Travel Blog

Uncategorized

such a shame

We have taken you to the fascinating Red Location Museum before. It documents the movement against apartheid, and the red location was one of the significant places in the evolution of the ANC and the struggle for democracy in South Africa. We have written in more detail about this fascinating place on our personal blogs, and lamented the fact that the last few remaining historically significant shacks, built in 1903, are being vandalised and sold to unscrupulous scrap dealers. It…

3 Comments
03/11/2008
Uncategorized

Tsitsikamma

The area between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town is known as the Garden Route. It is one of the most popular tourist routes in South Africa. About 160km west of Port Elizabeth you enter the Tsitsikamma. The Tsitsikamma is the area wedged between the ocean and the Tsitsikamma Mountains and consist of indigenous forests, magnificent coastline, river gorges, streams and some of the most awesome scenery on the whole Garden Route. The indigenous forest consist of trees like the Yellowwood,…

5 Comments
02/11/2008
Uncategorized

more maitlands

Two more views of the wonderful pristine coastline at the Maitlands River mouth. This one looking West towards Blue Horizon Bay, with miles and miles of unspoilt white sandy beaches and dunes..... ..... And this one looking back along the rocky section of coastline to the East, towards Beachview, Sardinia Bay and Schoenmakerskop

2 Comments
02/11/2008
Uncategorized

maitlands dune

In response to yesterdays post of the beach at Maitlands River mouth, Richie requested some views of the dune and surroundings. Here it is from the beach, and in the foreground is the lagoon formed when the river mouth when it is closed by sandbars. The pipeline that feeds water to Port Elizabeth from the Churchill Dam is seen crossing the river. The little building to the right is a rather tatty ablution block on the edge of the carpark.…

3 Comments
01/11/2008
Uncategorized

Mailand River Mouth

The Maitland River Mouth must have one of the nicest unspoilt beaches in the country. This is a view looking toward the coastal suburb of Blue Horizon Bay, taken yesterday evening with oyster catchers feeding in the foreground. Judging from the signage at the parking lot this is about to change with some planned development. There are some places along our coastline that would be better served by leaving them unspoilt by development - this is one of them.

8 Comments
31/10/2008
Uncategorized

Oh the Horror!

In the spirit of tomorrow being Halloween, I decided to do a horror picture tonight. But not a conventional horror pic, something different. In the townships they sell most goods from the side of the road. In this case chickens are sold "life or plucked". I thought it to be an interesting photo to have the life chicken in the front with the plucked ones in the back. As I took the pic the chicken looked back at the plucked…

8 Comments
30/10/2008
Uncategorized

Elephants in Addo

Today I just wanted to post a couple of random elephant photos taken in the Addo Elephant National Park. Its been a while since I've been there and today I was kind of missing the park, so I decided to do a post on it. I have posted on the park before and you can read my first post explaining more about the park here. A family of elephants drinking water at the Domkrag waterhole. A mother elephant is leading…

8 Comments
29/10/2008
Uncategorized

rusty relics

Last week I went with a bunch of artist friends to the old Apple Express Depot which overlooks the harbour and "tank farm" along the beachfront. We had a ball rumaging around the steam train graveyard, and I could probably bore you into a coma for WEEKS with the pix I took of rusty old trains from every conceivable angle! Looking through the driver's window of one, the Donkin Lighthouse and Campanile can be seen peeping over the distant horizon.…

4 Comments
29/10/2008
Uncategorized

harnessing the wind

Staying with the airshow, there were two parachute drops at the airshow, in the course of the morning.The first team was the golden eagles, of the Police special task force. They jumped from a Spanish Casa, landing with pinpoint accuracy, right in front of the crowd.Later another team from EP Skydivers in Grahamstown jumped, and amongst their group was a tandem jump, with Crystal Watson. She is an amazing lady, director of the MTR Smit Childrens Haven, who care for…

3 Comments
28/10/2008