Mohair yarn strands

The Hinterveld Mohair Mill Tour in Uitenhage is not your normal run of the mill (excuse the pun) tour, but visitors go there expecting one thing and leaving with a whole different impression.  The factory is also heaven for photographers with so many interesting objects and angles like this one of all the colourful mohair yarn strands going into the weaving machine, turning it into exquisite blankets.

Uitenhage War Memorial

I'm fascinated by a lot of things so I won't say that war memorials fascinate me, although I find it very interesting how the war memorial in every town - because yes, just every town has some kind of war memorial - looks different.  Ranging from cenotaphs to historic cannons and massive monuments to small simple objects.  This is the war memorial in Uitenhage containing a list of men from the town who died during the two World Wars.

Despatch attractions

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.

VW AutoPavilion

I think I have said so before, but in case not here it is again. Port Elizabeth is part of the metropolitan area of Nelson Mandela Bay along with the towns of Uitenhage, Despatch and Colchester as well as all the surrounding country side. In the 1980's the area was known as the Detroit of South Africa due to all the motor industries in the city. Today we still have quite a lot of motor related industries in the metro. Both General Motors and Volkswagen has big plants in the metro while Ford has an engine plant. There are also various catalytic converter plants, tyre manufacturers like Continental, Firestone and Goodyear as well as many smaller component manufacturers.

The VW factory is situated in Uitenhage, about 35km north of Port Elizabeth, and attached to the factory is the VW AutoPavilion. The AutoPavilion is a museum to the history of VW. The museum is a very modern one with a lot of activities and interaction. It has various exhibits of milestone cars like the last beetle to be produced in South Africa.

Some of the interactive displays are a racing simulator, a new VW Beetle being cut in half, general knowledge consuls and a green screen behind an old Beetle. The museum is well worth a visit for both young and old. In actual fact I have seen kids looking quite bored while the fathers were having a great time. I have had the pleasure to visit a couple of times and always enjoy the visit. I think its time for me to take Chaos Boy (I just need to tie his hands behind his back) to have a look at the cars.