Eastern Cape

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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
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The Owl House

Very few people would have heard of the little dusty Karoo village of Nieu-Bethesda if it wasn't for The Owl House. Nieu-Bethesda is situated about 3 1/2 hours north of Port Elizabeth close to the town of Graaff Reinet. The house belonged to a woman named Helen Martins. Martins became bored with her "dull" life and resolved to transform the environment around her. She began an obsessive project around 1945 to decorate her home and garden and used cement, glass…

5 Comments
01/12/2008
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Ensuring the survival of the species

I noticed that this is my 100th post. I didn't realise that I've done so many. So how do I celebrate my "blog century". I went scratching around my photo stock and decided to post a one in a hundred (or probably more one in a hundred thousand) photo. This pic was taken in the Addo Elephant National Park. They released lions into Addo about 6 years ago and at first people struggled to even find them. Since then the…

5 Comments
29/11/2008
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VW AutoPavilion

I think I have said so before, but in case not here it is again. Port Elizabeth is part of the metropolitan area of Nelson Mandela Bay along with the towns of Uitenhage, Despatch and Colchester as well as all the surrounding country side. In the 1980's the area was known as the Detroit of South Africa due to all the motor industries in the city. Today we still have quite a lot of motor related industries in the metro.…

4 Comments
22/11/2008
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Arium Lily

By far one of my favourite flowers is the Arium Lily. The grow very much wild in the Tsitsikamma forest because of the high rainfall and lot of water there. Some of the are huge compared to those you see in people's gardens. When I used to be a tourist guide I got to visit the Tsitsikamma very often, but alas I haven't been for a while. This pic I took on the Mouth Trail in the Tsitsikamma National Park…

4 Comments
20/11/2008
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Bloukrantz Bridge Bungy Jump

The Garden Route is not just a very scenic area but also an adventure junkie's playground with near countless activities to be done by thrill seekers of all shapes and sizes.The ultimate adventure activity can be done at the Bloukrantz River Bridge in the Tsitsikamma. The river is also the boundary between the provinces of the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. Here you will find one of the highest commercial bungy jump sites in the world.Measured at 216 metres…

5 Comments
08/11/2008