Herold

As you cross over the Montagu Pass from George into the Klein Karoo you enter a small village called Herold. Herold is tucked away in the mountains at the end of the beautiful historic pass. The town developed as a result of the the pass that was constructed in 1847. The town grew quite rapidly as travellers along this new road to the Klein Karoo needed a place to stay as well as other essential services. It continued to be a busy town until the 1950's when the shorter and faster Outeniqua Pass was built and by 1960 it was almost a ghost town. These days the town is part of a small farming community and lately a lot of the old buildings in town has been renovated to created accommodation, a pub and restaurant for visitors who venture off the beaten track.

Prince Alfred Guard flower

I snapped this picture at the Prince Alfred Guard Memorial in Port Elizabeth the other day. I hadn't been to the monument for a while and stopped by to see if I could get a couple of photos from angles that I haven't taken there before.

Donkin sunrise

Sunrise at the Donkin Reserve in Port Elizabeth with the Donkin Memorial (pyramid) on the left and the lighthouse on the right.

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Visit Skywatch for more pictures taken my photographers pointing their cameras skywards.

Pretoria skyline

On my last trip to Johannesburg I popped up to Pretoria to visit the Voortrekker Monument. It was a very misty morning and the Pretoria skyline was just just visible in the fog. Pretoria is South Africa's capital city and forms part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan.

Foggy skyline

Another part of the city seen with one of the monument's Voortrekker leader statues in the foreground.

Sharing a meal

A couple of pachyderms having a meal together at the Addo Elephants National Park just outside Port Elizabeth. I just loved the fact that the second elephant actually looks like the first one's reflection.

Commemoration Methodist Church

The Commemorative Methodist Church, or as the locals call it The Commem, stands at the bottom of church square in the beautiful Eastern Cape town of Grahamstown. The church was completed in 1850 and was built along the Gothic Revival lines which was very "in" at that stage.

In front of the church stands the statue of the Winged Angel of Peace supporting a dying soldier,
which commemorates those who have fallen in the Anglo Boer War (1899 - 1902). This site was chosen as it is situated "in the mids of our daily work" and would be seen often, serving as a inspiration of peace.

The church seats 1200 people with seating downstairs as well as on a gallery. A very interesting and curious feature of the church is all the graffiti on the pews up on the mezzanine. The boys from nearby Kingswood Collage use to come to the church for services until they got their own chapel in the 1950's. It became a tradition to carve out your name in the wood. in 1872 the church employed a law man to try and catch the kids doing it, but that never worked and the tradition lived on.

The church has a number of beautiful stained glass windows, this one showing the British Settlers giving thanks for their safe arrival from England to the Cape Colony. The church also has several ornate plaques honouring the lives of past members of the church.

Fountain of the Emperors

The Fountain of the Emperors is situated just outside the main entrance to the Emperors Palace Casino in Johannesburg.