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The Midrand Mosque

Close to the N1 highway in Midrand between Johannesburg and Pretoria, with views of Sandton and Johannesburg in the distance, stands the magnificent Nizamiye Turish Masjid.  And magnificent it truly is.  The mosque is the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere and was built as an Ottoman structure and modelled on the Selimiye Camisi mosque in Edirne, Turkey (completed in 1574 and today a Unesco World Heritage Site).  The project was the brainchild of Ali Katircioglu (known as “Uncle Ali”), a 74-year old,…

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19/04/2013
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Sell out crowd

The Southern Kings are back in town after their four match New Zealand and Australia Super Rugby away leg and on Saturday (20 April) evening takes on the three time champions Bulls in front of a sell out Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.  The picture was taken at their second home game against the Sharks which was also in front a sell out crowd. 

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19/04/2013
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Television crew at Cape Recife

I'm usually behind the camera taking pictures for my blogs or occasionally assisting visiting television crews with info about the city, but on Pasella's last visit I actually got to be in front of the camera as well.  Here the crew is filming the presenter asking questions at the Cape Recife Lighthouse before I got my turn to tell them more about the history of the lighthouse and surrounding area.

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18/04/2013
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Pasella shoot at SAMREC

Late last year the crew from SABC 2 magazine programme Pasella was in town to shoot a couple of inserts.  The one day was spent in the Cape Recife Nature Reserve where I was one of two guides taking them around showing off the coastline, history and plants in the reserve.  One of the stops was at the South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (SAMREC) where they were told more about the work the centre does with African Penguins. …

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17/04/2013
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Cape Town Jazz Festival

I'm not a Jazz fan, not by a long shot.  For some reason, perhaps because of watching too much television, when I hear "jazz" I think of a smoke filled bar with a lady hanging onto a mic accompanied by a piano, sax and double bass.  So when I was invited to Cape Town on a blogger tour which included the Cape Town International Jazz Festival I wasn't too sure what to expect. Jazz? Festival? Me? That's going to be an interesting…

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17/04/2013
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Ironkids lifeguards

Except for yesterdays picture of the Ironman cyclists, I decided not to go into a long winded series of Ironman posts this year.  Not because I don't want to, but because I didn't do the media thing for Ironman this year and rather had family time.  Most of Saturday was spent at Ironkids with both of the KidZ taking part.  But that isn't what this post is about.  Rather, this post is dedicated to the lifeguards who assisted the kids so tirelessly throughout the afternoon.  The…

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16/04/2013
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The KidZ are Ironkids

This past weekend (12 - 14 April 2013) was Ironman weekend in Port Elizabeth which, in addition to the main Ironman event on Sunday, also included an Irongirl 8km run on Friday and Corporate Ironman and Ironkids on Saturday.  Both Ironkids and Irongirl are the biggest events of their kind in the world.  Just for those who don't know what Ironman is, its an ultra triathlon with competitors doing a 3,8 km swim followed by a 180 km cycle and ending off…

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16/04/2013
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Ironman cycle leg

Durban has Comrades Marathon and Cape Town has the Two Oceans Marathon and the Argus Cycle Tour. Port Elizabeth has Ironman South Africa.  Sunday morning at sunrise about 1800 super athletes, over 500 of them internationals, lined up at Hobie Beach for the start of a grueling day of swimming, cycling and running.  The event starts with a 3,8km swim followed by a 180 cycle leg and topped off with a full 42,2km marathon.  Competitors have till 12 midnight, meaning 17…

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15/04/2013
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Forest road

Do you think this picture was taken somewhere in a forest in the Tsitsikamma or Hogsback? Nope, it was taken at the end of St Clair's Way on Lovemore Heights at Humble Ways Retreat.

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14/04/2013
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King proteas at Humble Ways

Strolling around Humble Ways on Lovemore Heights I noticed this bush of King Proteas.  The King Protea is South Africa's national flower and although the flowers on the bush are past their prime, they were still stunning. I kinda wish I had a bush like this in my garden.

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13/04/2013