Eastern Cape

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Queen Victoria Statue

Today (9 August) is National Women's Day here in South Africa. I checked my photos for something relevant and decided to feature the Queen Victoria Statue in front of the Public Library in Port Elizabeth. It kinda links in with the post I did the other day on the Queen Victoria Profile in the Gamtoos Valley. Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from…

4 Comments
09/08/2010
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Drostdy Hotel

Last weekend I did a post on Graaff Reinet Museums. Graaff Reinet has another prominent Cape Dutch style building which used to be the old Drostdy and is now the Drostdy Hotel. The building was constructed in 1806 as the Drostdy of the district. The Drostdy was normally the official residence and seat of the magistrate. The hotel is a real gem and contains original yellow wood floors, Persian Carpets and antique furniture. The hotel's accommodation is situated behind the…

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08/08/2010
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St Georges Park Cricket Ground

The Duckpond Pavilion of the St Georges Park Cricket Ground in Port Elizabeth seen from one of the walkways leading into the park. St Georges Park hosted the first cricket Test match in South Africa in March 1889. If you would like to read the whole story on the first Test match, visit St Georges Park History. St Georges is home to the Chevrolet Warriors (the South African domestic limited over and Pro20 champions) and is one of the four…

6 Comments
01/08/2010
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Graaff Reinet Museums

The beautiful Karoo town of Graaff Reinet is South Africa's fourth oldest town. It has 220 heritage site (national monuments), more than any other town in South Africa and a number of these are magnificent examples of Cape Dutch architecture. The Graaff Reinet Museums take up some of these old Cape Dutch buildings and includes a fossil and rock art collection, period furniture and contemporary history exhibitions. The main gem in the museum crown must be Reinet House containing the…

9 Comments
30/07/2010
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Windpomp and church tower

Two of the most typical things that you would associate small towns in the platteland (countryside) with are churches and windpompe (windpumps). They are to small towns as Aston Martins and girls are to James Bond. In this scene in Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo I got them both in one shot. James Bond driving with the top down and a beautiful girl next to him.

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27/07/2010
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Tuishuise and Victoria Hotel

We spend a weekend at the very interesting Tuishuise in Cradock recently. The Tuishuise is an elegant collection of beautifully restored Victorian era craftsmen’s houses in this Karoo town about 3 hours north of Port Elizabeth. The more than two dozen Tuishuise line Market Street and are furnished with mostly antique furniture. Each house constitudes unit so you won't be sharing your house with anybody else. We were there in winter so the fireplace in our unit came in very…

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24/07/2010
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Algoa Bay Yacht Club

The Algoa Bay Yacht Club in the Port Elizabeth Harbor is a club with a proud history. Established in 1959, the club organises regular organised regattas and informal sailing events on top of being home to most of Port Elizabeth's yachting fraternity. I am sure Alan will pop into the comments section and add a few tit bits more.Footnote: Alan did pop by and here follows his few tit bits:mmmmm how many more titbits can you stand from the loquacious…

9 Comments
19/07/2010