Ronnie and his Sex Shop

I have passed Ronnie's Sex Shop on Route 62 close to Barrydale so often but *sticks head in a hole* have never pulled over for a look.  Yes, shame on me.  But if you don't know what Ronnie's Sex Shop is, don't think it was a case of wanting to stop there to have a look at kinky toys and lingerie.  Because that's not what Ronnie's Sex Shop is about.  So what is it about?  Let me tell you the story in a nutshell.  Some years ago a guy called Ronnie decided to fix up an old building next to the popular Route 62 to turn it into a farm stall and sell fresh fruit, produce and perhaps a couple of 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 and an interest in it started before he was even open.   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, as they say, is history.

My eyes popped open when I walked in because the decor in the pub at Ronnie's is somewhat... uhm... well, different.  The walls are covered in graffiti and messages, business cards and money from all over the world while the ceiling isn't visible because of all the shirts and bras (yes, yes, there is lingerie contrary to what I said earlier) hanging from it.  All pieces "donated" and signed by visitors.

In the room next to the bar there is just about no space left on the walls because of all the messages.  Its enough to make one's eyes cross and head spin.  But Ronnie's isn't just a pub.  There is a little restaurant, called Roadkill, as well where you can grap a pizza or hamburger while enjoying a drink from the pub.

 

The highlight for me wasn't just finally seeing what Ronnie's was about, but actually meeting the man himself.  Ronnie even agreed to pose for a picture when I asked him.  And again with Chaos Boy and later again with Drama Princess.  The two of them was just fascinated with him.

So next time you drive through the Klein Karoo down Route 67, make sure you you pull over and say hi to Ronnie and his Sex Shop.

Check out Avril's post about Ronnie's on Mom's Meanderings for some more pictures

Montagu's Cannon Hill

Kanonkop (or Cannon Hill) above the town of Montagu has a beautiful view across the town with this angle looking out over Montagu West.  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.

Vicky Davis

A couple of years ago I got to meet the stunningly beautiful actress and Pasella (a magazine program on SABC 2) presenter Vicky Davis on a Pasella shoot in Port Elizabeth.  I sneaked a candid shot of her which I posted at the time.  Late last year I got to be on another Pasella shoot with Vicky.  She mentioned that when she Goggles her own name my picture still often comes up so we decided that it was time for me to post another as an update.  At SAMREC in Cape Recife she was getting to know Agro the penguin a little better when I saw a picture opportunity.  And here it is.

*Sigh*  If only I was tall and handsome, not married and perhaps lived in Cape Town....
*pop* Just woke up and my coffee is cold.

Storms River Mouth panorama

I just noticed this lone picture sitting in a file and realised that it is one from our recent visit to the Tsitsikamma that I forgot to upload.  Its a panoramic picture taken from the eastern side of Storms River Mouth shows the three suspension bridges in the background.

Montagu Museum

Montagu op Route 62 in the Klein Karoo het twee fantastiese museum wat besoekers aan die dorp by kan gaan inloer.  Die Montagu Museum is geleë in die ou Sendingkerk wat in 1907 gebou is en konsentreer op die dorp se kultuur-historiese skatte.  Die museum het verskeie uitstallings met die kerk se preekstoel and ander kerk items wat sentraal hieraan is.  'n Belangrike deel van die museum is die medisinale plantnavorsing wat hier plaasvind en ook uitgestal word.  Agter die museum is ook 'n pragtige roostuin wat dateer uit die dorp se vroeë jare.  Die ander museum op die dorp wat die moeite werd is om te besoek is Jouberthuis so bietjie verder af in die straat.

Tsitsikamma Segway Tours

They say that once you learn to ride a bike you never forget it.  But two wheels in front of each other and two wheels next to each other are two very different things.  Not for the worse though.  For one its more difficult to learn how to ride a bike than to ride a Segway.  A Segway Personal Transporter, for those who doesn't know what they are, is a two-wheeled self-balancing battery-powered electric vehicle and can go up to 20 km/h (or 12.5 miles per hour).  Computers and motors in the base of the device keep the Segway upright when powered on with balancing enabled. A user commands the Segway to go forward by shifting their weight forward on the platform, and backward by shifting their weight backward.  The Segway then detects, as it balances, the change in its center of mass, and first establishes and then maintains a corresponding speed, forward or backward.  To turn, the user presses the handlebar to the left or the right. 

 

 

Tsitsikamma Segway Tours is a new addition to the array of great adventure activities (both soft and hard) one can participate in when visiting the Tsitsikamma and is based at Tsitsikamma Backpackers in Storms River Village.  We spend a couple of days in the village and the KidZ really looked forward to our Segway tour.  The previously saw the Segways at an exhibition in Port Elizabeth and nagged me since that occasion for us to go and do it.  On arrival and after signing in you get a bit of a tutorial on how to control the Segway before a couple of practise runs and maneuvers on the grass.

The minimum age to go on their tour is 10 years old and with Drama Princess only being seven I was in for a bit of a problem if she couldn't go. But I've known the owners for a couple of years now and they agreed for her to try it out and if she coped she could go.  And she did.  I have to add to this that our guide, Welcome, was SUPER AWESOME with her. He stayed with her all the time and helped her whenever we made a turn or went over uneven ground.  He probably got more agitated with us adults than he did with her. A big up to him.

 

We went on the short tour which took us through the village's township and out towards the pine plantation.  The section of the ride through the plantation and on the old road was stunning, so I can only imagine how much better the longer tour into the forest would be.  The Segways are very easy to control so going off road was no problem at all.  Chaos Boy who, even though he's 10, isn't much bigger than Drama Princess picked up on it very quickly and maneuvered like a pro. 

This is really an experience which I would highly recommend to anybody visiting the Tsitsikamma.  There are two tour options.  The one hour tour includes a ride through the village and adjoining township, over the historic Witteklip bridge and  into the pine forest while the two hour tour goes through the village and pine plantation into the indigenous Tsitsikamma forest and on to the famous Big Tree.

 

Our tour was courtsey of Tsitsikamma Segway Tours in Storms River Village. 

Tours cost R285 for the one hour experience and R400 for a two hour experience.

Contact Andre and Michelle for more information:

Tel: (081) 320 3977

E-mail : andre@segwaytours.co.za

Red Knobbed Coot

While out on a paddle boat on the dam during our return visit to the Montagu Caravan Park in December, I heard a couple of birds calling in the reeds.  On closer inspection it turned out to be a mother Red Knobbed Coot and two chicks. 

 

The Red-knobbed Coot or Crested Coot, (Fulica cristata), is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae.  It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain and normally found on freshwater lakes and ponds.  They build a nest of dead reeds near the water's edge or more commonly afloat, laying about 8 eggs.  Their behaviour towards their own young is so aggressive that only a few are likely to survive to adulthood.