The Wild Coast is literally just a couple of stone skips away from where I am based in Port Elizabeth, yet except for quick visits to Morgan Bay and Trennereys I've never explored it properly. Some people even told me that those are situated on the Mild Coast and that I would have to venture further north to be able to properly say that I've been to the Wild Coast. In May circumstances allowed me to spend a few days…
Every year on the last weekend of June, thousands of festinos make their way to the small Sundays River Valley town of Kirkwood for the annual Absa Kirkwood Wildsfees. The Wildsfees, in it's 14th years already, brings some of the biggest names in the Afrikaans music industry to the town and combines it with a weekend of entertainment, activities, food and stalls. Over the weekend in the region of 50 000 people attended the festival with over 20 000 people in the grounds on the Saturday…
Love them or hate them, the wind farms around Jeffrey's Bay, Humansdorp and St Francis has become part of the Kouga region's landscape. After a meeting in Humansdorp recently I did a detour to Paradise Beach along the road that leads through Lombardini Game Farm and stopped to snap this pic back on the road. What's your feeling about the wind farms becoming such prominent landmarks on the landscape?
Driving through the Karoo from the interior to the Eastern or Southern Cape coast (or the other way around) and looking for a spot to sleep over? The Karoo Heartland has some excellent overnighting spots in towns like Cradock, Graaff-Reinet, Nieu-Bethesda and Somerset East. If Cradock is your overnight destination of choice then you really don't need to look any further than the iconic Tuishuise and Victoria Manor Hotel.Die Tuishuise on Market Street in Cradock is made up of 30 beautifully restored Karoo style cottages. These cottages date back…
I have never been to an Imax movie so big was my excitement when I received an invitation from Ster-Kinekor to the grand opening of their brand new cinema complex at Baywest in Port Elizabeth. The complex is made up of 5 regular cinemas, two Cine Prestige luxury cinemas (kitted out with reclining chairs and the works) and, the cherry on top, an Imax cinema. Only the fourth one in South Africa. Did I mention that Joburg hasn't got an Imax yet. Cool,…
The Langkloof may be a "less desirable" tourism destination than the adjacent Garden Route, but it doesn't mean that its less beautiful. It may not have the breathtaking coastline or inspiring indigenous forests of the Garden Route, but it doesn't have to stand back one step when it comes to scenic beauty. Framed by mountains in the north and south, the predominant vegetation is Fynbos, interspersed by farmland and summer fruit orchards. A little detour on my last trip up…
The Baviaanskloof is an UNESCO World Heritage Site representing the Cape Floral Kingdom but it could just as easily also have been one because of the KhoiSan history and heritage that is found here. Spending a relaxing weekend at Baviaans Lodge I learned that there is quite an important rock painting site on the property. The extra bonus was that Alan Fogarty of Alan Tours, probably one of the top nature guides in the Eastern Cape, was spending the weekend at the…
If I had to show this photo to anybody and ask them where the picture was taken, they would probably guess places like the Tsitsikamma, Knysna forest or Hogsback. Although all of these are likely candidates, in all cases they would be wrong. This specific scene is hidden away in a valley near Baviaans Lodge in the Baviaanskloof.
Since I started blogging nearly 7 years ago, the post that has received the most attention wasn't some exotic location, epic once in a lifetime animal photo or mind blowing sunset. It was a post about a flowering Kapok Tree. Up to now it has received over a whopping 20 000 page views. I've been wanting to do another post but the problem was that I haven't had another chance of encountering one while it is in flower and having my camera…
South Africa has eight UNESCO World Heritage sites. These are places such as a forest, mountain, lake, island, desert, monument, building, complex, or city that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of special cultural, natural or physical significance. One of the South African World Heritage Sites is the Cape Floral Kingdom. The Cape Floristic Region, the smallest of the six recognised floral kingdoms of the world, is home to more than 9 000 plant species of…