The Firefly Photo Files

Montagu Village Market

2012-01-31T12:30:00.000+02:00

Fresh cherries (the fruity kind, not the two legged ones). Organic vegetables. Home made jam. Grain fed farm eggs. Olives and olive oil. Homemade bread and rusks. Paintings. Antique tools. Vintage bric-a-brac. Intricate wireworks. Hand crafted jewellery. These are just some of the items you will find on sale at the weekly Village Market in Montagu. Every Saturday morning stall holders start to set up their stalls quite early and by the time the market opens at 8am (08:30am in winter) they are ready for both locals and visitors alike.

Walking through the market you don't really know where to look or to start. And if you aren't quick then you may just be disappointed, specially if you are looking at the fresh produce and food. Point is, don't do what we did by passing the fresh cherries with the intention to come back later. Not 15 minutes after I took this picture the cherries were sold out.

Our highlight of the market was the breakfast stall. They do a breakfast roll on a seed bun and if you take a full house it consist of mushroom, bacon, egg and cheese. It comes in a tin plate and you can have a tin mug of coffee with it. Oh man, lip smacking. Seating are at wooden benches and logs and from there I watched the ladies working behind the stall motor between preparing the food and dishing up. They were by far the busiest stall there as most people had breakfast in between their shopping (or just browsing if your wallet is a bit empty).

Cattle Egret

2012-01-30T12:30:00.000+02:00

A cattle egret sitting in a sweet thorn tree at the Leidam in Montagu.

The cattle egret is family of the heron, but unlike herons it feeds in relatively dry grassy habitats. You often find them accompanying cattle or other large mammals since they catch insects disturbed by these animals. They are referred to as tick birds because they also remove ticks and flies from cattle. In the breeding season they nest in colonies, and as was the case with the one in the photograph, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. The nest is a platform of sticks in trees or shrubs.

Kanonkop in Montagu

2012-01-27T12:30:00.000+02:00

The best views of the town of Montagu are from the top of Kanonkop (Cannon Hill). The story goes that the original cannon which stood on this spot and dated from the 1800 was used at some stage for a salute of honor which went horribly wrong and caused a young man from the town to loose both his arms. The farmers then pushed the cannon over the edge of the hill. 20 years later it was retrieved to be fired again, but this time the whole cannon exploded and its spot stood empty until it was replaced by the present one. This cannon was taken out of the sea in Simon's Town in 1988 after spending over 200 years on the ocean floor.

The view of the western side of Montagu looking towards Kogmanskloof

Looking over the rest of Montagu with the landmark Dutch Reformed Church right in the middle of the picture.

Bird watching at Montagu Leidam

2012-01-25T12:30:00.000+02:00

Bird lovers visiting Montagu doesn't have to go much further than the Leidam to see a wide range of birds fairly up close. The residents around the dam include Grey heron, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, African Sacred Ibis and the Common Weaver with 18 local species and 52 migrant species counted. The town has put up a very nice and accessible viewing deck next to the dam and visitors who would like a closer look can get a key for the gate from the tourist information office. If you want to find the dam just follow your nose, cause with the amount of birds living next to it there is a bit of a "flavour" hanging in the air.

The Leidam was originally built to supply water to the (then) majority of town via canals. Each house had an allocated time in the day during which they could draw water from the canal. This system is still in places today although the town has grown quite a bit since those days and the area covered by the canals are basically in the western part of town.

African Sacred Ibis

Succulent flowers

2012-01-24T12:30:00.000+02:00

Succulent flowers from the Klein Karoo in the Montagu area

Montagu Dried Fruit Route

2012-01-23T12:30:00.000+02:00

Visiting the Montagu Dried Fruit factory shop we found out that they have a sightseeing tractor tour of the farm for which we immediately booked. The tour takes about an hour and a half to two hours and passes the fruit drying area and orchards before heading up the hill behind the farm. Once you are out of the actually farming area you start ascending the adjacent hill with its typical Karoo vegetation. The Kidz were obviously very excited about the trip and the first ones onto the trailer when the tractor pulled up.

At the top of the hill the tractor stops and visitors are given the opportunity to walk the last bit up to an old English fort. Along the way you can get a closer look at some of the typical Karoo plants growing next to the path. The fort itself sits right on top of the hill with fantastic views all around.

Looking around from the fort one can see why this location was selected to build it. You can see forever all around the valley and across to the town of Montagu lying right in the middle of it, with the gun slits covering every possible approach and sentries being ably to see any movement in the valley.

Even though its a fairly short tour its advisable to get something to drink (and perhaps snack on) at the factory shop to take along on the ride.

Montagu Dried Fruit

2012-01-20T12:30:00.000+02:00

I love summer fruits (well, any fruit actually) like peaches, plums and apricots. That was one of the many reasons I looked forward to spending the first part of our summer holiday in the Klein Karoo town of Montagu. The area has a rich soil and amazing micro climate and along with the fact that there is an abundance of water makes it ideal to farm summer fruits.

On our first day in Montagu I discovered the Montagu Dried Fruit Factory Shop. Let me not start about my love for dried fruit. Nom nom nom... Montagu Dried Fruit and Nuts was established in 1991 and as one of Africa’s largest wholesalers of dried fruit and nuts and currently markets 35% of all dried tree fruit in South Africa. The shop has an amazing range of dried fruit (and nuts) and we probably returned another three or four times while we were in town.

Except for the dried fruit, they also sell fresh apricots and peaches. The apricots sold for... wait for it... you won't believe this... R2 per kilogram. Drama Princess filled up a couple of bags for us and we had to keep reminding the kidz not to over indulge as we didn't want any tummy problems.

The factory is situated right behind the shop, but visitors aren't allowed inside the factory itself. We did go on a tractor tour (which I will post about shortly) during which was saw the peaches being dried in the sun. I posted a picture of peach pips yesterday and a couple of people asked what it's used for. Somebody in town told me that Montagu Dried Fruit is the only place in South Africa that "produces" the pips like this. They break them to get the moisture out and then they also get dried in the sun. Its then sold to people who put them in the gardens, specially in garden paths and drive ways. All the roads in Montagu Caravan Park where we stayed is covered in peach pips. I wish I could get my hands on some.

Peach pips

2012-01-19T12:30:00.000+02:00

Montagu Panorama

2012-01-18T12:30:00.000+02:00

Even though I have a nifty little panorama setting on my camera I don't always do a lot of panorama photos. The reason for this is mainly because the photo often looks a bit distorted if the horizon is a flat one. Standing at one of the lookout spots overlooking the town of Montagu surrounded by beautiful mountains and summer fruit orchards (peach and apricot), I decided to give it a shot. The result encouraged me to take a couple more on our holiday which I will still post. Click on the picture to see an enlarged version.

Montagu War Memorial

2012-01-17T12:30:00.000+02:00

I've said it before and I will say it again and again and again (every time I find another one). Just about every town has a war memorial. Click to see those in Knysna and Mossel Bay which I've blogged about before. Driving around Montagu I was looking for interesting places and stumbled upon the Montagu War Memorial remembering those from the town who fell during the Anglo Boer War, WWI and WWII. I'm not a war junkie so I don't know what the gun is called, but I liked the fact that the memorial wasn't just a brick or stone pillar.

Also situated in the memorial garden is a Voortrekker monument that was erected in 1938 to commemorate the Great Trek's centenary year.

Montagu NG Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church)

2012-01-16T12:30:00.000+02:00

The little town of Montagu in the Western Cape truly is a gem of a town with beautiful old buildings, lots of history, fruit, mountains and nature all around. Montagu was founded in 1851 on the farm Uitvlucht. The town was named after John Montagu, the British Secretary of the Cape, who was responsible for the building of the Cogmans Kloof Pass that opened up the town for passing trade. One of the most significant buildings in the town is the historic Dutch Reformed Church. The Neo-Gothic style church was completed in 1862. It used to be painted white, but residents were complaining that they were being blinded by it reflecting too much sun. It was then decided to paint it the creamy yellow it still is today.

I was curious to see what the church looked like at night, so popped down for a look one evening. Impressive.

Ronnie's Sex Shop

2012-01-13T12:30:00.000+02:00

Let's fall right in the door and explain before there are *gasps* and threats of blog boycotts because I'm posting about a sex shop (sic). If you are a South African you may be familiar with Ronnie's Sex Shop on Route 62 near the town of Barrydale in the Klein Karoo. If you are from elsewhere and have never heard of Ronnie's, then listen up.

Some years ago a guy called Ronnie decided to fix up a building next to the popular Route 62 to turn it into a farm stall and sell fresh fruit, produce and perhaps a couple odd souvenirs to passing motorists . Nearing completion Ronnie painted the name Ronnie's Shop on the wall, but a couple of his friends decided to pull a prank on good ol' Ronnie. They added the word SEX next to the name and thus changing it to Ronnie's Sex Shop. Ronnie was shocked and angry, but as he had more urgent work to do he never got around to changing the name again. Passers by would stop and ask after the name while his friends came by for a few beers a couple of times. One night over a braai and a couple of drinks one of his friends suggested that he drop the whole farm stall idea and just open a pub. The rest, are history as they say. Over the years Ronnie's Sex Shop has become known world wide and has become a regular stop for bikers, local farmers and (local and international) people travelling this road regularly.

Church rose

2012-01-12T12:30:00.000+02:00

Roses outside the Montagu Museum housed in the old Mission Church built in 1907

Bain Street Grill - Port Elizabeth

2012-01-11T14:00:00.000+02:00

Over the last couple of years the area around Stanley Street in Richmond Hill has developed into a hub of restaurants, side walk eateries and deli's and has become one of the best places to go for a meal in Port Elizabeth. One of the restaurants I have heard a lot about but hadn't had a chance to visit is the Bain Street Grill (32 Bain Street, Richmond Hill) just around the corner from Stanley Street. But this was about to change when I made a booking to visit it with a bunch of visiting journalists. My first surprise of the evening came as soon as we walked in the front door. The Bain Street Grill is a small cosy restaurant (for some reason I was expecting a big "Spur" like place) with only about 9 or 10 tables which means that there are far less noise and much better service. On the night we were there there was one waitress handling the orders for all the tables (and doing a very good job) while a second made sure drinks were delivered and topped up without anybody going thirsty.

My second surprise came when we weren't handed menu's but rather was told that everything on offer is up on the walls. This meant that there was a lot more discussion between everybody on what to have rather than the usual hiding behind the menu and peeking around it wondering what the others are having. Another thing I liked about the restaurant was the open plan kitchen in which you could see the chef preparing the food and, even though he was probably busy as hell, he looked as cool as a cucumber.

My big surprise was the food. Priced lower than it's competition, the food was excellent and the portions generous. No fancy garnishes and things (In Afrikaans we would say "fieterjasies"), just plain good food. I thought that the vegetable kebab was a brilliant touch so in between the calories, cholesterol and carbs you do get something healthy in as well. Although there were a lot of stuff on the menu that looked good I was recommended the Ribs beforehand and I wasn't disappointed. F-I-N-G-E-R L-I-C-K-I-N-G good and "fall off the bone" soft.

One of the ladies had fish, Cajun Kingklip if I remember correctly. My first thought was why order fish as a grill restaurant is often associated with meat, but according to her she would order it again any day. She also opted for the healthier option and had it with veg.

I'm not a prawn man myself but I have to admit that the Surf and Turf option of steak and prawns looked divine. Other than big smiles and thumbs up I didn't get a comment on this dish though cause the ones having it had their mouths full all the time. All in all I have to say that we had a stunning evening of good food and good company in an excellent and recommendable restaurant and I am honestly looking forward to my next visit to Bain Street Grill.

We visited Bain Street Grill on a recommendation and not on invitation and paid for the bill

"Moon light bulb"

2012-01-10T12:30:00.000+02:00

Some of the regular visitors to the blog is probably starting to wonder why I haven't posted any pictures I took on our December holiday to beautiful Montagu and Cape Town yet. Well, first my laptop didn't want to read my camera and after 4 days of struggle I took my old pc out of storage and got the pics downloaded. I started going through them last night and as soon as I have done I will get them posted.

Late last year I was hosting a group of journalists to Port Elizabeth for the IRB Rugby 7's and we visited Anza's tavern in Motherwell for dinner one night. I was sitting outside and the near full moon kept on peeking out from behind the clouds. On top of this pipe it actually looked like a dim light bulb.

Cape Recife Lighthouse

2012-01-09T12:07:00.001+02:00

The Cape Recife Lighthouse on the southern peninsula of Algoa Bay in Port Elizabeth was built in 1851. The lighthouse is a 24 metre octagonal masonry tower painted with black and white bands and flash every every 30 seconds.

Sand waves

2012-01-06T12:42:00.003+02:00

Sand ripples at Cape Recife in Port Elizabeth

Lighting the way

2012-01-05T12:30:00.000+02:00

Arriving back at Camp Figtree in the Zuurberg after a late afternoon game drive in Addo Elephant National Park, you are welcomed by lanterns lighting the way to the lodge.

Stadium in lights

2012-01-01T12:30:00.000+02:00

Good bye 2011, hello 2012. I'm still struggling to figure out where 2011 went. For some reason this year just flew by and even though it went quickly so much have happened. But at the rate that time is flying there is no time to dwell in the past so lets rather look to the future. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year. May 2012 bring joy and happiness and may all your wishes come true. Not too much to ask, is it?

Today's picture is the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in lights photographed recently during the South African leg of the IRB 7's World Series hosted in Port Elizabeth.

Just in case why I haven't been posting as regularly as always, the end of the working year was hectic at work and we have been on holiday from the 17th of December. So by now we have had (well hopefully cause I'm forward posting this and the holiday hadn't actually started when I did the post) had a stunning time in Montagu in the Klein Karoo and is hopefully lounging next to a pool in Cape Town today. So as soon as I get back I will start to process all my Western Cape photos from the holiday and will start posting regularly again. Happy New Year.

"sniff-sniff"

2011-12-28T12:30:00.000+02:00

"The new year is so close I can smell it"

So it is Christmas.....

2011-12-25T11:30:00.000+02:00

To quote John Lennon "So this is Christmas, And what have you done, Another year over..." It really feels like Christmas has creeped up on me and shouted "WHA!!!" Last year I was in the Christmas spirit from late November already, but this year the working year seemed to have been so busy towards the end that it was halfway through December before I really started to hum Christmas songs. "Tra la la la laaaa, la la la la...." Merry Christmas to you all. I hope you have a very blessed day.

The picture is of the Christmas tree on the Boardwalk lake in Port Elizabeth

Knysna forest roads

2011-12-22T12:30:00.000+02:00

The are two ways of exploring the indigenous forests around Knysna, by car and on foot.

Several forest roads take one all over the forests surrounding Knysna from down by the Knysna River up to Gouna, across to Millwood and over the Prince Alfred Pass. The road in the picture is called Kom se Pad.

The best way to really connect with the forest is by going on one of the many hiking trails criss crossing throughout the forest. This is the only way to get close to nature and smell the forest. The Terblanche Trail is just one of them.

Flightless Dung Beetle

2011-12-19T12:30:00.001+02:00

One of the smallest but best known inhabitants of the Addo Elephant National Park is the Flightless Dung Beetle (Circellium bacchus). The Flightless Dung Beetle is endemic to the Addo Elephant Park and surrounds and very unique in the fact that they can't fly and hence the name.

This fact also makes the beetle a vulnerable species as they only use elephant and buffalo dung to feed off and lay their eggs in and at the time when these animals were being shot out it meant that the poor beetle couldn't just take to the sky and find another place with those big animals.

Even though they are restricted in where they occure, they are quite commen within their range throughout the park. Visitors to the park are asked though to be very careful when driving through the park and not to drive over dung on the road and kill the beetles in the process.

Zebras

2011-12-17T12:30:00.000+02:00

Donkeys in pajamas must be one of the animals that visitors to game reserves love seeing most. The Burchell's Zebra is the most common zebra that you will find in the game reserves of the Eastern Cape. They are identifiable by the fact that the stripes go all the way underneath their stomachs and by the brownish phantom stripes visible on their wide white stripes.

The endangered Cape Mountain Zebra are found only on a few game reserves in the province. They have wide black stripes with much thinner white inter spaces than the Burchell Zebra. The stripes also don't go all the way under their stomachs.

Blue Crane

2011-12-15T12:30:00.000+02:00

The Blue Crane is South Africa's national bird and its always a pleasure to see them in the wild. They normally live in pairs and nest in grasslands which means that many end up occupying agricultural areas. You often see them driving along the N2 through the Overberg where they feed on seed and insects on the fields. Unfortunately due to poisons used by farmers on their fields a lot of these birds are killed and due to this the species are classified as vulnerable.

Hyobanche sanguina

2011-12-12T12:30:00.000+02:00

I get very excited when I find something new and hiking along the Guinea Fowl Trail in Port Elizabeth the other day was one of those exciting days. I saw Hyobanche Sanguina, commonly known as Cat's Paw, for the first time. Cat's Paw is a parasitic plant which grows on the roots of shrubs. The clustered red flower reaches about 150 mm in height and it's soft furriness along with the protruding white anthers forming the characteristic cat's nails gives it it's name. They are normally found in sandy soil and the underground stems may reach up to 2m before producing flowers.

This is my 1000th post in The Firefly Photo Files. I can hardly believe that I have actually done a 1000 posts. At times I've had lots to post and then there seem to be short dry patches where I haven't been out somewhere for a while and don't have anything to share. I want to thank everybody who visits on a regular basis and to those who pop in a comment every now I then I just want to say that I really appreciate it. Here's to the next 1000 posts.

Camp Figtree

2011-12-07T12:30:00.000+02:00

Imagine a colonial style luxury lodge up in the mountains with magnificent views, no television or other distractions and top class service. No, this is no cliche advert because this place really exist. Camp Figtree is situated up in the Zuurberg Mountain just over an hour outside Port Elizabeth and within a stone's throw from the Addo Elephant National Park.

I've known about the lodge for a while now but haven't had an opportunity to visit it until a couple of week ago. What a magnificent surprise it had in store for me up in the mountain. The views across the surrounding mountains are breathtaking doesn't matter whether you're sitting on your private balcony, on the deck or even inside the pool. My favorite spot during my stay was on the verandah outside the lounge paging through a nature magazine while taking in my environment.

The rooms are huge and very comfortable with big four poster beds and insect netting that gets closed up when the beds are folded down in the evenings. Returning to the room after dinner (which consisted of Kudu steak by the way) it was nice and cosy thanks to the gas heater blazing away in the corner. My only concern though is that there aren't aircon's in the rooms so they may just get a bit hot in summer.

If the bathrooms had lockers in them you could probably use them as change rooms for sports teams. I can't remember when last I had seen so much space in a bathroom plus there is the fact that the toilet still is separate from the bathroom as well. In addition to this there is a changing room so if they really wanted to they could have split the space and made two bedrooms. But they didn't and they are the better for it.

Other than the colonial decor there is also a strong presence of Jock of the Bushveld throughout the lodge, not that its anywhere close to the bushveld but because the owners are decedents of Sir Percy Fitzpatrick who wrote the book. To me one of the stand out aspects of the lodge (and some people may not like it but I loved the idea) is that they don't have electricity and run off a generator. The generator gets turned off after 10pm and then the lodge is lit by lanterns and candles. Sitting outside after "lights out" I looked up and thought to myself that I can't remember when last I had seen so many stars.

Close encounters of the ellie kind

2011-12-05T14:00:00.000+02:00

I have been visiting Addo Elephant National Park on a regular basis for over 13 years and at one stage went there quite often as a tourist guide. Over the years I've had some of the most awesome sightings and experiences which is a bit hard to explain to somebody if they weren't there themselves. About a week or so back I was in the park with an Argentinian journalist and had probably my most adrenalin pumping experience there ever. We arrived at Hapoor water hole and found two of the park's big bulls just departing.

Driving around the corner the one walked passed in front of us while the bigger one of the two decided to stick around the road. At one stage he passed so close to the bakkie in the picture that I actually commented that the driver probably aged a couple of years.

Moments later a herd appeared from the bush to our left which took up all our attention. They crossed the road right behind us and as the last one passed the journalist asked if we could turn around and go back to the waterhole. As I turned back in my seat to pull away the big bull was standing right in front of the car with his trunk draped over one tusk literally less than a meter from the car's bonnet. There we were, eye balling the biggest land mammal in the world. From experience I knew that we shouldn't make a sudden movement by pulling away as it may just cause him to do something that we would regret later, so we sat back in our seats to wait him out. I did have my feet on the clutch and accelerator with the car in reverse if we had to make a quick retreat. Unfortunately because of that I don't have any photos of this whole episode. After a couple of minutes (could have been seconds as far as I know, but my heart was racing too fast to measure time) he just turned around and mozied off. I have to say that although it may have been a little scary the experience was awesome. Who needs to use drugs to be on a high if you can have natural experiences like this?

Aliens amongst us

2011-12-02T12:00:00.000+02:00

Do you believe in Aliens? Arnie took on the Predator, Sigourney fought the Alien and then the two of them (the Alien and the Predator) clashed with each other. But do they really exist? Looking at the picture above I would say that the answer may just be yes.

The other day our general assistant at work came running into my office babbling on about this thing she saw outside and that I must take my camera to get a photo of it. I barely had time to grab my camera before she dragged me outside and showed me the biggest Praying Mantis I have seen in my life. She stood as tall as my coffee mug and now that I think of it perhaps I should have taken along my mug to put down next to her.

So next time you are out and about wondering if there are such things as aliens, don't just look up into the sky but also down at your feet.

Whale (tail) watching

2011-12-01T12:30:00.000+02:00

Whale watching along the South African coast line usually takes place between April and November, so this time of year the whales start heading down south to Antarctic waters again. You don't have to go on a boat to see the whale though with stunning land based whale watching possible especially around the Cape and in particular the Hermanus area. Plettenberg Bay is another of the bays that the whales visit and this very interesting bench can be found at one of the lookouts in the town.

Sunset contrast

2011-11-30T12:30:00.000+02:00

Sunset contrasts with horizontal lines over the Drakensberg

Drakensberg clouds

2011-11-29T15:00:00.000+02:00

Late afternoon clouds over the Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg

Bee eater

2011-11-28T12:30:00.000+02:00

Bee eaters aren't very common birds around my part of the country, but there is a group of them that live in the river bank on the Sundays River near Colchester east of Port Elizabeth. I went on the Sundays River Ferry the other day and the captain pointed them out to us as we passed. Unfortunately it was dark and overcast and the boat was rocking, so the picture isn't very sharp. But I'm heading back on the ferry next week and hopefully the sun will be shining.

Cheetah

2011-11-27T12:30:00.000+02:00

Kragga Kamma Game Park is probably the best place around Port Elizabeth if you only have an hour or two and want to see wild animals. The park has a separate enclosure where they keep their cheetah which is part of a breeding program. Unfortunately for me this cheetah was sitting between me and the fence, so unfortunately the fence shows in the background of the picture. But I still love the pic.

Cemetery fencing

2011-11-26T12:30:00.000+02:00

Old cemeteries hold a special place in my heart and I really enjoy exploring them where ever I encounter any. The old Scottish Cemetery in St Georges Park is probably one of the lesser known cemeteries in Port Elizabeth and some of the graves date back to the mid 1800's. Unfortunately for explorers like me this particular cemetery is locked most of the time, but I struck it lucky the other day.

Purple beauty - Plumbago flower

2011-11-25T12:30:00.000+02:00

International visitors to South Africa, especially the British, are always amazed at the fact that the Plumbago grows so beautifully in the wild over here while they have to cultivate it with care back home. This one is growing semi wild but is being kept neat at Camp Figtree in the Zuurberg mountains outside Port Elizabeth.

Sour fig in bloom

2011-11-24T12:39:00.001+02:00

Sour Fig in full bloom at Kuzuko Lodge in the Eastern Cape. The Sour Figs grows on coastal and inland slopes from Namaqualand in the Northern Cape through the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape and is often seen as a pioneer in disturbed sites.

Walkie Talkies

2011-11-23T12:30:00.000+02:00

In yesterday's post on the corner butcher in the township I mentioned chicken heads and feet. The heads and feet, referred to as walkie talkies, is a township delicacy and can be bought from the ladies selling chickens. The chickens are sold live or plucked (as in the picture). Once the chicken have been slaughtered and plucked by the ladies they are sold very much like you would buy them in the shop with the only difference being that they are freshly slaughtered with the innards still in them and not in a little bag.

The heads and feet are sold separately and not along with the rest of the chicken and when you want to buy them just ask for walkie talkies.

Your friendly corner township butcher

2011-11-22T12:30:00.000+02:00

There is always something new and interesting to see around the next corner for somebody from the suburbs when visiting a township. This is even more so the case when you have a camera in hand and looking for those unusual photos to post. Although there are many of these around the townships, I have a particular butcher / take-away that I like to pop by (to look, not to buy from) when I'm visiting the Red Location Museum. Just down the road from the museum a couple of pots are cooking away in anticipation of the lunch time or going home crowd to come by and purchase a meal. The contents of the pots range from chicken pieces and chicken heads & feet to cow liver and offal.

As you walk around the corner you will find the butcher shop's "display window". It seems that the meat (or offal, fat, liver, etc) doesn't get sold by weight, but rather by quantity with the meat being wrapped in newspaper for you to take with you. We asked the lady if we could look inside...

... and this is what we saw. The butcher hacking away at a cow's head trying to split it open, I imagine to try and get to the brain. I know that half a sheep head with the brain in it (called smileys) is a township delicacy, so my guess is that its the same with half a cow's head.

Elephant applying make-up

2011-11-21T12:30:00.000+02:00

I often think that a lot of residents of Port Elizabeth doesn't realised what a fantastic game reserve they have in Addo Elephant National Park right on the city's doorstep. Where else can you go in early in the morning and see an elephant powdering her face before the crowds arrive? Huh? Jokes aside. I visited the park again late last week and it's amazing the elephant and other game sightings one can have in the park. There is really no reason to schlep all the way up to Kruger Park with what we have right on our doorstep. I'm not saying don't go to Kruger, on the contrary. But Addo offers residents and visitors to Port Elizabeth a stunning wildlife alternative to the big reserve up north.

Just applying the last bit of make-up and she is ready for her audience.

Traditional healer ceremony

2011-11-20T12:00:00.000+02:00

Life has a tendency to throw little surprises your way every now and then. I was accompanying a journalist from Argentina around Port Elizabeth for five days and as we were walking along Shark Rock Pier at Hobie Beach I spotted a couple of people next to the pier on the water's edge performing some kind of ceremony.

We approached and respectfully waited for them to finish before we asked them what they were doing. They were traditional Xhosa healers performing a ceremony whereby they talk to God and their ancestors. The Xhosa are Christens, but they also believe in their ancestors and that they ancestors watch over them as well. Even though they go to church on Sundays they also come to the ocean at times to connect with God and the ancestors without the congregation around them. During the ceremony they also throw beads and coins into the ocean as offerings to their ancestors while asking for their blessings.

The senior traditional healer leading the ceremony was a very friendly lady called Nombolelo. She was more than willing to explain to us what they were doing as well as to pose for a photograph.

Edible bracket fungus

2011-11-18T12:30:00.000+02:00

I just can't seem to walk past a mushroom or bracket fungus (or a great number of other things for that matter) without stopping for a photo. This was the case again the other day and I am sure will be the case again many times in the future.

From previous research (and nobody has told be otherwise yet) these are edible bracket fungus although I haven't tried eating it myself yet.

Roadside pineapples

2011-11-15T12:30:00.000+02:00

Farm stalls isn't too rare a sight on South African roads and if you want to buy fresh fruit then these farm stalls are the place to get them from. Locals selling fresh fruit from the side of the road is a lesser common sight, but often seen in areas where fruit are gown. The Eastern Cape around the town of Bathurst is ideal for Pineapple growing and I found this roadside pineapple stall just outside of Grahamstown.

Rushing waters

2011-11-14T09:00:00.000+02:00

A flooded mountain stream rushing under a suspension bridge in the Royal Natal National Park in the Drakensberg.

South End Museum Heritage Trail

2011-11-11T12:30:00.000+02:00

The area of South End in Port Elizabeth used to be a vibrant multi cultural suburb until it was destroyed by the Apartheid Government when its people were displaced in 1965 following the implementation of the Groups Areas Act. The South End Museum on the corner of Beach Road and Walmer Boulevard is housed in the old Seamans Institute Building and remembers the people and places of South End. One of the initiatives that they started was the South End Museum Heritage Trail which links a number of historic sites in the area on a self guided (or guided if you prefer it) walk.

Across the road from the museum stands an old Wild Fig tree which is thought to be over 100 years old. The tree stands next to the then Chase Street and back in the days the kids used to climb the tree while the older people sat in it's shade. When the people were removed and the buildings in the area demolished, the fear was that the tree would also be chopped down or pushed over by a bulldozer. Luckily this didn't happen.

As you continue on the trail you pass two mosques that, due to international pressure on the Apartheid government, weren't demolished along with the other buildings in the area. The one at the bottom of Walmer Boulavard is the Rudolph Street Mosque (Mosque of Righteousness) which was completed in 1894.

One of the main attractions on the trail is the St Mary's Cemetery. St Mary's is one of the oldest cemeteries in Port Elizabeth and a number of the graves belong to some of the original British Settlers that arrived in Algoa Bay in 1820.

Overlooking the St Mary's Cemetery is the ruins of the St Peter's Anglican Church. St Peter's was completed in 1877 and even though the congregation of the church were been removed to the other side of the city they still came back to worship in the church to the dismay of the Apartheid government. To stop them from doing so it was decided to demolish the church.

Although there are a couple of other sites on the route, the last one that I am posting about is the remains of the old Walmer Road. Walmer Road used to be the main road running through South End between the city centre and the suburb of Walmer. In those days the main hotels and businesses of the area were found along this road. Today only a small section of this old road is still visible at the top of Pier Street and is slowly being overgrown by the grass and other vegetation.

Walkway remains

2011-11-10T12:30:00.000+02:00

Nature doesn't take nonsense from us people. Sardinia Bay in Port Elizabeth has a problematic dune that just doesn't want to stand still. A couple of years back a walkway was built across the dune to make it easier to get to the beach. But as soon as the walkway was completed the dune started swallowing it in until this short section was the only bit left. Vandals, probably looking for wood to braai with, did the rest after people were unable to use it anymore.

Pearson Conservatory

2011-11-09T12:30:00.000+02:00

This post isn't supposed to be a reminiscent one, but I can't help by starting off with going back in time. Ok, first way back in time and then a quick reminisce. The Victorian style Pearson Conservatory in St Georges Park was opened on 12 September 1882 and named after Mr HW Pearson, the Mayor of Port Elizabeth at that time. Twenty five / thirty odd years ago my mom used to have a stall at Art in the Park on the first Sunday of the month and I remember how me and my brother explored and played throughout St Georges Park. I use to just loved walking through the conservatory. Unfortunately the years weren't good to the old lady and recently it became time for a face lift AND a nip and tuck.

The Pearson Conservatory was reopened in September after the municipality had completed a R5,5million renovation of the building during which just about the whole building was taken apart and all the rotten timber was replaced and the steel structure treated and redone. The original central fountain which was imported from the United Kingdom in 1882 still stands proudly in the centre of the conservatory.

The flower beds inside the conservatory has been replanted and although the vegetation isn't is as lush as it used to be yet, the flowers on show are breathtaking. I can actually see how the conservatory could become a very popular spot for photographers with its variety of colours, lines and possible angles. The "new" Pearson Conservatory is well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity of St Georges Park and looking for something to do.

Sun dials

2011-11-08T12:30:00.000+02:00

How many people still wear watches today? I stopped wearing one when I got my first mobile phone and it had the time on it. But before wrist watches, cuckcoo clocks and grandfather clocks there were clocks that didn't go tick tock. Sun ~~clocks~~ dials. And that is the topic of my "Random ... " post today.

Random sun dials.

This sun dial can be seen outside the historic St Peters Anglican Church in Plettenberg Bay

The Klein Karoo gets lots of sun so I'm sure you can check the time just about every day at this sun dial outside CJ Langenhoven's house (now a museum) in Oudtshoorn. Langenhoven's grave can be seen in the background.

I know I took this picture in Somerset East but for the death of me I can't remember if it was at the Dutch Reformed Church or at the Angler and Antelope Guest House.

The most unusual sun dial in the post comes from the town of Hankey in the Gamtoos River Valley. It claims to be the biggest sun dial in the Southern Hemisphere and was erected by a local farmer in 1989. The dial is 36,4 meters across and right next to the main road into the valley.

Stormy St Francis

2011-11-07T10:16:00.000+02:00

When the wind blows in Cape St Francis it doesn't hold back. Arriving in town for a function I actually thought that if the wolf in Three Little Pigs ever ran out of breath to huff and puff with, this would be a good spot come and stock up again. Not that its an every day occurrence, but everybody wants to show off every now and then and on this day the wind was showing off.

Ripples

2011-11-05T12:30:00.000+02:00

Spider in his wet web

2011-11-04T12:30:00.000+02:00

Often when you go for a walk in the early morning you will see hundreds of little spider webs in the grass all covered in dew. But have you actually ever seen those spiders? I like to peek and have a look, always with the hope to get a photo of one. And the other day I got lucky. This little guy was sitting in the opening in the web, probably waiting for something smaller than me to come along. He didn't hang around long enough to find out my intentions, but just long enough for me to snap one picture. Got ya!

Cracked sky

2011-11-03T12:30:00.000+02:00

About a week or so ago the afternoon sky was filled with the most beautiful cloud formation. Although I missed taking a picture of it at sunset, I did see on Facebook that a lot of other people did get some stunning ones. What I did get a photo of was what looked like a crack in the cloudy sky. As if the blue sky tried to muscle through the clouds.

Orange shell on the beach

2011-11-02T12:30:00.000+02:00

Not much to say about an orange shell lying on the beach.

Vygies in bloom

2011-11-01T14:13:00.000+02:00

Vygies blooming so brilliantly in the sun that it hurt your eyes

Big bull elephant

2011-10-31T12:30:00.000+02:00

A game drive anywhere in the Addo Elephant National Park, even if its in one of the concession areas and on the other side of the mountain, isn't complete without actually seeing an elephant. So I was understandably getting a bit anxious when we were more than halfway though our morning game drive at Kuzuko and hadn't seen any yet. But suddenly as if out of nowhere this big, well more like huge, bull made his appearance.

He appeared out of the bush and started ambling down the road towards us, not showing any sighs that he will divert from his coarse. The ranger started backing away and reversed down a side path to allow him more than enough space to pass ahead of us.

Not a thank you from him. Not even a proper side way glance. He just moseyed along. But that's probably your right and privilege if you're his size.

Game drive or flower drive?

2011-10-30T12:30:00.000+02:00

The wonderful winter rains we had in the Eastern Cape have turned dry arid areas into a spring wonder land. On our game drive at Kuzuko Lodge we saw the most beautiful wild flowers growing in areas that are usually brown and dry. During this specific drive we passed through a low lying area where the grass was lush and there was literally a carpet of yellow flowers.

Cheetah's ostrich kill

2011-10-28T12:30:00.000+02:00

Warning: The pictures in this post my offend sensitive visitors

On our game drive at Kuzuko Lodge the ranger told us that the two cheetah on the reserve hadn't eaten for probably a week so the chances were good that we could encounter a kill that morning. The cheetah have collars on so we were able to track them down quite easily. The two of them were feeding on a ostrich which they must have killed less than an hour before we got there. They were stuffed already with tummies looking like big round balls with one lying in the shade a couple of meters away and the other still picking at his food.

I know the pictures are a bit gruesome, but I love them. They are a bit different from just having a cheetah walking along in the veld or lying in the shade somewhere. Pity we didn't get there like an hour earlier cause I would love to have seen them pull the ostrich down.

Reaching for the sun

2011-10-27T12:30:00.000+02:00

There are a number of exotic trees in Settlers Park in Port Elizabeth that has been ring barked so that they can die and probably be cut down at a later stage. On a walk through the park I thought this makes for a nice picture with the tree's branches (arms?) reaching towards the sky and in particular the sun.

Black Rhino

2011-10-26T12:30:00.000+02:00

After spotting lion on our evening game drive at Kuzuko Lodge, the next member of the Big 5 that we encountered was a Black Rhino about 15 minutes into our drive the next morning. I haven't seen a black rhino for ages, the last one being years ago in Addo Elephant National Park. What a privilege to see this beautiful animal in its natural environment. So sad that some idiots in the Far East think that it's horn, which is made of exactly the same material as your nails, can be used for medicinal purposes and now drive the demand that leads to these animals being illegally poached for their horns.

Colours of nature

2011-10-25T15:27:00.000+02:00

Purple vygies, green grass with white(ish) and orange moss growing on the grey rocks. Pity I didn't get more yellow flowers in the shot like those on the left. Isn't nature and its natural colours amazing?

Sunset at Kuzuko

2011-10-24T12:30:00.000+02:00

After watching the lions at Kuzuko Lodge for a while we headed up to a lookout spot to enjoy a drink while the sun sets. We met up with the other vehicle out on the game drive and everybody were showing off their lion photos to each other...

... while waiting for the sun to go down

Kalahari the Lion

2011-10-23T12:30:00.000+02:00

Kalahari was one of the original lions brought to the Addo Elephant National Park from the Northern Cape in 2003 to reintruduce lions into Addo. At the time Kalahari was one of the two younger males in the group of six that were brought to the park as got his name from the area from where he originated. A couple of years back he was moved to his present home in the Kuzuko section of the Greater Addo Elephant National Park north of the Zuurberg mountains.

A truly magnificent beast

Biiiiigggggg Yawn

2011-10-22T12:30:00.000+02:00

Out of all the animals in the animal kingdom the king of the jungle, or in this case the Karoo veld, must be the one with the most impressive yawn. The lion in question is Matt, one of the two male lions at Kuzuko Lodge in the Greater Addo Elephant National Park.

Kuzuko's lions

2011-10-21T12:30:00.000+02:00

Our first game drive at Kuzuko Lodge was a "hunt" for lions. The rest of the guests on our vehicle were all staying for two nights and had seen most of the other animals the evening before, so the ranger indicated that we were going out specifically to look for Kuzuko's two big male lions. About 30 minutes into our drive the lodge manager radioed in to inform us that he had found them on the reserve's air strip so off we went to find our lions. I wasn't disappointed at all. The two gents in question are both stunning specimens of what a big male lion should look like.

Kalahari is one of the original lions that came to the Addo Elephant Nationa Park from the Northern Cape when the park first reintroduced lions and has since been relocated here to the Kuzuko section of the park. This to me is what a lion should look like; big, proud and magnificent. He and his companion seem to get into a brawl every now and then if you look at the fairly new mark on his face.

Matt is slightly smaller than Kalahari and was unfortunately injured in a fight between the two some time ago. Apparently most of Matt's teeth in his bottom jaw was ripped out in the fight, but he seem to have recovered and adapted very well from his injury with the only after effect seemingly being his slack jaw.

Kuzuko Lodge dinner

2011-10-20T12:30:00.000+02:00

Today's post is a follow-up on yesterday's one featuring Kuzuko Lodge. After returning from our evening game drive we just had enough time to put our things down and change before dinner time up in the restaurant.

The Damselfly contemplating what to have for dinner

Dinner was a la carte and my choice was a starter of Butternut Soup followed by Smoked Salmon and salad. My main meal was steak and vegetables and dessert consisted of White Chocolate and Berry Mousse.

Kuzuko Lodge

2011-10-19T13:50:00.000+02:00

Port Elizabeth is surrounded by some of the most awesome game reserves in South Africa with Addo Elephant National Park on the city's doorstep and award winning Big 5 private game reserves like Shamwari, Pumba, Amakhala and Kariega within an hour's drive. The Greater Addo Elephant National Park is the third largest National Park in South Africa and stretches from the coast at the Alexandria Dune fields (including a marine reserve) into the Karoo beyond the Zuurberg Mountains. Addo contains various private concession areas and one of these are occupied by the 5 star Kuzuko Lodge. We passed the Kidz off to Grandma a week or so ago and the Damselfly and I spent a night at Kuzuko for our anniversary.

Kuzuko, which means Place of Glory, lies hidden just north of the Zuurberg in an area where the Eastern Cape's Valley Bushveld turns to Karoo. The lodge with its 24 chalet suites is situated on the hillside and overlooks the valley below with horizons stretching off into the great beyond. At night there are no light around, except for the lodge, with the stars glittering above and a jackal calling in the distance. We had two game drives during our stay and although we didn't see huge numbers of animals we did get to see four of the Big 5 as well as cheetah. I will be posting about these soon.

Our chalet was stunning with a bed that has space for a whole family and a bath with an unbeatable view. After dinner I spent some time out on the stoep just listening to the night sounds and enjoying the stars. We had a wonderful stay and before we knew it we were heading back to reality and the Kidz.

When ever I get to visit one of the game reserves people ask how they compare to the others. It's always hard to make such comparisons as each one of them is special in its own right and no two are the same.

Disclaimer: Our visit was a prize I won in a lucky draw during a Legacy Hotel workshop in Port Elizabeth with the accommodation, activities and meals being sponsored and we were responsible for our own drinks bill.

Ann's Villa Blacksmith Museum

2011-10-18T12:30:00.000+02:00

The blacksmith workshop at Ann's Villa played a very important part on the main route into the interior back in the day and dates back to the opening of Ann's Villa in 1864. Our guide, Talent, was telling us that when a wagon arrived after crossing the Zuurberg Pass and they needed a wheel replaced that could take 4 days for the blacksmith to make a new one and the occupants had to either stay over in the villa or camp out in the outspan.

I was very impressed with the amount of old tools and equipment contained in the Blacksmith Museum that is now housed in the old workshop and were used by the resident blacksmiths.

In those early days the law was that every head of cattle in the area had to be marked so that you always knew which cattle belong to whom. Each farmer had a different logo or initials that were burned into the hide of the cattle. The blacksmith made these branding irons and the branding was also done at Ann's Villa. A farmer who didn't have a branding iron would come to the blacksmith and instruct them what he wanted and on his next visit it would be ready. The back door in the workshop is where all the brands were burned into for the blacksmith's reference and to show new farmers what was already in use.

Ann's Villa

2011-10-17T12:30:00.000+02:00

Although cars cross over the Zuurberg mountains from Port Elizabeth into the Karoo via the Olifantskop Pass within minutes these days, the journey was a much longer, slower and bumpier one if you go back 150 years or so. Back in those days travellers had to make use of the Zuurberg Pass which snakes it's way over the mountain. These days the old pass isn't the best road around anymore and even though you can drive it in a sedan (very slowly though) it's much more advisable to do it in a 4x4. On the Karoo side of the pass, just off the (in a much better condition) R400 dirt road stands the historic Ann's Villa. I have passed by Ann's Villa a couple of times, but I've never stopped before. When one of the local tourist guides heard that I was going to Kuzuko Lodge close by he urged me to make a quick detour and pop in for a look. We were met at the gate by Talent Nyamusa who is the manager of Ann's Villa and also act as the guide. She gave us a very thorough guided tour of the Blacksmith Museum (which I will post about tomorrow) before showing us around the house itself.

Scottish baker John Webster and his wife Ann Elizabeth Whall came to Port Elizabeth in 1849 and lived in town until 1854 when Webster bought the farm “Kleinplaas” in the Commadagga Valley in the Zuurberg. The family lived in an old cottage on the property and Webster baked for the road builders at Stebbings Convict Station 10 km away who was busy building the Zuurberg Pass. The pass was officially opened in 1858 and Ann's Villa was built and opened in 1864. Unfortunately Ann died a year later at the age of 46. Ann's Villa became on of the stops on the route north and specially after the discovering of diamonds in Kimberly in 1867 the Villa boomed.

Ann's Villa consisted of seven rooms and with its blacksmith, wheelwright, bakery and shop was ideally situated at the northern foot of the Zuurberg Pass. In 1896 a post office was added to the shop while a school was also built for children from the area. The property also had a corrugated iron shed with a sprung floor that was ordered from England in kit form and used both as a shearing shed and for local dances. Ann's Villa's rooms are still available to the public as self catering accommodation and although not luxury accommodation it's the perfect spot to escape from the city if you need some alone time.

It just felt like behind each door that Talent opened for us was another piece of history waiting with the biggest surprise being the fact that the original shop is still intact. Now having the imagination that I do, one of the questions I asked while walking around the upstairs passages of Ann's Villa was if the building is haunted. Without a pause or batting an eye lid she said no. But if you ask me you probably need to stay a night to find out cause I did get a shiver down a spine ones or twice.

Black Locust

2011-10-16T12:30:00.000+02:00

On a recent hike down the Lower Guinea Fowl Trail here in Port Elizabeth I found this black locust in the long grass. He didn't seem to mind me sticking my camera in his face and if you look carefully you will notice that he has what looks like a red toothy grin. Big smile for the camera.

Black & white sunbird silhouette

2011-10-15T12:30:00.000+02:00

I just didn't get the opportunity to go and "hunt" sunbirds feeding on the aloe at Schoenmakerskop this year, but this sunbird was sitting on a branch some distance from me the other day, so it was "aim and fire". He wasn't close enough to get a nice detailed pic, but he did make a very nice silhouette.

Game Reserve tracks

2011-10-14T12:30:00.000+02:00

Over the last two years or so the veld in the Eastern Cape has been very bare and brown due to a long drought, but after some very good rain during the winter the drought seems to be broken in most areas and the vegetation has returned with a vengeance. Visiting Bucklands Game Reserve during late August this was very evident and one of the things I love about it is that it makes the game drive tracks stand out very nicely, making them very photogenic.

The first photo was taken at the lookout where we had coffee on our morning game drive while the second one is a track running past the lodge.

Sea pumpkin on the beach

2011-10-13T12:30:00.000+02:00

Before a sea pumpkin becomes a ... well, sea pumpkin, it spends it's life as a spiky sea urchin living in a rock pool or gully somewhere on the coast. But once the creature inside the shell dies the spikes fall off and only a green "pumpkin" looking shell is left behind. These sea pumpkins are very popular with people, specially kids, picking up shells.

Lower Guinea Fowl Trail

2011-10-12T12:30:00.000+02:00

I'm always in awe when I read Helen's blog, Walking the Cape, to see how many trails and walks there are around Cape Town. But living in Port Elizabeth doesn't mean that we don't have trails around the city. It just seems that the locals over here either tend to rather walk on the beach or use a safety excuse not to head onto the trails. A bunch of us from work decided to celebrate World Tourism Day on 27 September by going for a hike on the Lower Guinea Fowl Trail down the Baakens Valley from the 3rd Avenue Dip to Settlers Park.

The trail is a 7,5 km hike and meanders along the edge of the Baakens River flood-plain, passing through a steep-sided valley below some the city's suburbs. The best part of the trail is that even though the valley cuts right through the city, it feels like you are out in nature somewhere with the only thing reminding you of where you are being the odd glimpse of houses on the edge of the valley.

Twice the trail heads up the side of the valley with the unfit amongst us huffing and puffing before making it to the top. Once there though the beautiful views of the Baakens Valley and surrounding suburbs makes up for the climb and soon you get your breath back while drinking in the sights. These lookout spots also offers walkers the opportunity to sit down and relax with a snack before heading on.

I just love bubbling streams and rivers and on the trail we passed over the Baakens River a couple of times. In some places we could clearly see how the river came down in flood a couple of months ago after we had the rains that broke our two year long drought. The only down part was seeing all the exotics growing along the river and consuming water that our local vegetation desperately needs when there isn't a lot of water around.

The absolute highlight of the day must have been the huge variety of wild flowers we encountered along the way. Aloes with their orange flowers, vygies (above) covered in their pink and purple jackets, fields of yellow and orange and the odd red and white in between.

Just before the end of the trail you pass over the Baakens River a couple of times again before it ends at the How Avenue parking area just above Settlers Park. The one thing to keep in mind though is that this is not a circular route and thus you either have to leave a vehicle at the end of the trail or organise with somebody to either drop you off at the start or pick you up at the end. All in all it was a wonderful 3 hour hike which was a first for most of the people in the party and I'm sure that most of us would head back onto it again very soon taking other friends and family along for the experience.

Karoo sky

2011-10-11T12:30:00.000+02:00

I know its not Skywatch Friday, but I wanted to show you a typical flat Karoo landscape with a typical BIG Karoo SKY. No wonder some people refer to the Karoo as Big Sky Country.

Testing 1-2-3

2011-10-10T22:13:00.000+02:00

I've been fiddling with the blog's layout all evening, changing dimensions so that I can add bigger pictures and redesigning the title masthead. I think I may have it now so the flower with the fly on it will act as a test run. I do still have a number of pictures that have been edited smaller for the old layout so they will still get posted, but all the new ones will be this size from now on. Any comments on either the new layout or the masthead?

Random

2011-10-10T12:30:00.000+02:00

I've been thinking about my blogs quite a lot lately and is considering changing this blog to look the same as my Port Elizabeth Daily Photo blog and show big pictures rather than little ones. But I have a bunch of already edited pictures waiting to be posted, so I am working to get through them all before switching to big pics. So I'm starting to work through all the "pics in waiting" with a rather random "Random ..." post showing a couple of random steam railway related pictures.

So what does the last picture have to do with steam railway? Its the railway line between Knysna and George that was used by the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe.

Urban game

2011-10-09T12:30:00.000+02:00

Quite a number of the features in the Biodiversity Garden in Cape Town have animals in them. This little metal antelope was standing in the long grass keeping an "eye" on me. If you had to look quickly you would very easily mistake it for a real animal.

Dolphin Point at Wilderness

2011-10-07T12:30:00.000+02:00

One of the most popular lookout points on the Garden Route is Dolphin Point just outside Wilderness on the way to George. Most tour buses as well as holiday makers tend to pull over here to both stretch their legs and enjoy the magnificent views. Looking east you can see Wilderness itself with its long stretch of sandy beach leading off into the distance.

Turning the other way you see the Kaaimans River railway bridge down below. The railway linking George and Knysna was completed in 1928 and it used to carry the very well known Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train until 2006 when the line was badly damaged in floods. Unfortunately the train has since ceased to operate. When I was still a tourist guide we always timed our departure from Knysna in the morning so that we could be at the lookout on time to see the train puff across the bridge. The good old days...

Despatch attractions

2011-10-06T15:19:00.000+02:00

Even though the town of Despatch between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage is part of the Nelson Mandel Bay metropolitan area, its a fairly quiet place and most people from outside the area only knows it as the home of rugby legend Danie Gerber. One wouldn't really call Despatch a bustling tourist destination, but there are one or two attractions one can visit if you have time on your way through.

On the outskirts of the town next to the railway line is the historic brickworks chimney which was built in 1882. Despatch originally started as a siding on the main railway line between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage which was used to transport bricks from the flourishing brickworks to PE for use in construction. That is actually where the town got its name from as the bricks were "despatch"ed from here.

Standing in the main road through town visitors will be able to fond the Despatch Museum. The interior boasts a mini model of the Stegosaurus, which was discovered in Despatch in 1903. (The original dinosaur is currently on display at Bayworld). Alongside it, are examples of the original bricks produced in the town, as well as a further two models of beautiful, red brick chimneys built by a former town engineer. Given the fact that many well-known sportsmen originated from Despatch, numerous sporting memorabilia festoon the walls of the museum. These include six rugby Springbok blazers, along with the jackets of two South African cricket umpires and the running gear of a Comrades Marathon winner. Names such as Danie Gerber, Adri Geldenhuys, Rudi Koertzen and Charl Matthys, amongst others, are synonymous with Despatch.

Free State church flowers

2011-10-06T12:30:00.000+02:00

Flowers in front of the Dutch Reformed Church in the small Free State Town of Wepener.

Jellyfish for lunch

2011-10-05T12:30:00.000+02:00

I've posted about Plough Shells before (here and here) but I can never get enough of these very interesting creatures living in the sand below the high and low tide mark. On a visit to Dana Bay near Mossel Bay in the Western Cape we found literally hundreds of them feeding on a dead jelly fish.

I always feel so sorry for these little guys when a wave pushes the water up the beach and wash them away from their meal. But they persist and turn right around, heading straight back for more.

This picture is to show the size of the jelly fish and to give you an idea how big the plough shells are.

Random around the Knysna Heads

2011-10-04T12:30:00.000+02:00

I still have a couple of odd pictures from our last visit to Knysna which I haven't posted, most of them taken around the Knysna Heads. Thus I decided to do a "Random ..." post featuring pictures take around the Heads.

The view from the top of the Heads is amazing and this is where most tourists visiting Knysna would come for a couple of pictures. In the picture is a catamaran as well as a helicopter both doing sightseeing trips through the Heads.

The afternoon sun glittering on the Knysna Lagoon as seen from Coney Glen Beach side of the Heads.

Another picture from Coney Glen Beach with the afternoon sun disappearing behind the cliff

The beacon on the rocks at the Eastern Head is one of two beacons (the other one is on Leisure Isle) that are used by boats to navigate through the dangerous entrance of the Heads into the Knysna Lagoon.

Sunset across the Knysna Lagoon from the top of the Heads

Along the jetty

2011-10-03T12:30:00.000+02:00

On a recent visit to Knynsa I was looking for spots to photograph the sunset from and found this jetty pointing directly at the Knysna Heads in the distance.

The view towards the Knysna Heads from the end of the jetty

Plettenberg Bay sunrise

2011-10-02T12:30:00.000+02:00

People (and that includes me) always refer to the magnificent African sunsets that we enjoy here in South Africa, but rarely do folk wax lyrical about the African sunrises. Well, I hereby want to brag with the fact that we have as beautiful sunrises as we have sunsets.

These two photos were taken of a sunrise in Plettenberg Bay a couple of months ago

Coastline flowers

2011-10-01T13:10:00.000+02:00

Walking along the Sacramento Trail outside Port Elizabeth this time of year you get to see a lot of different flowers along with fantastic views of the coastline.

Road kill

2011-09-30T12:30:00.000+02:00

"Don't try this at home". Not being road kill, but crawling around on a national road taking photos of road kill. Because if you're not careful you may end up like that as well. This hare clearly didn't have a lucky rabbit's foot.

Giraffe tracking on foot... and breakfast after

2011-09-29T12:30:00.000+02:00

The Mini vs Maxi trip was starting to draw to an end and we were just about done with our morning game drive at Bucklands Game Reserve. We had one thing left to do and that we to find some giraffe to walk. We got as close to them as it was possible with the vehicle and headed further on foot.

Along the way our ranger pointed out jackal spoor

Not long after we started to approach the giraffe. Spot the ranger's rifle that I was firing during our firearm handling exercise. We were approaching through an open area so we couldn't get too close. The giraffe with their high vantage point spotted us coming a long way off.

I did get a could of photos of these long necked creatures before we had to head back to the vehicle, but anyway, I've had my giraffe close encounter during the trip already.

On our return to the lodge brunch was waiting for us out on the stoep (veranda) and by then all out tummies were rumbling.

We did all agree that a hearty brunch with this fantastic view was the perfect way to end a fantastic and memorable trip. All that remained for us was to head back home with our photos and start telling the story.

Firearm handling

2011-09-28T12:30:00.000+02:00

During the Mini vs Maxi trip the organisers requested Bucklands Game Reserve to give Team Mini a firearm handling demonstration. It may have been a strange request to give to a game reserve, but it wasn't like we were going to head out and shoot at animals. I've never handled a firearm before in my life and have no urge to go hunting, but was quite excited about the prospect of firing off a couple of shots.

The firearms that we were shown and allowed to handle are those used for conservation and farm management purposes. The one I'm handling without the scope (please don't ask me their names and calibres cause I don't know guns and didn't make a note of that) is the rifle that rangers take along on game drives and game walks. Judging on the kick it gave me I'm can understand why they would use it to try and stop a big animal charging guests, although I'm sure a reserve owner would happily use it on his ranger if said ranger takes down a rhino or buffalo unnecessary. <---- Said very tongue in cheek, so don't take that statement seriously.

The rifle with the scope is a hunting rifle used to control game numbers and take down the kudu and warthog used in the venison pie and warthog sausage we had for dinner and breakfast. A word of warning though. Don't put your eye against the scope when pulling the trigger. Luckily it didn't give me a blue eye, but it did hit me and in the photo you can see Sisa is keeping a safe distance himself.

Walking rhinos at Bucklands

2011-09-27T11:00:00.000+02:00

Our morning game drive (the second drive of our stay) at Bucklands Game Reserve during the Mini vs Maxi trip basically had two goals in mind. We wanted to walk rhino as well as giraffe with rhino being first prize. Not long into the drive we pulled over for some welcome coffee at one of the lookout spots before our search continued. There is a bit of a private joke involved in this stop which won't be retold here to preserve some reputations.

Our search came close on a couple of occasions. Werner, our excellent ranger, stopped at a couple of rhino toilets during the drive, always on the lookout for fresh dung. Rhino always go back to the same spot and create dung middens to mark their territory and finding fresh dung would have meant that we were close.

Werner picked up their tracks a few times but all a bit on the old side. Not long afterwards the call we were waiting for came through. The one female with her calf had been spotted and we headed straight over.

On arrival at the sighting we hopped off the vehicle after a thorough safety briefing. We kept to the rules. Walk in a straight line behind the ranger. Stay quiet. Keep your eyes open. And always know where the appointed "safe" spot was and the quickest way to get there. The rhinos had moved off by the time we got there, but we weren't about to give up.

Perserverence pays off and after a short search we found them in the bush. Unfortunately it wasn't the most photogenic sighting, but still an awesome experience viewing one of the Big 5 on foot.

Bucklands sunrise

2011-09-26T12:30:00.000+02:00

Sunrise on the last day of the Mini vs Maxi trip, seen through the old Wild Fig tree next to the lodge at Bucklands Game Reserve.

Flowers at Bucklands

2011-09-25T14:30:00.000+02:00

Going around Bucklands Game Reserve on our game drive I realised the impact that all the rain we received during the winter had on the surrounding landscape. The veld is green and there are flowers everywhere.

Lodge at night

2011-09-24T14:30:00.000+02:00

Returning from the night drive to the Bucklands Boutique Guest House, the lodge staff had a fire burning outside and dinner was being prepared in the kitchen. Although I wanted to go and have a quick bath before dinner I decided to rather chill by the fire a little while before the meal. The bath could wait till later. And I think I took the better option sitting there listening to the night sounds.

Night drive at Bucklands

2011-09-23T12:43:00.000+02:00

About three hours into our game drive at Bucklands Game Reserve, the sun started to reach out for the horizon and we headed to a spot in the reserve to enjoy the African sun setting.

Stopping for sun dowers is the ideal opportunity to stretch your legs and chat about the experience so far. Its also an opportunity to enjoy a couple of snacks and a drink before the last stretch of game drive.

The sun set, as we would like to believe, as it only sets in Africa. Magnificently.

After sunset the game drive lasted for another hour. You may ask what there is to see after dark, but believe me there is a whole other world to discover. Our ranger's powerful spotlight sought out most of the animals we saw before the sun set, but also found a number of nocturnal animals. Amongst them we spotted a pair of Aardwolf. Its only the second time I had seen these very interesting animals. Although they look like a smaller version of the hyena, they only came out at night and feed on insects.

Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos of animals in the spotlight. I don't have a proper SLR camera and I just couldn't get my prosumer superzoom to focus in the light.

Game drive at Bucklands

2011-09-22T12:30:00.004+02:00

During our wonderful stay at Bucklands Private Game Reserve during the Mini vs Maxi trip we had the opportunity to go on two game drives. The first one starting at about 15:00ish (sorry, but I just can't remember the exact time) in the afternoon with the other one early the next morning. As we were the only ones at the lodge for the night we had a game drive vehicle all to ourselves. Our ranger, Werner, must be one of the most knowledgeable ranger I've ever had on a game drive. He also literally went out his way to find us as much as possible during the drive and when there was nothing to see he was telling us about trees, plants and the history of the area. Some of the game we saw on the drive included:

Blesbuck

Burchell's Zebra

Ostrich

Kudu

Giraffe

And Homo sapiens, also known as the visitors staying at the Luxury Tented Camp.

Bucklands Game Reserve - Boutique Guest House

2011-09-21T12:30:00.000+02:00

The area from Port Elizabeth eastwards is big game country and one of the new (game reserve) kids on the block is Bucklands Private Game Reserve. After visiting them recently on the Mini vs Maxi trip I have to honestly say that calling them a kid doesn't do them justice though. Bucklands are situated about 35 kilometers north of Grahamstown next to the 45000 hectares The Great Fish River Nature Reserve.

Bucklands was launched in 2007 by Terry and Michele Stewart and their family with the Luxury Tented Camp opening in 2009 and the Boutique Guest House in 2010. The reserve consists of 5500 hectares and includes the properties known as Bucklands, Lower Bucklands and Schrikwaters Poort. It was decided not to introduce lion and elephants at this stage, but the reserve does have white rhino and buffalo along with giraffe, zebra and a wide variety of antelope and smaller animals. On our evening game drive we even saw Aardwolf which I have only seen once before, but more on that in a later post.

On our visit we stayed in the newly restored Bucklands Boutique Guest House. The accommodation is situated in the original homestead which was erected in about 1872 by Alf Buckley. Attached to the house is double storey fort which is thought to predate the farm house itself. As there are now exact records on the fort, the assumption is made that it was built as part of a military outpost on the frontier defence line, serving as protection between Fort Brown and Double Drift.

The first floor of the fort is taken up by one of the four bedrooms at the lodge while the ground floor is used as a sitting room away from the formal lounge. Some of the interesting features of the fort section of the lodge are the thick fortified walls with the original gun slits in them.

The lodge itself is stylishly furnished and decorated using very dark wood and leather. The one thing that really impressed me was that it wasn't over done as you often find at lodges, so it didn't look "plastic" Africa. It had a colonial, yet modern kinda simplistic feel. Homely in many ways. You weren't afraid to sit down and get comfortable without somebody looking at you with a raised eyebrow.

The four luxury en-suite bedrooms are all individually furnished with the honeymoon suite having a four poster bed. I'm not sure about the other rooms, but mine had a clawed bath in it which the Damselfly would have loved had she been there. Returning from dinner, which included homemade venison pie, I even had a warm water bottle in my bed. And that is exactly where I spent the rest of the evening relaxing, listening to the jackals calling in the distance.

More posts about Bucklands coming over the next couple of days...

Breakfast at Lavender Blue

2011-09-20T13:48:00.002+02:00

On the morning of Day 3 of the Mini vs Maxi Adventure across the Eastern Cape, Team Mini stopped at Lavender Blue outside East London for breakfast. Apparently we weren't the only ones with the idea of filling up on bacon and eggs as the place was packed with locals and visitors alike enjoying their famous breakfasts.

Lavender Blue is a farmers market and restaurant and according to the locals is THE place around East London to have a hearty breakfast, specially over weekends. On entering you browse the menu up on the black board and decided what you want. You then mosey over to the casher, put in your order and pay for it before joining the dish up line. The method works very well as each station is manned and the staff dish up your breakfast very quickly and efficiently.

Farmstyle Breakfast and orange juice. 'Nuff said.

Lavender Blue also has a fruit and veg section with most of the products sold there sourced locally and being organic, healthy and natural produce. On the weekends there are also a number of stallholders selling things like jams & preserves, olive oil, ginger beer, sweet & savoury muffins and much more. I kinda wish we had a place like this in Port Elizabeth...

Ama Zing–Zing Skywalk Trail

2011-09-19T12:30:00.000+02:00

The Mini vs Maxi Adventure across the Eastern Cape took Team Mini to Areena Riverside Resort on Day 2 for a quad bike game drive. When owner Ed Rathbone asked the question "How much time do you have?" we knew though that he had more in mind for us than just quad biking. We were kitted out in harnesses before our quad ride and on arrival on top of the hill overlooking Areena Valley we were informed that we will be doing Areena's new Ama Zing-Zing zipline experience.

The zipline experience that officially opened a week after our visit, consists of of 10 ziplines up, down and across a couple of valleys with the longest being 153m and the highest 70m. Once you go on the first zipline you suddenly realise why its called Ama Zing-Zing. The mechanism go "ziiiiiiinnnnnggggg" as you fly down the cable towards your destination.

Its not easy describing the feeling of ziplining, specially when you, like myself, afraid of heights . You are slightly nervous when you get clipped onto the first cable. Your heart starts beating faster and you really only hear the essentials of what the guide tells you before putting your weight onto the cable. Deep breath... push off... and ... absolute freedom as you glide across the valley. Once you have done the first one the fear and nervousness are gone and you can't wait to get onto the next slide. Absolute awesomeness.

Ed showing off a little, but this photo really describes the freedom you experience while ziplining best.

Smack on the lips

2011-09-18T12:30:00.000+02:00

On my quad biking experience at Areena Riverside Resort during the Mini vs Maxi experience I met Abby. Not being very tall myself, I've never really been into tall girls. Not that I disapprove of their long legs and lanky bodies, just that I always preferred somebody about my length.

When we encountered Abby she seemed to take a liking in me and immediately came closer. Ed, Areena's owner, suggested that I blow in her nose and, thinking that its a way to deter her, I did so. Deter her, it did not. She nuzzled me and planted a kiss smack on my lips.

With her big eyes and sexy eye lashes, who can resist this face? Her nose is a bit big though, but I'm not judging.

Quad bike point of view

2011-09-17T12:30:00.000+02:00

Quad biking at Areena Riverside Resort. Not the easiest photo to take I tell you.

Not while moving anyway.

Quad bike game drive at Areena Resort

2011-09-16T12:30:00.000+02:00

One of the activities I looked forward to the most on the Mini vs Maxi adventure was to go on a quad bike game drive at Areena Riverside Resort outside East London. Other than going round and round on a little mosquito driven quad bike at the church fate with my son or daughter in front of me, I've never been on a proper quad bike before this.

Areena has three quad bike options with a short 20 minute ride, an one hour rise to the top of the ridge, which we did, or a longer two hour ride taking in the whole property. After kitting up we went through a quick operational and safety briefing before we went off into the reserve.

The ride itself is not a race and the guide, which in our case was owner Ed Rathbone, leads the way with a steady yet comfortable pace. The trails aren't too difficult and seeing that I was still learning the quad biking ropes I took it easy up and down the steeper sections.

The game viewing itself ranged from spotting zebra and a couple of antelope species...

... to seeing giraffe. But to be honost, for me it was more about the quad biking experience than seeing the game. The problem with this kind of thing is that once you have done it you want to know when you can do it again. Adventure, doesn't matter if its soft, mild or extreme adventures, is addictive.