The view from the top of Table Mountain must be one of the most beautiful city views in the world with Cape Town at your feet and stretching away in the distance to the right and Table Bay and the Atlantic Ocean azure blue on the left.I've pointed out a couple of Cape Town's main landmarks as seen from one of the lookouts on top of Table Mountain. I will still follow this post up with a post discribing our visit…
The movers and shakers in the tourism industry in Port Elizabeth were invited to a function at the Town Lodge on the beachfront last week for the introduction of the new ceo of Ectour. But that's not what the post is about. The function took place on the Town Lodge's deck overlooking Humewood Beach in absolutely perfect weather. Port Elizabeth is often called the Windy City. The reason for that is that we do get a fair amount of wind…
While exploring the town of Montagu in the Western Cape I discovered the Montagu Nature Garden on the outskirts of town. I wouldn't really call it a garden, but rather a nature reserve as it covers quite a big area. The Montagu Nature Garden was established in 1954, the year that Montagu celebrated its centenary. Montagu Nature garden is situated in the most southerly part of the succulent Karoo “biome.” It has the distinction therefore of having flora of 3 regions of…
The Alexandria Coastal Dunefield to the east of Port Elizabeth was formed over the past 6 500 years when the sea level returned to its present level after the last Ice Age. The dunes can rise up to 140 metres, with the average dune height being 30 metres above sea level. The Alexandria Coastal Dunefield, of which the Colchester section of the dune field falls within the metro, is the largest coastal dunefield in the Southern Hemisphere one of the most impressive in the…
Andza's Tavern in Motherwell is one of the more popular taverns in the city and are frequented by both locals as well as tourists. During a recent media visit that I got to accompany we went to Andza's for a... wait for it, snoek braai. Township folk (just like us white Afrikaners) love their meat and usually they have lamb, steak or chicken braaiing over the coals when you get there, so going to a tavern and being served fish…
The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum (previously the King George VI Art Gallery) currently has a very interesting exhibition going called Coastal City. The majority of the pieces on display are historic and fairly old, but that is what I loved about it. My favorite painting on display is one done by Thomas Baines in 1853 called "The British Settlers of 1820 Landing in Algoa Bay".
Yesterday's post I did about the Port Elizabeth Cenotaph wasn't the first featuring this great memorial. A little while ago I received a comment on a previous post featuring the Cenotaph from Andy Gardner in Durban. Andy's father was James Gardner who designed the memorial and also did the sculptures which are part of it. On two sides of the memorial are sculptures, one representing a mother and child and the other St George, placed so for the purpose of symmetry. The woman…
There is probably no better way to enjoy the Viljoensdrift wines than leisurely cruising along the Breede River on a sunny day. The Viljoensdrift wine estate offers one hour cruises up and down the river from their shop and tasting area on the farm and although we're not wine lovers (and you don't have to actually drink wine to go on the cruise), we decided to go for the outing.The boat seats about 40 people and most of our fellow passengers bought wine…
One of the prominent memorials in Port Elizabeth is the Cenotaph standing in front of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Gallery. The city's war memorial was unveiled by former mayoress Mrs WF Savage on 10 November 1929. The memorial was the work of James Gardner of the Art School and was originally erected to the memory of the men from Port Elizabeth that fell during the Great War. After the Second World War memorial panels were added to the walls behind the…
While visiting the town of Montagu we didn't really venture through Cogmanskloof into the Robertson Valley area and rather explored our immediate surroundings. One morning we did decided to venture through the kloof with our camping neighbours and ended up at Viljoensdrift Wine Estate near Bonneyvale for a river cruise on the Breede River. We had about an hour or so to wait (or waste, which ever word rocks your boat) before the cruise departed so while the women and children sat out on…