]Last week's Video Friday post was one by Renaldo Gouws showing off Shark Rock Pier and surrounds.  This week I'm sharing his video with drone footage of the Maitlands area.  We really are fortunate to have such beautiful coastal areas around Port Elizabeth and it's great seeing it from another angle in Renaldo's videos.

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21/04/2017
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Forgotten Footbridge flowers

Behind the South End Cemetery is an old footbridge over the narrow gauge railway line which most people probably have never seen.  It's not really something significant but I know of it because I have a Geocache hidden there.  I went to check up on it the other day after the recent fire and snapped this pic. 

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20/04/2017