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Meet the Amsterdam

The Port Elizabeth Museum at Bayworld has an excellent exhibit of artifacts and pieces from the Dutch ship Amsterdam that ran aground close to the mouth of the Swartkops River in 1817.  The ship, captained by Hermanus Hofmeijer, hit a fierce storm in 1817 with the wind ripping apart the sails and snapping the masts.  After eleven hours of fighting to keep her afloat the battle was lost and the captain decided to run her aground between the Zwartkops and Coega…

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03/06/2014
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Flamingo take-off

The Flamingo Trail in the Zwartkops Nature Reserve is ideal to get a little bit closer to birds after which the trail was name.  I don't know why but I am always amazed to see the flamingos on the estuary.  Not sure why cause its not like I've never seen them there before.  On a walk along the trail these flamingos decided to take off as we passed and I got a couple of shots of them "walking on water".

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02/06/2014
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Paddling on the Groot River Lagoon

We would rather do weekends away and expose the KidZ to nature, the outdoors and as many other things as possible rather than spending all that money on Dstv every month.  Seeing Chaos Boy paddling on the Groot River Lagoon at Natures Valley in his blow-up boat really put a smile on my face.  Mission accomplished for today.  What's next?

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02/06/2014
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Van Stadens protea

The Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve just west of Port Elizabeth is probably the best spot around the city to see a wide range of protea species grow in the wild.  The reserve offers visitors two different trail options with a couple of stunning view sights over the Van Stadens gorge.  South Africa's national flower, the King Protea, is amongst the flowers that can be seen in the reserve.

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01/06/2014
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Whale skeleton

The KidZ admiring the skeleton of the last Southern Right Whale to be harpooned in Algoa Bay hanging in the Port Elizabeth Museum in Bayworld.

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31/05/2014
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Dino at torchlight

Here's another picture from A Night at the Museum at Bayworld the other evening.  The Dino Park T-Rex seen in the torchlight of the KidZ.  A little bit scarier than seeing him during the day.

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30/05/2014
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The Slagtersnek Monument near Cookhouse

Driving along the N10 between Port Elizabeth and Cradock there is a memorial next to the road near the town of Cookhouse.  Driving back from Cradock the other day I decided to stop and have a closer look.  The Slagtersnek Monument remembers the Slagtersnek Rebellion and the subsequent hanging of 5 of the rebels, an event that changed the area forever and possibly had a big role to play in the start of the Great Trek.  The museum in Somerset East has…

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30/05/2014
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Weekend Sho’t Left in Hankey

I have a very special spot in my heart for the Gamtoos Valley west of Port Elizabeth, having visited there quite often while I was working as a tourist guide.  Since then we try to get out there every now and then for things like the Gamtoos Citrus Festival, Patensie Boere Basaar and the Gamtoos Adventure Drive and then usually stay in the Patensie area.  A little while ago Carol Pearson of The Milkhouse Farmstyle Bar dropped me a line and invited…

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29/05/2014
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Port Elizabeth diver nearly swallowed by whale

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/a-Ph1CWYivg&source=udsBefore the sardines travel up the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal coastline during the annual sardine run they have to gather somewhere in preparation for the migration.  That somewhere is off the coast of Port Elizabeth.  Local marine film maker and dive operator, Rainer Schimpf of Expert Tours is an expert on the sardine run and takes a lot of foreign visitors and film crews out to experience it off the PE coastline.  Rainer has taken some extraordinary footage of the sardine bait…

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29/05/2014
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Which keg is the heaviest?

Bayworld is so full of childhood memories, one of them being the kegs in the shipwreck hall.  Three kegs each 20kg in weight but with the pulleys being the difference.  This means that they feel like they are different weights and the KidZ loved trying them out just like we did when we were kids.

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28/05/2014