A few years ago (quite a few if I'm correct), the historic Port Elizabeth Railway Station was damaged in an underground gas explosion. The spot was cordoned off and the building "braced" with wooden poles. So sad that all this time later and Spoornet (Transnet) still haven't done anything to restore and fix the building. An absolute crying shame.
Not a lot of people from the 'burbs ever walk around much in downtown Port Elizabeth. I think I need to do it a bit more as there are a lot interesting things to see and photograph. Waiting around the Campanile for the bells to be lowered a week ago, I noticed a vendor selling fruit, snacks and cold drinks nearby. I didn't have time to go and have a closer look, but I did snap a pic from a…
Last week we had some big swells around. So big that a cruise ship had to dock in PE for a while due to a bit of damage it picked up after swellsflooded one of its decks. Driving along Marine Drive I always look towards Bird Rock. Probably because I have a Geocache located on it and it just draws my eye. It was low tide but the swell washing against the back of the rock was washing over it.…
If you drive through the Langkloof from East to West you enter the valley just past Humansdorp and pass towns like Kareedouw, Jobertina, Krakeel, Louterwater, Misgund, Haarlem and Avontuur. The valley is about 160 km long and the R62 (the road running through the Langkloof) then meets up with the N9 near the town of Uniondale. Between this intersection and Uniondale travelers will find the Potjiesberg Pass. The name of the Potjiesberg, directly translated, means little pot and refers to…
Last week when I popped down to the Campanile to take some photos of the bells, I also took a photo of Strand Street where it runs under the freeways. Don't think it's anybody's favorite part of town what with being covered by the freeways, having a bad reputation dating back some time for crime and having taxi's race up and down the whole time. What does get me though is the 2010 FIFA World Cup branding that is still…
Pipe at Pollok each is probably Port Elizabeth's best known and most popular surf spot. But have you eve wondered where Pipe got it's name from? The perfect barrel (like a pipe) to surf? Piping hot waves? Waves piping in one after another? (Is there even a saying like that?) Nope, it's very simple. There is a storm water pipe covered in concrete that flows out in the sea at the surf spot and right in the middle of the…
On my last trip to Cape Town I connected from Robertson to Grabouw via a back road past Villiersdorp. It was late afternoon and the sun was heading towards the mountain on my right hand side at a speed. Suddenly it broke through the clouds and a sun ray reached down and touched the mountain side. I pulled over as quickly as I could to grab a photo. It looked much better in real life than it did in the…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m50OA9kRAZc&w=500&h=400]The King's Beach Skateboarding Crew jointed the Port Elizabeth Instagram community for a fun couple of hours out in the city center a Sunday or two ago. Other than a whole bunch of Instagram pictures being taken, the skateboarders also filmed their own video which I'm sharing with you today.
I think people are so used to Kings Beach, Humewood and Hobie that they often forget how awesome a beach Pollok Beach is. It is a dangerous beach to swim at when the lifeguards aren't on duty, but it's great for a walk, to watch the surfers and dolphins or to splash around with the kids in the tidal pool by the gap in the rocks in front of Something Good.
I often wonder if people really realise how many historic places and objects there are around our cities and towns. I'm not only referring to the big and well known historic attractions but rather to smaller ones many people probably drive past without even a second look. One of these I discovered in the Cape Town suburb of Mowbray while on my way to a meeting. I was following my GPS to a Geocache that was on my way and…