If you know a bit about Port Elizabeth's history then you will know that at one stage there was an obelisk standing on Market Square in front of the City Hall. The obelisk is known as The Prince of Wales Obelisk and was brought to South Africa by the founder of the Eastern Province Herald, John Paterson to be placed on the grave of his partner, George Kemp. The Kemp family decided that it was too elaborate to place on the…
I got a mail from regular PEDP reader Gerhard Burger last night asking me if I have seen that there is a new garden service company taking over at the Walmer townhall. Perhaps the lawns and hedges will stay nice and neat now which may lead to the municipality extending the service to other parts of the city.
Did you know that Port Elizabeth is the mohair capital of the world? South Africa produces 53% of global mohair production and together with Lesotho produces 70% of world production. The majority of the world's mohair gets processed in two plants in the Eastern Cape while there are two dedicated mohair spinners within Nelson Mandela Bay. Port Elizabeth is also home to Mohair South Africa and it is here where most of South Africa's mohair gets handled and exported from. Last…
Most people who access the Baakens Valley do so from How Avenue off Park Drive, Wellington Park or Walmer, but I wonder how many know that you can also do so from an entrance just off Brickmakerskloof. I took a walk into the park from here the other day and you quickly loose sight of all signs of civilisation except for the towering Knysna apartment building on the Walmer side of the valley.
Today's post features a photo by guest photographer Geoff Applewhite aka Shefetswe. Geoff is one of my fellow Geocachers and went on a cache trip around town with Grannynasty and Speedbird yesterday afternoon. While the other two were logging a cache next to the Baakens Valley in Walmer, Geoff ducked away to snap a pic of the beautiful sunset.
Dodds Farm is part of the Baakens Valley and can be reached from the bottom of 9th Avenue in Walmer. It's a beautiful spot that could perhaps do with a bit of maintenance, bush clearing and grass cutting, but ideal for a picnic and some quiet time. The Baakens River flows right through Dodds Farm and there are several trails in the area, amongst them the Guinea Fowl trail and some trail running and mountain biking tracks.
I wonder how many people drive down (or up) Villiers Road in Walmer every day without ever noticing this sign painted on a log next to the road. I for one never saw it until I was taken there in search of a geocache recently. The bumpy road it refers to leads to the Walmer Woods driving range.
I wonder how many people know that Walmer used to be a town on its own before becoming part of Port Elizabeth. In 1815 the farm Welbedacht, covered an area just under 14 square miles, to the south west of Port Elizabeth was granted to AM Muller. When Muller died in 1845 his farm was inherited by his 8 sons who, true to form, could not decide on how to sub divide the property. As a result the farm was sold and…
One of the things I've discovered since I've taken up geocaching is that even though I thought I knew everything there is to see in and around Port Elizabeth, I haven't. I've already been to at least three spots I've never visited before and I have another two new places lined up. One of those I haven't seen before was a corner of Settlers Park called Wellington Park which is quite popular for a short walk with the residents living in…
Today is the 35th anniversary of the death of Steve Biko, anti-apartheid activist and founder of the Black Consciousness Movement. I was invited to visit the police cell at the Walmer Police Station where Biko was kept after his arrest in 1977 before he was taken to the Sanlam Building in town where he was tortured. I hadn't seen the cell before and was glad that the opportunity has come my way as it is one of only a few heritage sites…