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Marina Salt

There are several salt pans on the eastern side of Port Elizabeth around the Swartkops and Chatty Rivers.  It is thought that during prehistoric times the sea pushed up to the these salt pans via the Swartkops and Chatty Rivers at high tide and left the seawater behind at low tide.  This water evaporated and left behind salt crystals on the bottom of the pan. The local Khoisan inhabitants of this area used to gather the salt in these pans during the period 1799…

7 Comments
18/11/2010
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Roadside stops

Driving along the highways and byways of this beautiful country of ours, somewhere you will have to pull over, stretch you legs and fill up body, soul and perhaps even your car (if you don't want to get stuck without fuel along those same roads). These places are normally one of the following three:Roadside picnic spots  Farm and country shopsand the boring (as far as exploring travellers goes) but very effective and well stocked 1-stop service stations

4 Comments
18/11/2010
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Walmer Town Hall gate

The sprawling suburb of Walmer had  it's origins as a farm that was later sub-divided.  Initially called ‘Muller town’, it was renamed to Walmer after the Duke of Wellington, who died at Walmer Castle in Kent.  Walmer used to be a separate town from Port Elizabeth and had its own municipality, but with the growth of PE Walmer got included in the Port Elizabeth Municipality on 1 January 1967.  Walmer is generally referred to as the garden or leafy suburb with many beautiful parks,…

4 Comments
17/11/2010
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Bottlebrush

I've had these pictures of the Bottlebrush Tree's flower (Callistemon rigidus) for a while now wondering if I should post them or not. I know the light wasn't very good, but what the heck. Here they are.

4 Comments
17/11/2010
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Walmer War Memorial

Last Thursday, 11 November, was Remembrance Day, also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day or Veterans Day.  It is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries to remember the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War.  Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918, as the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended "at…

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16/11/2010
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Broad-leaf sugarbush

The Protea eximia or Broad-leaf sugerbush as its commonly known as, are quite widespread throughout the mountains of the Southern Cape, stretching from the mountains near Worcester through the Langeberg, Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma Mountains as far as Lady Slipper outside Port Elizabeth.  The Protea eximia flowers mainly from August to October and gets grown on Protea farms as they make a very good cut flower.  This one I photographed at the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve near Port Elizabeth. For more information on this beautiful member…

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16/11/2010
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Despatch Museum

One of the things that Despatch is well known for is the amount of top sports personalities that have originated from the town.  Despatch is synonymous with names such as Danie Gerber, Adri Geldenhuys, Rudi Koertzen and Charl Matthys to name only a few.  Its for this reason that a big part of the Despatch Museum has been dedicated to the top sport men from the town and numerous sporting memorabilia has pride of places on its wall. Amongst them six…

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15/11/2010
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Sukume Museum

The Sukume Human Dignity Centre next to the Walmer Township (Gqebera) consist of a creche, feeding scheme and hand craft project to assist people from the nearby township.  The centre recently started a small museum to help visitors understand the township and the culture of the Xhosa people.  They still have a lot of different plans for the centre and the museum, but as they do it out of their own pockets its a slow and ongoing project.

5 Comments
13/11/2010
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Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve

Van Stadens Wild Flower Reserve is situated just off the N2 about 35km west of Port Elizabeth.  This 450 hectare reserve is probably the best place close to Port Elizabeth to go and marvel at the wonders of fynbos and to see flowering proteas.  The reserve covers both a large plateau area covered mostly in Fynbos as well as the slopes of the Van Stadens gorge consisting of indigenous coastal forest.  The main purpose of the reserve is to protect and propagate the…

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12/11/2010