There are a number of giant Wild Fig Trees in and around St George's Park, all well over 100 years old. The one in the centre of the park next to the Pearson Conservatory must be one of my favorite trees around Port Elizabeth. I always marvel at it's size and love walking over the sleeper bridge underneath it imagining that it could be the city's Mother Tree.
The Pearson Conservatory was originally built in 1882 and restored to its former glory between 2009 and 2011. The centre piece of the Pearson Conservatory is an ornamental fountain made by Andrew Handyside at the Duke Street Foundry "Britannia Iron Works" in Derby in the UK around the same year the Conservatory was built (1882). The Britannia Foundry's work was well known for its fine quality so these fountains can be found all over the globe. This particular design of…
The Victorian conservatory in St George's Park was completed and opened on 12 September 1882 and named the Pearson Conservatory after the then Mayor of Port Elizabeth, Mr HW Pearson. The conservatory cost £3,800 to put up and arrived in South Africa as a 'kit of parts' and was constructed in the park. This conservatory was imported from England and was the first of three such buildings in South Africa at the time. The double volume central atrium is flanked by two…
I took a walk around St George's Park the other day. Yes, alone and with my camera in hand. It really isn't as bad as so many people would like to make it out to be. It's just important to stay alert and observant but I didn't notice any unsavory characters hanging out in the park. I did notice that the water lilies on the central pond was beautiful though.
In 1861, Mayor William Smith planted an Oak tree at the spot in the then new St Georges Park to commemorate the visit in 1860 of His Royal Highness Prince Alfred. The tree unfortunately blew over in January 2001 with the original inscription then being moved to the Parks Division offices nearby. Today the spot is marked by a plaque.
Last Sunday Drama Princess and her school choir sang at the Doxa Deo Artuo church in Richmond Hill. This beautiful little park with the old Erica building is right across the road from the church. Imagine having a park like this close to home to walk the dogs, play ball with the kids or just sit under a tree with a book.
There is an Afrikaans folk song that goes, Dis heerlike Lente, die Winter's verby... (It's time for Spring now that Winter has passed - doesn't quite roll off the tongue the same in English though) which means Summer is fast approaching. Longer days, better weather and spending more time outdoors over weekends. Plus the holiday season is coming up quicker than my sausage dogs when I open the fridge. With an eye on said better weather and upcoming holiday season, I…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hh-AqM29ms&w=500&h=400]We are so fortunate to have the Baakens Valley green belt running through Port Elizabeth. The area truly has the potential to become a prime outdoors activities part of the city and already is very popular with mountain bikers and trail runners. When I found this great video on YouTube showing off the great trails through the valley I just had to share it with you.
I had 30 minutes on my hands yesterday afternoon and did a quick detour to Mangold Park to find a new Geocache on the edge of the Baakens Valley. From the parking coords at the bottom of a cul-de-sac there were two paths splitting off. A paved one to the right which I had to follow to find the cache and the one in the photo to the left. Obviously the call of the cache was strong andf I hurried…
Just yesterday I asked somebody if they also thought that we didn't have a very cold winter this year as I stood sweating in the sun outside the lodge at Mount Camdeboo Game Reserve outside Graaff-Reinet. This morning we woke up to a freezing wind and snow on the mountains in the area. On my way back this afternoon I heard it hailed in some parts of Port Elizabeth. I pulled off the freeway and made a quick stop in…