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Bay West Development

In June (2013) construction started on the Bay West Mall just west of Sherwood in Port Elizabeth.  Construction on the first phase of this mega development next to the N2 is expected to be completed in 2015.  The development will cover about 300 ha when finished and will be focused around a 90000m² shopping centre.  The rest of the Bay West City Precinct will be made up of commercial and residential components and the whole project is said to take place over…

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02/10/2013
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The crowning pigeon

I don't quite think I would like to be a statue.  Yes, people walk past you and remember you every day, tourists stop by and take pictures and you have lots of feathered company but the problem is those same feathered friends and what they leave behind when they fly off again.  Passing Queen Vic in front of the Public Library the other morning there was a pigeon sitting on her crown back to front.  I wondered to myself what the…

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01/10/2013
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Waterhole interaction

A couple of young bulls interacting at the Hapoor Waterhole in the Addo Elephant National Park just like a couple of young men would at their local watering hole

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01/10/2013
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History of St Georges Park

Last weekend I was part of the most informative walking tour of St Georges Park.  Photographer and journalist Ivor Markman has done some tremendous research on the park and it's history over the years and in the process not just collected tons of interesting information, but also some very rare photographs.  Here he is showing off one of the oldest known pictures of the park while standing on the same spot it was taken way back then.

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30/09/2013
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Old railway shed roof

While visiting the Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Centre in Uitenhage the other day I took a walk through the adjacent old railway sheds.  There are future plans to turn them into a shopping centre but at the moment they're standing empty.  The sheds are a photographer's dream though for both urban photographs as well as to photograph models.

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29/09/2013
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South African Heavy Artillery Memorial in Durban

I wouldn't really call war memorials a specific interest on my side, but I really enjoy discovering historic sites and attractions.  Just about every city and town in South Africa has a war memorial of some sort and Durban is no different.  Usually cities have a number of war related memorials and the first one I found in Durban was the city's South African Heavy Artillery Memorial, one of six around South Africa.  After the end of World War I the Imperial Government…

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28/09/2013
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Happy end of the week

Its the end of the week and the last Friday in September which means another month has seen its backside.  Its been a rough month work wise and I'm glad it's over and to celebrate it I would love to have been sitting at Bridge Street Brewery on the deck overlooking the Baakens Valley with one of their own Pilsners in my hand.  That is if two things weren't happening. Firstly the wind is howling in the Bay today and…

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27/09/2013
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Close encounters of the ellie kind

I always say that Addo is probably the best place in the world to watch wild African elephants in their natural environment and to get fairly up close sightings.  Its not because these elephants are tame, not by a long shot.  Over the years they have just gotten used to vehicles and as long as you don't intrude on their space and they don't feel threatened,  the chances are often good that they would walk right by your vehicle.  I…

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26/09/2013
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Wading flamingo’s

I was very fortunate to go on a guided walk along the Flamingo Trail next to the Swartkops Estuary the other day and got some great flamingo sightings along the way.  After posting the view of the flamingo's from the top of the hill I thought I'll follow it up with a picture taken from the side of the river of the flamingo's wading along. 

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25/09/2013
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Potjiekos 101

In South Africa a braai (and please note how I say braai and not barbecue as barbecue is a chips flavour) is as part of the nation's heritage as ice is part of the North Pole.  In my opinion a braai is also just a proper braai when you start with burning wood to create coals.  But that is a discussion for a whole other day.  Something that is very much part of the braai culture is potjiekos.  Potjiekos literally translates…

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24/09/2013