One of the new features of the recently refurbished Campanile is a full-length viewing window on the harbour side of the tower. The window has caused some ruptions with historic purists but personally I think its a great addition. The window really gives the best view of the adjacent Port Elizabeth Harbour and all its activities.
When I downloaded this photo of me sitting in the road near Jansenville in the Karoo Heartland from my camera onto the laptop and saw it, the first thing that came to my mind was "The road is long..." from He ain't heavy, he's my brother by The Hollies. The tune, melody, words, everything. It's probably also the best description of my life lately. Between work and personal life it's been busy, busy, busy with lots of time spent on the road…
It's very easy to do a self-guided walk around Route 67 but if you really want to get the just of it then you have to do it on a guided tour. There are a number of guides who do the walk and more information is available from the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism info centre at the Donkin Lighthouse building. When I visited the Campanile the other day there was a guide and intern based at the entrance who were…
The Campanile is actually seen as the starting point of Route 67 going up the hill and ending at the Donkin Reserve. With the refurbishment and re-opening of the Campanile recently, it is now fully part of Route 67 and one of the novel bits that was added to the Campanile was marking step number 67 as you climb up the tower's 204 steps.Just for those unfamiliar with what Route 67 is, it consists of 67 public art pieces symbolising…
Have you been to visit the newly renovated Campanile yet? After extensive renovations which included the removal, renovation and return of the bells, total overhaul of the bell structure, installation of a lift (if only they can get it to work properly), the installation of a big full length viewing window on the harbourside, a viewing hatch to see the bells and a number of new smaller features, the Campanile - originally opened in 1923 - reopened to the public about…
When I started blogging in 2008 I didn't do it because I wanted to be a blogger. I did it because I enjoyed traveling (even if it was just around my own city) and taking photos, and wanted to share everything I got to see with others. Over the years I've done over 3000 posts on Port Elizabeth Daily Photo and close to 1800 on Firefly the Travel Guy, shared pictures and information of many places and things, discovered so…
The Donkin Lighthouse (actually called The Hill Lighthouse built in 1861) and the Pyramid (actually called the Donkin Memorial built in 1820), two of Port Elizabeth's most iconic historic landmarks.
One of Port Elizabeth's little gems that very few people seem to know of is Rheta's Trail in Schoenmakerskop. Rheta's Trail stretches behind the houses (from #24 to #40) in Schoenies on Marine Drive between and can be accessed between numbers 22 and 24. The trail is always open and was created by local resident Retha Taylor along with a couple of workers. The trail starts by the labyrinth on the eastern side and is more about what you'll find…
No visit to Graaff-Reinet will be complete without a visit to the Valley of Desolation yet I wonder how many people actually realise that the Valley of Desolation is located within the Camdeboo National Park, which actually reaches all the way around the town, and that you can also go game viewing in the park. On our long weekend in Graaff-Reinet we spent our Saturday exploring the town's historical heart on foot and kept the Sunday to explore the Camdeboo National…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuTKcAdzXgY&w=500&h=400]The past two weeks have been hectic. I've been to the SATSA conference in Stellenbosch and a Karoo Heartland meeting in Jansenville, spent way too much time catching up (and I'm not even there yet) and in the process of all of this missed a few posts in the last week. I even thought about just taking a break for a few weeks but then realised that somewhere I'll have to catch up again. Anyhow, it's Video Friday and today's…