Animal masks

The giant animal masks were part of the decorations at yesterday's proceedings with the Minister of Tourism at the Boardwalk.

Elephant

Monkey (doesn't he look a lot like the monkey in Lion King)

The Monkey keeping an eye on the Elephant

Tourism Minister visit Port Elizabeth

Today I had the opportunity to be a photographer at an event featuring the Minister of Tourism. For most of the event I used the camera of the company I work for, but I did get a couple of shots with my own one as well.

The Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, visited Port Elizabeth today to launch Nelson Mandela Bay's 2010 Visitor Information Centres (VICs). The three world class visitor and tourism centres will form part of the legacy project for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The VIC's are being rolled out in five host cities, namely Port Elizabeth, Polokwane, Nelspruit, Rustenburg and Bloemfontein. Port Elizabeth's is the first set of Visitor Information Centres to be completed. The three centers are situated at the Donkin Reserve, Port Elizabeth Airport and the Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment Centre. Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism also has a fourth VIC in Uitenhage.
To read more about the event, visit MyPE for the whole story.

Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk

Entertainment by the drummers of African Drumbeat

The snacks served by Leonardo's at the Boardwalk where the event was hosted

The Minister (left) and Mayor Nondumiso Maphazi (right) being showed how the touch screens in the VIC work by one of the consultants (middle) in charge of the upgrade

Steel Wheels

I decided to add another post to the Random ... list and today's is Random Steel Wheels

The wheels on one of the canons on display in Bayworld, Port Elizabeth, salvaged from a shipwreck in Algoa Bay

The wheels on one of the steam trains on display at the Uitenhage Old Railway Station Museum

Wheels on a mine cart on display outside the Cullinan Diamond mine near Johannesburg

Candelabra Flower

The Candelabra Flower is found in grasslands and is quite wide spread in summer rainfall areas. Unfortunately people pick them in the wild as the flower is quite striking and it never gets a chance to sow its seeds. The flower grows up to 70 centimeters high from a bulb. It normally flowers in the summer months where after fruit develops on the tips of the flower stalks. When they dry out they form a tumbleweed and spreads its seeds.

Strange night sky

A little while ago I popped outside one evening to pull the car into the garage and saw the most unusual sky. It wasn't quite a big ring around the moon, but rather more a big patch of light in the sky around the moon with the darkness moving in like a cold front. There was a distinct line between the light and dark areas and after about 10 or 15 minutes the light was just about gone. Very strange.

Maya the Bee

So this may not be Maya the Bee (remember her?) or Bee Movie, but it is a honey bee on a protea. Not much more that I can say than that.

Storms River Bridge

The arch bridge over the Storms River in the Tsitsikamma was completed in 1958 and formed a major link in the National Route N2 between George and Port Elizabeth. The bridge is one of four great arch bridges crossing the deep gorges of the Tsitsikamma and is about 120 meters high. The river itself is a very short river and is only about 40 km in length. It has a big catchment area in the Tsitsikamma mountains and can rise drastically and come down in flood after the slightest of rain. Hence the name Storms River.