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Sweef teen sonop met ‘n Warmlugballon

Ahhhhhh, om rustig te sweef deur die lug terwyl die son opkom in die ooste. Die stilte word net gebreek deur die klank van die vlam wat kort kort meer warm lug in die ballon inblaas. 'n Uitsig soos min met plaaswerkers wat oppad is lande toe doer onder jou and die Hartebeespoortdam wat glinster in die verte.  Daar is bitter min dinge wat naby kom aan 'n warmlugballon vlug saam met die legendariese Bill Harrop homself.Ek moet eerlik wees…

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26/06/2012
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Lowering the giant Donkin Reserve flag

I've been wanting to see the soldiers from the Prince Alfred Guard either hoist or lower the giant flag on the Donkin Reserve for a while now but just haven't had a chance to do so.  Big was my excitement when I was standing on top of the Donkin lighthouse with a media crew the other day when the soldiers arrived to lower it. Yay!  If you look carefully at the base of the flagpole you will see six soldiers standing…

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26/06/2012
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Vergelegen

The Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West is less than an hour's drive from Cape Town yet back in the 1700's it took three days by ox wagon to get there.  In 1700 Willem Adriaan van der Stel succeeded his father, Simon van der Stel, as governor of the Cape and it didn't take him long to claim himself a modest 30,000 hactre piece of land just like his father had done with Constantia.  The farm was on the slopes…

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26/06/2012
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Donkin Downhill Dash

This past Sunday the inaugural Donkin Downhill Dash took place at the Donkin Reserve here in Port Elizabeth.  Since the upgrade at the Donkin Reserve local skateboarders have discovered that the new winding path from the lighthouse down towards Chapel Street is the ideal skateboard run.  The n_mb city project approached the Mandela Bay Development Agency who was responsible for the upgrade to support a downhill skateboard competition and they agreed.  The rest, as they say, is history.  I posted…

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25/06/2012
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Skateboarding down the Donkin

One of the things that the redevelopment of the Donkin Reserve in Port Elizabeth has done was inadvertently create the ideal winding downhill skateboard (long board) coarse.  This has led to the first Donkin Downhill Dash taking place today.  The pathway, starting up at the historic lighthouse and pyramid with its crosses representing democratic votes past and future, makes its way down towards Chapel Street and are long enough for the top skaters to clock times of about 1 minute 22…

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24/06/2012
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Fort interior

Looking at this scene of the inside of Fort Frederick today its hard to believe that back after it was competed in 1799 the fort was base to a full army garrison manning it.  Oh how one would love to travel back in time to see it first hand.

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24/06/2012
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Lower Baakens River

Over the last couple of weeks Port Elizabeth has had a lot of rain and the Baakens River is running nice and strong.  I had to meet somebody at the Bridge Street Brewmasters and snapped this pic of the river which is normally nothing more than a narrow stream over here.

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23/06/2012
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Golden Orb Web Spider

Most of the time I post pictures of historic buildings or beaches so I decided to post of pic of a Black Legged Golden Orb Web Spider today.  The reason for the name is the gold coloured thread they spin their webs with.  Taken with a bit of back lighting you can actually see the golden thread in this pic.  The picture was taken to the west of Port Elizabeth in the Maitland area.

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22/06/2012
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Die gezoem van die bye

Daar is 'n gesegde wat sê: "Gaan groot of gaan huis toe".  Miskien het hierdie heuningby dit gedink op haar daaglikse nektar ronte.  Hoekom nou in klein blommetjies gaan rondkrap as daar 'n perfekte goeie Koningsprotea is om in te gaan nektar versamel.

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21/06/2012
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No 7 Castle Hill

Completed in 1825, No 7 Castle Hill is one of the oldest surviving Settler cottages in Port Elizabeth.  It was opened as a historical museum in 1965 and is furnished to show a picture of domestic life as enjoyed by an English middle class family in mid-19th Century Port Elizabeth.  Its the kind of museum that both young and old enjoy with young ones exploring and discovering things they may have never known and the older crowd seeing thing that…

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21/06/2012