This giant South African flag packs a punch

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ku-HPjTwg&w=500&h=400]After posting about the raising of the giant South African flag on the Donkin Reserve last week, I thought of a video I saw a little while ago of the flag being taken down on a day when the wind was pumping.  I found it and decided to post it for your pleasure this week.  Check our the Prince Alfred Guard soldiers struggling to get the flag under control.  More importantly, check the size of the flag. When it flies…

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Coastal hiking at St Francis Bay

The St Francis Bay / Cape St Francis area has a number of hiking options and with such a stunning coastline how can it not?  Most of the walks are shorter hikes and include coastal walks like the Blowhole Walk, Bay to Bay Walk, Shark Point Walk, Wild Side Meander and the Two Harbours Walk.  There are also walks through the Irma Booysen Flower Reserve and up into the dune fields at the Sand River.  If you really want to experience the…

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Hinterveld Mohair factory shop

The last stop on the Mohair Factory Tour in Uitenhage is the Mohair factory show at Hinterveld.  Open to the public, this shop sells labeled mohair products that retails for a lot more in other shops and often gets exported to fashion retailers and designers in the UK and other countries. Yesterday I attended the groundbreaking of the new Mohair South Africa headquarters in Port Elizabeth (I'll still post about that) and found out to my shock that the Gubb and Inggs Factory…

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Spinning mohair tops

Ever wondered how yarn is spun? It is one of the things you get to see while on the Mohair Factory Tour in Uitenhage.  This section of the tour is through Mohair Spinners South Africa and is probably the most interesting part of the tour when it comes to "fancy machinery".  The machines even know when the yarn breaks, grabbing it and weaving the two pieces together again before continuing.  Fascinating.   

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50 Shades of Grey… and Orange

Our weekend in St Francis Bay gave me the perfect material for a Random.... post.  This time random shades of grey and orange. Orange, grey and white flowing together on the rocks along Cape St Francis' Wild Side on the walk to the blow hole.  This rock I found on the walk to Shark Point had me dotty...Check out the different colours of clay used by this swallow in building its nest on the porch at Dune Ridge Country House.  Now this…

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A Krom River wind turbine sunset

I snapped this pic during a canal cruise at St Francis Bay a week or two ago.  During the trip we cruised out onto the Krom River as the sun was setting in the west behind the Kouga Wind Farm.  Have I mentioned how much I love my new camera? 

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Bales of clean mohair

Remember the bales of raw mohair arriving at the factory I posted on Sunday?  Well, these are the bales of clean mohair that gets exported after the whole cleaning process has been completed.

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Mohair – after the wash

In the first picture of this series of pictures from the Hinterveld Mohair Factory Tour in Uitenhage showed the raw mohair as it comes in from the farm.  From there it goes through a washing and drying process.  The washing process takes the mohair through two baths where a machine with "spider" legs makes sure it gets dunked and washed properly.  They then come out at this spot in the picture before being sucked into the drying pipes.  I don't…

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Birds and boat (and a new camera)

A fishing boat sailing along Port Elizabeth's Wildside with a flock of terns on the rocks in the foreground.  This is the last picture I have to post taken with my Fiji bridge camera.  The camera was in the boot of my car that was stolen about two months ago.  The good news is that, after what felt like forever, the insurance finally paid out.  I started shopping for a new camera (not that there is much available in that price range)…

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Raw mohair arriving at the factory

I came across a folder with five pictures taken at Hinterveld in Uitenhage during a Mohair Factory Tour which for some reason I never posted.  Oh well, better late than never.  At the start of the tour you get to see the bales of raw mohair as it arrives at the factory for processing.  The washing, drying and combing process takes place at Gubb & Inggs, one of three factories (the others being Mohair Spinners South Africa and the Hinterveld…

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