Boarding the Sundays River Ferry

These days marketing a destination is all about experiencing that destination rather than just going there.  One of my favorite experiences around Port Elizabeth is cruising on the Sundays River Ferry and even though I have done some posts on it before, I have decided to do a series about it this week.  The photos used in the series were taken on a cruise I got to go on after a Addo Tourism meeting at Dungbeetle River Lodge a week or so…

1 Comment

Surfing with dolphines

Driving back to the office from a meeting at the university I decided to stop at Pipe to see if there were any surfers out there.  There weren't that many but those who were out catching a wave was joined by a couple dolphins swimming past.  I bet a rookie surfer's heart would skip a beat if he had to spot a dolphin's fin behind a wave for the first time.

2 Comments

Egyptian Geese at Kings Beach

There is nothing as cute as a mother duck, or in this case an Egyptian Goose, swimming or walking along with a couple of babies in tow.  That was the case at the Kings Beach lake until babies started to turn into messy teenagers...  This is not a negative post, just one making fun with the geese and what they leave behind them.

1 Comment

76 Youth uprising art piece

Following Route 67 up from Market Square towards the Donkin Reserve visitors would see a very interesting art piece just past St Mary's Cathedral.  The 76 Youth piece was the result of a workshop collaboration and is a statement about the '76 generation and represents the spiritual journey undertaken by those who fought against oppression, specially those involved in the uprisings in the late 60's and 70's.  

Comments Off on 76 Youth uprising art piece

The old Gamtoos Bridge

Today's post is slightly outside the borders of Nelson Mandela Bay, but the Gamtoos area is very much part of the metro even if its only through close association.  When the first Dutch trekboers got to the Gamtoos River in the latter part of the 1700's, they had to move upstream to find a suitable spot to cross the river.  Later a pontoon was used roughly where the Gamtoos Ferry Hotel is today.  There was a call for a causeway to…

Comments Off on The old Gamtoos Bridge

Blue head lizard

Spending the weekend at Ann's Villa just north of the Zuurberg Mountains in the southern Karoo, I discovered this little dude enjoying the afternoon sun.  He allowed me to take out my camera and snap a couple of pictures of him, even lifting up his head for a better pose.  Now I'm not a lizard expert but I'm sure it's a Agama.  Whether it's a Southern rock agama or a Blue headed tree agama I'm not too sure.  Going by pictures I have…

1 Comment

Flashback – Palm Beach Roadhouse

I love getting emails from followers of PE Daily Photo and The Firefly Photo Files, but it gets even better when I get mails like the one sent to me by Socratis "Socks" who was the last owner of the Palm Beach Roadhouse at Flat Rocks.  He has sent me some pictures of the roadhouse to post and said he's got a couple of old newspaper clippings that he will scan and send me some time as well. Ahhhhh, the good ol' days…

1 Comment

Tanks at Schoenies

Most people enjoy Port Elizabeth's main beaches but there are the few who try to flee the crowds to their favorite hidden spots and the little "beaches" and gullies in Schoenmakerskop are amongst these.  The most popular one in Schoenies is just in front of the Sacramento Restaurant and can be reached via steps down to the beach.  The spot is called Tanks.  According to Luc Hosten of Friends of Schoenmakerskop there are two theories on where the name came from.  The first one is that apparently large…

Comments Off on Tanks at Schoenies

Swartvlei

The area between Sedgefield and Wilderness on the Garden Route is known as the lakes district with five lakes found here.  The biggest of these lakes is Swartvlei just to the west of Sedgefield.  Swartvlei is the only one of these lakes that embraces a lake, lagoon and estuary and is clearly divided into a fresh water section in its upper region and a salt water section in the estuarine area where the tides have an influence.  The main Swartvlei lake visible on…

2 Comments

Ironman weekend

Ironman is probably the biggest event staged in Port Elizabeth and right up there to what the Argus cycle race is to Cape Town and the Comrades Marathon to Durban.  But Ironman isn't just one day of ordinary sports men and women doing extra ordinary things, its a whole weekend of awesomeness and this past weekend was Ironman weekend.  It all starts in the week before the event with the arrival of athletes and there families, the Ironman expo and…

2 Comments