We went to camp at Cape St Francis over the Easter weekend. On Sunday morning I decided to take the trail westward along the coast as indicated on the resort's info sheet to see if I could find the wreck (apparently what is left of The Osprey which ran aground in 1855) and the blow hole marked on it. Unfortunately the tide was too low to find the blow hole and, well, there wasn't much left of the wreck to…
In today's modern day people traveling between Port Elizabeth and Cradock crosses over the Zuurberg Mountains at speed via the Olifants Kop Pass (R32). In olden days travellers had to cross over the old Zuurberg Pass which was quite a treacherous journey. The Zuurberg Pass is still accessible today although its mostly a very bumpy dirt road. In the past I have travelled up to the Zuurberg Inn several times, but I've never been over the pass' back and down…
Probably one of the biggest challenges in the world of endurance sports is Ironman. Run all over the world, the only city in Africa to host an Ironman is Port Elizabeth. Ironman is the ultimate test of endurance. It starts with a 3,8 kilometer swim followed by a 180 kilometer cycle and a 42.2 kilometer run. I get tired just watching these guys go. I was on the beach at sunrise this morning to see the competitors off on their…
The Prince Alfred's Guard Memorial stands in St Georges Park and was erected in 1907 in remembrance to men from the guard that died in four different wars. On each of the four corners of the base of the memorial is a tablet bearing the names of officers and men who fell in the Transkei War, 1877 ; Basutoland War, 1880-1881; Bechuanaland War, 1897; and the Anglo Boer War 1899 - 1902. At the foot of each tablet is a…
This past weekend we went on a trip to Addo Elephant Back Safaris in the Zuurberg Mountains. I took some great photos of elephants, spiders, mountains and all kind of things. Today I want to show a bit of what we did there and over the next couple of days I'll show off some of my other photos.On the day of our arrival we took it easy and only went on a guided walk through the reserve. The next morning…
Who living in Port Elizabeth can say that they have never been to Happy Valley? Probably not many. Some people (like myself) went there as kids and now take their kids. I love going to Happy Valley. It is a wonderland of colourful lights and kids story and rhyme characters. Happy Valley is situated on the beachfront just off Humewood Beach. It truly is a Port Elizabeth institution. For more on Happy Valley, go here.
Going on a photographic expedition for a project we are doing at work, I got to visit a couple of the museums and attractions around Port Elizabeth last week. I just realised again how many interesting places there are to visit. The problem is that most of these places don't have the funds to be really marketed to the extend that they need to. So I will do my bit and feature them in my blog. The South African Airforce…
This pic was taken on the beach at Cape Recife on the Algoa Bay side looking south at the Cape Recife lighthouse (right) and one of the shipping beacons (left). I specially liked the cloud formation in the background.
Over the last couple of days I have posted pics from my visit to Pumba Private Game Reserve and will probably have a few more over the next day or two. Pumba has two lodges. The one is called Pumba Water Lodge and is situated on the edge of a dam, while the second one, Msenge Lodge, is a little further into the reserve in the bush. I got to stay at the latter one of the two. Today I…
For today's "Random ..." theme I decided on Karoo Churches. Most of the small Karoo towns have magnificent old churches that are well know landmarks in these towns. The Dutch Reformed Church (Moederkerk) in Cradock. Built in 1868, the design is a near replica of St. Martins-in-the-Field in Londen. The Dutch Reformed Church (Grotekerk) in Graaff-Reinet. It was built in 1885 and the design was based on the Salisbury Cathedral in England. The Reformed Church in Venterstad, built in 1876.