Ons weet almal van die mitiese feniks wat uit die vuur en as uit opgerys het, maar wat gemaak as mens skielik 'n swartkopreier in 'n veldbrand sien? Is dit 'n feniks van ander vere? Dit het nie lank geneem om te sien wat regtig aan die gang was nie. Die veldbrand het sprinkane en ander insekte voor dit uitgejaag en die reier het letterlik net rondgestaan terwyl sy middagete na hom toe aangekom het.
After the washing and drying process the combing process removes the remaining vegetable matter and shorter and irregular sized fibres. This transforms the mohair into a soft mohair "top". Some of the mohair gets shipped off to buyers around the world while others move through the next process of spinning the yarns. After the combing process the mohair that is due to be shipped off gets tied in bundles and packed in small bales. This guy was busy tying the bundles…
One of the newest attractions in Cape Town is the 40 meter high Wheel of Excellence at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. The big wheel has 30 fully-enclosed cabins and the 15 minute ride literally gives one a bird eye view of the Waterfront and surrounding Mother City. When the Kidz heard that we were going on a big wheel there was a lot of apprehension, specially from Drama Princess who is always a bit weary of the unknown, but once we…
After the mohair has gone through the washing process it gets dried through blowers. During the wash and dry process the mohair went from being dirty and oily to white and fluffy, looking very mush like cotton wool. Here after the mohair fibres are positioned in uniform lengths and most of the remaining vegetable matter gets removed. A sliver or coil of mohair called a "carded sliver" is then produced..Angora goats are sheared twice a year and doesn't get harmed in…
I'm a museum kinda guy. There is always something new to discover even if you have been to it so many times before. My favorite museum to go to is the South African Museum in Cape Town. Its the oldest museum in sub-Saharan Africa and was established in 1825 by Lord Charles Somerset. It is both a research and educational institution and offers collections of natural history and anthropological objects that document all forms of life - living and extinct - from…
Suid-Afrika is vol van klein dorpies met interessante verhale en plekke om te ontdek, maar een van die wat baie hoog op enige iemand se lys behoort te wees is die Uilhuis in die Karoodorp Nieu-Bethesda. Nieu-Bethesda lê so 50km noord van Graaff-Reinet en is in 1838 deur Charles Murray, 'n Nederduitse Gereformeerde dominee van Graaff-Reinet, gestig. Met die stigting van die dorp het hy gesê, "En laten wy deze plaats nu Bethesda noemen" vanwee die vrugbaarheid van die plek en die aanwesigheid…
The washing, or scouring, process of the mohair is straight forward yet seemingly very complicated. The machine doing the washing looks like a bunch of spider or crab legs combing the mohair through the water before it gets blown dry. The reason for the washing is to remove all excess dirt and oils..The founding of the mohair industry in South Africa came by a stroke of good fortune. A farmer ordered Angora goats from Turkey in 1838 to try and establish a…
As I have mentioned in my previous post, several Cape Town's most significant historical buildings can be found along the Company Gardens as one walks down Government Avenue.At the bottom entrance to the Gardens are Church Square and the Slave Lodge. The Slave Lodge was built in 1679 by the Dutch East India Company and housed thousands of slaves during the time when slavery meant big business for the Cape Colony. In 1810, after the British had taken over, the building became the Supreme Court and in 1914…
Nelson Mandela Bay is the mohair capital of the world as it is the city where the most mohair moves through on its way to either being graded, auctioned, processed or exported. I was very fortunate recently to get the opportunity to visit the three mohair related factories in Uitenhage that belong to the Stucken Group, namely Gubb & Inggs where the mohair gets washed and turned into tops, Mohair Spinners South Africa where the mohair is turned into yarn and lastly Hinterveld where some…
Sardinia Bay seen from the air on the western approach to the Port Elizabeth Airport