It is sad to see all the unused railway infrastructure around Port Elizabeth either on the harbour, around Humewood or next to the Settlers Freeway. After a lunchtime event at This is Eat on the harbour I grabbed the camera for a couple of photos before heading back to the office.
The last couple of months have been a bit on the dry side and after the previous weekend's rain it seems that the weather has suddenly discovered some more moisture to share with us. Over the last 48 hours we've had some good rains in and around Port Elizabeth with apparently more to come in the next day or so. I know its not the most exciting picture but here is one I snapped while sitting in wet traffic this morning. Wet traffic…
In 1488 the Portuguese explorer Batholomeu Dias sailed into Algoa Bay and landed on St Croix islandwhere his crew celebrated Mass and planted a padrão or stone cross. The island, which is visible from the Port Elizabeth beachfront, is 3.9 km from the nearest land at Hougham Park and rises up to 59m at it's highest point. It is 12 ha in size and is 700 meters long at its longest point and 360m wide at its broadest. There is very little vegetation…
Kings Beach is a beautiful piece of white sandy beach stretching from the harbour wall up to McArthur Pool. With the royal visit to South Africa in 1947 the royal family also stopped in Port Elizabeth. The train they were travelling on was parked just above what is now the Kings Beach parking area and apparently part of the beach was fenced of for the use of the royal family. The princesses went horse riding and the king went for swims…
The mouth of the Swartkops River seen from the Bluewater Bay side. The factory on the right is the Algorex carbon black plant while the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is visible on the left.
Over the weekend there was a national kite surfing competition that took place in blistering conditions at Bluewater Bay on the eastern side of Port Elizabeth. It was a stunning site seeing all the kits bulging in the wind with the city in the background.
The Baakens River flowing through Settlers Park. The picture was taken from the park's How Avenue parking area.
I live fairly close to the narrow guage line that is used by the Apple Express and can normally hear it when it goes by on a Saturday morning. The historic Apple Express narrow gauge train offers day trips to Loerie as well as 3 day trips to Kareedouw in the Langkloof. Construction on this historic line commenced in 1902 and was done to connect the scenic Langkloof with its fruit growing industry to the port of Port Elizabeth. As…
In 1971 the Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival requested that a open air theatre be developed in St Georges Park and this request was approved by the city's Parks and Recreation Committee. The driving force behind this was Bruce and Helen Mann, doyens of the theatre in PE. The theatre comprises a stage and grassed area with grassed tiers where seats are placed. It is utilised by the Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival which stage their annual Shakespear play there, but is…
In August last year I did a post on Art in the Park that takes place in St Georges Park every first Sunday of the month. Gavin Tonks, the founder of Art in the Park, commented on the post and gave some information on how it started. Seeing that this weekend has the first Sunday of the month and that Art in the Park will be taking place, I thought I would post Gavin's comment.Gavin Tonks said ..."I actually started…