Patterns and textures at InniKloof

Hiking to the Waterfall at InniKoof outside Hankey wasn't just about the beautiful views and the waterfalls.  It was also about patterns, textures and colours.  Nature really offers us so much more than the big pictures.  I haven't done a Random ... post for a while so here is one.  Random patterns and textures from the InniKloof Waterfall Hike.

50 Shades of Grey... and Orange

Our weekend in St Francis Bay gave me the perfect material for a Random.... post.  This time random shades of grey and orange.

 

Orange, grey and white flowing together on the rocks along Cape St Francis' Wild Side on the walk to the blow hole. 

This rock I found on the walk to Shark Point had me dotty...

Check out the different colours of clay used by this swallow in building its nest on the porch at Dune Ridge Country House.  Now this is the real 50 shades of grey.

Karoo Heartland Churches

Looking through everything I have that still needs to be posted I decided to take three Karoo churches and make up one Random... Karoo churches post.  Just about every small town in the Karoo Heartland of the Eastern Cape has a remarkable church of some sort.

 

Cradock must have one of the most memorable Karoo Heartland churches there are.  It stands at the top of Church Street and is known as the ``Mother" Church.  The church was completed in 1868 on the same site as the first Dutch Reformed church in the town.  This church community was also the first in Cradock and was established in 1824, 10 years after the town received it's name.  The design of the church was based on the ``St Martins-in-the-Fields" church in Trafalgar Square in London. and the great South African statesman and first President, Paul Kruger, was christened here in 1826.  During the Anglo-Boer War, the roof of the church was used as a look-out post by the British soldiers who occupied the town.

On the other end of the spectrum you will also find churches that is a lot less imposing yet still has historical value to the area its located in.  In the village if Middleton you will find a Methodist church that is probably smaller than most houses.  The church was built in 1903 and only has 5 rows of seats.  It has services in it every Sunday for the residents of the village which is run by the Noupoort Christian Care Centre who owns the village and uses it as part of their rehabilitation process for drug and alcohol addicts.

 

A little further to the north west is the village of Nieu-Bethesda.  Built in 1905, the Dutch Reformed Church is the grandest edifice in the village, with its long gothic spire reaching to the sky.  A decline in the town resulted in a dwindling of the numbers of the congregation and the church has not had a permanent minister since 1961 with the Sunday service being performed by a minister from Graaff-Reinet.  There is some fine wooden carvings on the old church pews and the original chandeliers are quite unique. 

Random stones

Its been a while since I've done a "Random ..." themed post, so here is one. 

 

On a trip up the old Zuurberg Pass from the Karoo side, I discovered an old kraal wall perfectly built without any cement.  Put together like a puzzle.

Cobble stones on the beach at Schoenmakerskop in Port Elizabeth

Another historic building.  The wall of the stables at Fort Peddie between Grahamstown and King William's Town, dating back to about 1835.  This time, unlike in the first picture, cement was used.

Random elephant "did you knows"

I haven't done a "Random ..." post in ages, so for today I'm doing three

Random elephant did you knows. 

 

An elephant's trunk, which is a fusion of their nose and upper lip, contains over 100,000 different muscles.  African Elephants also have two finger like features on the end of their trunk that they can use to grab small items with.  Indian Elephants on the other hand only has one of those "fingers".  An elephant can lift up to 350kg with their trunks. 

Elephants have circular feet with soft tissues or "cushion pads" beneath the manus and pes.  This helps to distribute the weight of the animal.  They appear to have an extra "toe" similar in placement to a giant panda's extra "thumb", that also helps with weight distribution.  Five toenails can be found on both the front and hind feet.

Elephants have their mammary glands situated between their front legs similar to humans and primates and strangely enough, they do look like breasts.

 

The pictures were all taken in the Addo Elephant National Park

Spier Wine Estate - various view part 2

Today's post is the second part of the random Spier Wine Estate pictures I posted on Wednesday

Spier is a biodynamic farm and in addition to their healthy vineyards, they also have extensive tracts of land that is used to farm with cattle, sheep and chickens. All contributing to the fertility of the soil and providing to the operations on the estate.

I didn't get to do a wine tasting on my visit but one of the things that interested me was the fact that one of their wine tasting packages is a wine and chocolate pairing.

 Spier has a number of distinctive Cape Dutch buildings around the farm.  These white gabled and often thatched buildings are typical of some of the earlier manor houses built in the Cape.

 

Disclosure: I visited Spier Wine Estate as guest of the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa during a fully hosted blogger tour of Cape Town. I received no additional remuneration to write this post and all views expressed are my own.

Spier Wine Estate - various views part 1

Spier must be one of the most popular wine estates in the Cape Winelands by far due to their diverse offer to visitors.  This ranges from the traditional wine tastings to outstanding restaurants and things like Segway Tours, combining traditional wine estate activities with historic and modern aspects and throwing in a bit of adventure.  This is part one of two posts showing off some of the sights to be seen when visiting Spier.

 

Like every wine estate the focus is on... the wine of cause.  The main building houses the wine tasting, wine sales as well the booking office for the different activities.  Obviously all their awards are on display around here as well.  Wouldn't have it any other way. 

 

 The lawns around the little lake with its fountain is a stunning area with a lot of visitors and families just relaxing around here.  Spier does picnic baskets which can be enjoyed on the lawns while during our visit there was a group doing their wine tasting outside as well.

 

One of the historic attractions on the estate is the old slave bell.  Just a pity it wasn't a sunny day with blue skies.

 

Disclosure: I visited Spier Wine Estate as guest of the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa during a fully hosted blogger tour of Cape Town.  I received no additional remuneration to write this post and all views expressed are my own.

Clock towers

I haven't done a Random ... post for ages and these two church towers have cropped up, ideal for a Random Church Towers post.

 

Roberston Dutch Reformed Church tower 

Montagu Dutch Reformed Church tower

Sun dials

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.

Random

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.

Random around the Knysna Heads

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

Random Grahamstown buildings

To end off the series of posts on Grahamstown I decided to do a "Random ..." post on buildings in Grahamstown that wasn't featured in the other posts.  Mainly because I had photos of them and nothing else to post them with.

Situated between Rhodes University and the Grahamstown Botanical Garden is the old Provost Prison building.  It was completed in 1838 after the Sixth Frontier War as a fortified barracks and military prison on the Drostdy grounds.  Use of the Provost declined with the removal of the military headquarters to King William's Town in the mid-1870's, but it was again in use during the Anglo-Boer War.  Today it forms part of the Albany Museum Complex.

The Cock House is one of Grahamstown's most-loved landmarks.  It was built in 1826 by Benjamin Norden, one of the British Settlers, and was named after the Hon. William Cock, another settler who initially created the Port Alfred harbour.  Some of the well known people who lived here were Dr John Atherstone and the famous South African author, André Brink.  A guest house was opened in the building in 1991 and the best known visitor who have stayed there is Nelson Mandela himself.

This very interesting historic facade can be seen in Church Square next to the Cathedral of St Michael and St George.  Along with a number of other old buildings the town boasts some exquisite examples of Victorian architecture.

St Andrews College is one of Grahamstown's most prominent schools.  The St Andrews Memorial Clock Town stands very close to the College chapel overlooking the playing fields and was erected in 1923 in memory of Old Andreans that fell in the First World War.

Random Moss

I think its time to do a "Random theme" post for a change again.  The topic today, Random Moss.

Pink Flowers

I have decided to do a Random ... theme post featuring pink flowers photographed in the Natal Drakensberg as I don't really feel that any of them are good enough to stand alone but still would like to show them to you.

South End Angels

I decided to venture away from the Drakensberg area for a day or two just in case you are starting to get a little tired (I hope not cause there is more where that came from) of mountains, streams and waterfalls.  Today I'm doing a Random ... theme post of angels I found around the South End Cemetery here in Port Elizabeth.

This I felt is a sad picture for two reasons.  Its always sad when the angels have to come and fetch a child and secondly because she is missing an arm.  I have a picture of (I think) the same angel which was taken in 2009 where she still has her arm.  See here for picture featured in this post.

 Another "child angel" keeping an eye over the surrounding graves

An "adult angel" in Black and White rounding out the trio of angels for today's post

Tree Bark

I'm always looking for something to photograph and while camping I noticed the difference in the bark on trees all within ten meters from our tent.  This immediately offered the opportunity for a Random... theme posts.  Random tree bark, not to be mistaken by a dog's bark.