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Elephant close-ups

Just a couple of close-up shots of elephants taken last weekend at Addo Elephant Back Safaris. Elephant skin taken with the macro setting of my camera. *skin cream needed* The bottom of an elephant's foot. It is amazing to watch them walk. They put their feet down flat and not heal and toe like us. The feet has a kind of a cushion in it which absorbs the impact when they walk which means they are very delicate walkers. *heal…

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03/04/2009
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Despatch chimney

The town of Despatch, just outside of Port Elizabeth and part of Nelson Mandela Bay, had its origins in the brick making industry. Most of the bricks used in the construction of buildings around Port Elizabeth was made in Despatch. The railway line from Uitenhage to PE ran past Despatch and a sideline led to the brick works. It was from here here that the bricks got dispatched to PE by train, hence the name of the town, Despatch. On…

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03/04/2009
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Stadium absail

Port Elizabeth is one of the host cities for the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup to take place in South Africa. The new muti purpose 46 500 seater Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is now nearing completion and its become more and more clear that it will be something the city is going to be very proud of. Here the workers putting on the cladding on the roof is busy absailing down as the wind was reaching the maximum speed that…

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02/04/2009
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Kite Spider and web

Ok, so this isn't a conventional Skywatch photo, but I love the way the sun shines through this spiders web we found on our visit to Addo Elephant Back Safaris. Sun = sky thus Skywatch. Getting a bit closer we found that the web belongs to a Kite Spider (Genus Gasteracantha). So Kite = Sky which means more reason to post this under Skywatch. The Kite Spider has a shiny and hard abdomen which is rather flattened with spiny projections.…

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02/04/2009
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Black-legged Golden Orb-web Spider

We got to see quite a few smaller things while on the nature walk at Addo Elephant Back Safaris. At one stage we were walking next to the boundary fence and stopped while the ranger was telling us about some plant. I looked around and noticed a pretty big spider sitting on a strand of spiders web literally centimetres from the Damselfly's back. Suddenly every body's attention shifted to the spider and cameras were clicking away. Its real size was…

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01/04/2009
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The little things

The little things always catches my eye just as much as the big things do. Actually, sometimes I search so hard for the little things that I miss the big ones. While we were watching the elephants drink, I was crouching down in the vegetation next to the waterhole to get a nice angle for my photo when this litte guy popped into sight.

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31/03/2009
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Prince Alfred’s Guard Memorial

The Prince Alfred's Guard Memorial stands in St Georges Park and was erected in 1907 in remembrance to men from the guard that died in four different wars. On each of the four corners of the base of the memorial is a tablet bearing the names of officers and men who fell in the Transkei War, 1877 ; Basutoland War, 1880-1881; Bechuanaland War, 1897; and the Anglo Boer War 1899 - 1902. At the foot of each tablet is a…

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31/03/2009
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Addo Elephant Back Safaris

This past weekend we went on a trip to Addo Elephant Back Safaris in the Zuurberg Mountains. I took some great photos of elephants, spiders, mountains and all kind of things. Today I want to show a bit of what we did there and over the next couple of days I'll show off some of my other photos.On the day of our arrival we took it easy and only went on a guided walk through the reserve. The next morning…

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31/03/2009
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Fun walk

On Saturday morning we went to participate in a fun walk at the Westering Pre-primary school. It was a fund raising event for the school and was very well supported. Young and old, big and small, all had fun tackling the 4km route before heading back to the school for breakfast which was a choice between bacon and eggs or Halaal.

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30/03/2009
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Happy Valley

Who living in Port Elizabeth can say that they have never been to Happy Valley? Probably not many. Some people (like myself) went there as kids and now take their kids. I love going to Happy Valley. It is a wonderland of colourful lights and kids story and rhyme characters. Happy Valley is situated on the beachfront just off Humewood Beach. It truly is a Port Elizabeth institution. For more on Happy Valley, go here.

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29/03/2009