Ever wondered what it looks like from the top of Lady? This is the view from just below the big Telkom tower looking west. It was slightly cloudy and very windy when I was up there but on a clear day you would be able to see Jeffreys Bay in the distance.
The view of Cape Recife from the parking area lookout on Marine Drive. The lighthouse is on the point on the right hand side and the building sticking out on the left is the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University administration building.
The Pincushion Protea (Leucospermum) is a genus of about 50 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae - part of the Cape Floral Kingdom also known as Fynbos. They occupy a variety of habitats, including scrub, forest, and mountain slopes. In the case of this one, I photographed it in the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve. They are evergreen shrubs (rarely small trees) with tough and leathery leaves. The flowers are produced in dense inflorescences, which have large numbers of prominent styles,…
Shark Rock Pier really is one of those iconic Port Elizabeth landmarks. What makes it such an interesting photographic subject is the fact that its not just part of the city's beautiful beachfront, but also its changing moods depending what the weather and tides as doing. In this case mid morning on a calm and sunny winters day.
For my last post in this week's series on the Tsitsikamma I featuring a thing and not an activity. The Big Tree is probably one of the best known landmarks in the area and a very popular stop for tourists. An easy 500 meter boardwalk takes visitors to one of the giants of the forest. I haven't been to the Big Tree for a couple of years and one of the things I noticed while there was that the signs no…
One of the "soft" adventures one can participate in while visiting the Tsitsikamma area 160km west of Port Elizabeth is a Segway tour into the forest. The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing, battery-powered electric vehicle and to me the next best thing since sliced bread. Anybody can do it (read here about my family doing it about a year and a half ago) and it is lots of fun. This time around I was on an educational trip with a colleague…
When I first started blogging I decided to give my family their own blog identities as to not use their real names online. The mrs became Damselfly and the KidZ was hence forth known as Chaos Boy and Drama Princess. Over the years these names have became part of them to the extent that they chose to go as that in the world of Geocaching as well. So many people now know them by those names and always want to know how they got…
Probably the most popular adventure activity in the Tsitsikamma is Storms River Adventures' Canopy Tour. Imagine gliding along through the treetops in the indigenous Tsitsikamma forest. Its more than just a dream. Its a reality. The 2 1/2 hour adventure starts with a safety briefing and getting kitted out before heading for the trees. Ten slides between the forest giants taking you as high as 30 meters up and over 90 meters on the longest slide. Something not to be…
The Wild Coast was one of my last two unexplored Eastern Cape frontiers (the other one is the North Eastern Cape around Rhodes) and I got to do a trip through and explored for two days (more is needed as there is so much I need to go back to see) recently. One of the things I hoped most to see were cows on the beach. Yes, you heard me right. Cows enjoying the sunshine and sand of the Wild Coast beaches. …
Continuing with this week's series on activities in the Tsitsikamma. The old Storms River Pass built by Tomas Bain in the 1880's following the elephant trails through the gorge is only accessible on foot or by bicycle. The only other way to explore it is along with Storms River Adventures on their guided Woodcutters' Journey. The tour follow the old pass down to the picnic spot next to the low water bridge over the river. Along the way you pass tree ferns, stinkwoods, yellow…