Eastern Cape

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Karoobos and Hofmeyr Museum

On the corner that the main road makes through the little town of Hofmeyr stands a big green "lady" that beckons you to a building that serves a welcoming ginger beer and koeksister to travellers through the Karoo.  Karoobos is what we would call in Afrikaans a real "plattelandse padstal" (country road stall).  They don't just serve the most delicious meals but also sell jams, homemade products and antiques.In the back of the building visitors would find the Hofmeyr Museum.  The…

7 Comments
09/11/2010
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Hofmeyr

A side view of the Hofmeyr Post OfficeHofmeyr is a typical little Karoo town.  Imposing old Dutch Reformed Church keeping an eye over mostly dusty streets and a proud but struggling farming community.  Situated roughly halfway between Cradock and Steynsburg, the town with its less than 2000 people lies at an altitude of 1252 meters and in the heart of a once flourishing sheep farming district.  The town was founded in 1873 and, initially named Maraisburg, renamed Hofmeyr in 1911.  It was named in…

2 Comments
08/11/2010
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Bonsai Show

If you know the hilarious yet irritating Annoying Orange on YouTube then you may know that he refers to his friend Little Apple as Midget Apple.  Well, if that is the case then I visited a very interesting exhibit of midget trees on Saturday.  The Eastern Province Bonsai Society hosted their annual Bonsai Show in the Walmer Town Hall here in Port Elizabeth this weekend.  I find bonsai trees very interesting and for years now I've had all the good…

11 Comments
07/11/2010
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Karoo koppies

The Karoo landscapes are beautiful and always give you something new to photograph.  Driving back from Gauteng I stopped for a quick break outside Steynsburg and snapped this farm gate with Karoo koppies in the background.These specific Karoo koppies in question are Koffiebus (Coffee pot) and Teebus (Tee pot).

4 Comments
03/11/2010
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Van Stadens Wild Flower Reserve

The Van Stadens Wild Flower Reserve is situated about 40 kilometers west of Port Elizabeth.  The reserve is 450 hectares in size and includes both pristine fynbos along the plateau and coastal forest in the gorge.  There are several hiking trails through the reserve and one of them will take you to the spot from where the Van Stadens Bridge is visible.  One of the magnificent flowers that grow in the reserve is the King Protea, South Africa's national flower.

5 Comments
29/10/2010
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Stadium in lights

As I left the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium last Saturday night after the EP Kings' game, I decided to drive around the North End Lake and get a couple of pictures of the stadium lit up from the other side.  Unfortunately I didn't have my tripod and wanted to use the night setting, so the quality isn't the best, but still its a sight to behold.

7 Comments
15/10/2010
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Canon sunrise

Sunrise over the Port Elizabeth Harbour from Fort FrederickFor more sunrises and other sky related photos from photographers all over the world, visit Skywatch

11 Comments
07/10/2010
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Windpomp

One of the iconic rural countryside objects of South Africa is the windpomp (wind pump).  Windpompe is used to extract water from boreholes and can be found (working or not) on all our highways and byways around South Africa's countryside.  This one I photographed on one of the game reserves just outside Port Elizabeth.

7 Comments
02/10/2010
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Graaff Reinet Statues

I still had a couple of odd monument photos from Graaff-Reinet lying around and decided to put them together and do a "Random ..." post for today. This monument is in memory of Andries Pretorius, one of the Voortrekker leaders. It was erected in 1943 and can be found just outside of town on the way to Middelburg. This is the route to the north and into the interior which the Voortrekkers followed in the 1830's.In one of the residential…

4 Comments
28/09/2010
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St Georges Park

St Georges Park has a number of paths and walkways through it which gives one the opportunity to feel like you have gotten away from the city. Unfortunately the people of Port Elizabeth isn't really utilising the park as much as they should be, which means that when you do go there you have to be very cautious of possible unsavory elements trying their luck. I always wonder why people working in the area doesn't go there during their tea…

8 Comments
27/09/2010