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Montagu Village Market

Fresh cherries (the fruity kind, not the two legged ones).  Organic vegetables.  Home made jam.  Grain fed farm eggs.  Olives and olive oil.  Homemade bread and rusks.  Paintings.  Antique tools.  Vintage bric-a-brac.  Intricate wireworks.  Hand crafted jewellery.  These are just some of the items you will find on sale at the weekly Village Market in Montagu.  Every Saturday morning stall holders start to set up their stalls quite early and by the time the market opens at 8am (08:30am in winter) they are ready…

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31/01/2012
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Township fruit vendor

Fruit vendors can be found all over the townships selling their wares from the side of the road. 

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30/01/2012
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Cattle Egret

A cattle egret sitting in a sweet thorn tree at the Leidam in Montagu.The cattle egret is family of the heron, but unlike herons it feeds in relatively dry grassy habitats.  You often find them accompanying cattle or other large mammals since they catch insects disturbed by these animals.  They are referred to as tick birds because they also remove ticks and flies from cattle.  In the breeding season they nest in colonies, and as was the case with the one in the…

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30/01/2012
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The lighthouse at Cape Recife

The Cape Recife Nature Reserve so has the potential to be Port Elizabeth's Cape Point Nature Reserve, just without the cliffs.  What I'm saying is that so few people really go to Cape Recife yet there is so much to do and experience.  Some of the options are visiting SAMREC, doing the Roseate Tern Hiking Trail, bird watching, fish, exploring the rock pools at low tide, walking along the beach, tons and tons of photo opportunities and for those who…

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29/01/2012
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Of angels and books

One of the, at a lack of a better word, features on the historic Public Library in the city centre with what looks like an angel on top and a book in the centre.

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28/01/2012
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Graffiti at Barnacles

So how often did you mother rap you over the fingers for drawing on her walls when you were small.  Now imagine somewhere they encourage you to do so.  The walls in the Barnacles Restaurant in Seaview is covered in messages and names of visitors who have marked their visit on the walls of the restaurant with a bit of encouraged graffiti.

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27/01/2012
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Kanonkop in Montagu

 The best views of the town of Montagu are from the top of Kanonkop (Cannon Hill).  The story goes that the original cannon which stood on this spot and dated from the 1800 was used at some stage for a salute of honor which went horribly wrong and caused a young man from the town to loose both his arms.  The farmers then pushed the cannon over the edge of the hill.  20 years later it was retrieved to be fired again, but this time…

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27/01/2012
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Ubuntu mural

While on a township tour with a Argentinian journalist a little while ago we set off in search of a mural, painting or even just graffiti somewhere on a wall that depicted the fight against HIV / Aids.  We finally found one on the wall of the Ubuntu Educational Fund's old building in Zwide.

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26/01/2012
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Donkin Reserve post box

One of the oldest post boxes in Port Elizabeth stands on the Donkin Reserve next to the old lighthouse keeper's cottage, now occupied by the NMBT visitor information centre.  The post box has the Royal Cipher "GR" on it, indicating that it was erected during the reign of King George V somewhere between 1910-1936.  The first roadside post boxes appeared in 1852 on the Channel Islands.  Since then all post boxes in the UK has been painted red and bear…

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25/01/2012
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Bird watching at Montagu Leidam

Bird lovers visiting Montagu doesn't have to go much further than the Leidam to see a wide range of birds fairly up close.  The residents around the dam include Grey heron, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, African Sacred Ibis and the Common Weaver with 18 local species and 52 migrant species counted.  The town has put up a very nice and accessible viewing deck next to the dam and visitors who would like a closer look can get a key for the gate from the…

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25/01/2012