Eastern Cape

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Cannon Rocks shipwreck

Cannon Rocks is a little holiday resort town on the Sunshine Coast about 120 km east of Port Elizabeth. The town (if you can call it a town) consists mostly of holiday homes and retired people and reminded me of Paradise Beach. This was were my grandparents retired and we spent every school holiday there, playing amongst the dunes, building forts in the bush, exploring between the rocks and off cause swimming. But I digress. Cannon Rocks, and neighboring Boknes,…

7 Comments
11/01/2009
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Beach treasures

When you take a walk on the beach you always scan the sand to see it you can't find something interesting. Most of the time kids will pick up shells, sticks, stones (not to break bones), mermaid's purses, feathers or whatever else they find. This seagull's feather lying next to this stone caught my attention and I just got one picture of it before Chaos Boy leaped into frame to pick it up. The same happened with this tennis ball.…

6 Comments
10/01/2009
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Karoo skies

Today's post is the conclusion of our drive through the Karoo (featured in Karoo Roads and Windpompe and Karoo Koppies ) from Gariep Dam (also see Gariep Dam Sunrise) to Cannon Rocks (posts still to come). And to link in with Skywatch Friday. As stated before, the Karoo is often referred to as Big Sky Country. "Why?" you ask. "Several reasons", I say. It is a fairly flat countryside with few hills and mountains and even fever big trees. This…

22 Comments
08/01/2009
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Windpompe and Karoo Koppies

Today's post basically follows up on yesterday's post about Karoo roads. The Karoo is generally a flat and dry area with a couple of hills and mountains. This means that driving through the Karoo there are very few features that are distictly "Karoo". The land in the Karoo is farming country with farmers farming mostly with Angora goats (for mohair), sheep (for the most divine Karoo lamb chops... I mean wool) and cattle (how about toasting that juicy t-bone with…

6 Comments
07/01/2009
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Shark Rock Pier in sepia

Last night we headed down to the beachfront for the annual Opening of the Season festivities. The highlight of the evening is a fireworks display from Shark Rock Pier at Hobie Beach. I will post a couple of fireworks pics tomorrow. We found a good spot from where we had a nice view of the pier and settled in for our wait until the fireworks started at 20:30. Just after sunset the view across to the pier was beautiful, and…

3 Comments
17/12/2008
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Prester John Monument

One of my favourite monuments in Port Elizabeth is also one of the least known one's in the city. Ask somebody where the Prester John Monument is and they will probably never have heard of it. Refer to the monument with the cross behind the City Hall and they would all have seen it.The monument is dedicated to the mythical king-priest Prester John and the Portuguese explorers who discovered South Africa. Although the Portuguese were looking for a route to…

2 Comments
15/12/2008
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Cape St Francis sunrise

So I decided to have a go at my first meme (sorry Jo) and what other than Skywatch Friday.Sunrise over the main beach at Cape St Francis taken during our last camping trip. I sneaked out early to try and get a nice sunrise photo and wasn't disappointed.For more great Skywatch pictures from around the world, visit the site and follow the links.

23 Comments
11/12/2008
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The Apple Express

The historic little Apple Express steam train that puffs out of Port Elizabeth most weekends on a day trip to Thornhill has really been struggling for the last couple of years. Not just do the Apple Express Society struggle financially, but their steam engine has been out of commission for about two years now. The have been working on restoring the engine and about three or so weeks ago they took her out on a trial run. I just got…

5 Comments
07/12/2008
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The Donkin Reserve

Just prior to the arrival of the British Settlers in Algoa Bay in 1820, Sir Rufane Donkin took up an acting position in the Cape Colony as Governor. He travelled to Algoa Bay to welcome the Settlers. Sir Rufane lost his wife, Lady Elizabeth Donkin, to the fever in India two years previously and was still mourning her loss when he took up his position at the Cape.When he arrived in Algoa Bay he found a small settlement without a…

3 Comments
06/12/2008
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Seal Point Lighthouse

The highest masonry tower (28 metre high) on the South African coast can be found in the coastal holiday town of Cape St Francis.The Seal Point Lighthouse was built in 1878 and is situated about 100km west of Port Elizabeth. The Bay itself was named St Francis Bay after the patron saint of sailors and travellers by the the first Portuguese explorers who came into the area in the late 1400's.The village of Cape St Francis started out as a…

4 Comments
04/12/2008