The Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow (Brunfelsia pauciflora) is a fascinating flowering bush which originally came from Brazil. It is very unique as the flowers open purple before turning light lavender and finally white before wilting. This means that you get all three colours on the plant all the time. A word of warning though. The plant is known to contain poisonous alkaloids. The berries are especially toxic.
Just over a month ago I posted a pic of the PE beachfront's light which was taken from Shark Rock Pier at Hobie Beach. Yesterday I popped down to the beach during lunch time as the weather was absolutely awesome (yes, spring is banging the door down). I took a picture of the same piece of coastline from the pier to show you what it looks like during the day.
Sunrise over Kings Beach here in Port Elizabeth with fishing boats on the horizon, some early morning brave bathers on the right and a couple of gulls flying through the middle of the picture.
Yesterday I told you about Prickly Pears and in this case the red prickly pear. I also mentioned that the cochineal beetle was introduced as the prickly pear's natural enemy to stem the spreading of the plant. Cochineal beetles are best know for the fact that they are used to create a natural red dye. The information below I got off Wikipedia.Cochineal insects are soft-bodied, flat, oval-shaped scale insects. The females, wingless and about 5 millimetres (0.20 in) long, cluster…
The Eastern Province Rugby Stadium is also better know by its old name of Boet Erasmus Stadium. The stadium is home to the Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU) and the provincial team is know as The Mighty Elephants and seats about 35000 people. In the picture you can see the main stand while the open stand only consist of cement steps and doesn't have and seats. Its far from a modern stadium, but there is a reason (except for the…
The once mighty Eastern Province rugby side have been bottom feeders in provincial rugby for the last decade or so and has been struggling both on and off the field. This season has seen a bit of a revival in the boardroom which is slowly starting to spill onto the field. EP is currently lying 4th on the table in the Currie Cup "B" section. They played the 3rd placed South Western District Eagles on the Eastern Province Rugby Stadium…
Prickly Pears are originally found in Central America and first came to South Africa as fodder for cattle. Being a cactus plant, they grow very easily and took root quickly before starting to spread throughout some part of the country at an alarming rate. The spreading of it was brought under control through the introduction of the cochineal beetle. The fruit of the prickly pear is about as big as a extra large egg and is sweet in taste. It…
The Uitenhage Town Hall, built in 1822Towards the end of the 18th century settlers settled in the Swartkops River valley. Amongst them were and Gert and Johanna Scheepers who's farm De Rietvallei was the site of what was to become the town of Uitenhage.Known as the Garden Town, Uitenhage was originally a farming community on the banks of the Swartkops River. Which as today grown into a thriving commercial and industrial area without loosing its picturesque charm. Situated only 30…
Chaos Boy wading in the lagoon at the Maitlands River mouth just outside Port Elizabeth. I also took a couple of pics of the river on its own, but it needed a subject and I had my model (at this stage he still volunteers his services when required but sometimes grumbles when I take to long to get the right shot) on hand. The sky was such a great blue when we were there, so I decided to also use…
Ramaphosa Village is one of the informal settlements (squatter camps) here in Port Elizabeth. It is situated close to the industrial area of Struandale. You often find informal settlements like this close to industrial areas as that is where the men will most likely find work. The houses consist mainly of wood and corrugated iron. I used to pass through the townships on a regular basis on township tours when I still guided, but at that stage I never really…