Prickly Pears are originally found in Central America and first came to South Africa as fodder for cattle. Being a cactus plant, they grow very easily and took root quickly before starting to spread throughout some part of the country at an alarming rate. The spreading of it was brought under control through the introduction of the cochineal beetle. The fruit of the prickly pear is about as big as a extra large egg and is sweet in taste. It…
The Uitenhage Town Hall, built in 1822Towards the end of the 18th century settlers settled in the Swartkops River valley. Amongst them were and Gert and Johanna Scheepers who's farm De Rietvallei was the site of what was to become the town of Uitenhage.Known as the Garden Town, Uitenhage was originally a farming community on the banks of the Swartkops River. Which as today grown into a thriving commercial and industrial area without loosing its picturesque charm. Situated only 30…
Chaos Boy wading in the lagoon at the Maitlands River mouth just outside Port Elizabeth. I also took a couple of pics of the river on its own, but it needed a subject and I had my model (at this stage he still volunteers his services when required but sometimes grumbles when I take to long to get the right shot) on hand. The sky was such a great blue when we were there, so I decided to also use…
Ramaphosa Village is one of the informal settlements (squatter camps) here in Port Elizabeth. It is situated close to the industrial area of Struandale. You often find informal settlements like this close to industrial areas as that is where the men will most likely find work. The houses consist mainly of wood and corrugated iron. I used to pass through the townships on a regular basis on township tours when I still guided, but at that stage I never really…
The Port Elizabeth Bowling Green Club, the oldest in South Africa, was founded on August 14, 1882. The first lawn, or "green," as they are known by the bowling fraternity, was opened on January 5, 1884 in the picturesque setting of St George's Park. The second green was opened in 1887 followed by a third (1896) and fourth green (1926).The first South African Inter-Colonial contest took place in 1894 between Port Elizabeth and Kimberley.Not only is the club an adornment…
Sticking to yesterday's harbour theme. The left hand boat (the yellow one for those who don't know their left from their right) is the harbour pilot boat while the right hand one is one of the Port Elizabeth Harbour's tugs. The pilot boat takes the harbour pilot out to the big ships. The pilot then steers the ship into the harbour and not the ship's actual captain. The tugs are the boats that push and pull the big ships into…
One of the comments on my previous post, Chokka Boats at sunrise, came from Barry. He's comment was as follow: "Thank's for the photos of the surrounding areas- great for the tourists. But in addition to the postcard shots, how about some "real" shots of the city itself? Surely the industrial areas, suburbs and city centre are what a city is all about?" So in response to this, I want to make a statement and then a promise. Statement: I…
A couple of chokka boats at anchor in Algoa Bay at sunrise. Chokka is the squid that calamari is made from and the coast around Algoa Bay and St Francis Bay are the main fishing grounds in South Africa for it. Locally it is known as white gold. The chokka boats normally come into the bays to shelter against strong winds before heading out again.
The Natal Creeping Fig (Carpobrotus dimidiatus) are found in coastal areas from the South East of South Africa and all the way up to Mozambique. Its a succulent which grows very easily and is often very popular as a ground cover in landscaping. The flowers are magenta and its close relative is the Sour Fig (Carpobrotus edulis) which looks very similar but has yellow flowers.