There are big dairy farming areas to both the east and the west of Port Elizabeth producing milk not just for the Port Elizabeth area, but also beyond. Some of these farms are massive, producing thousands of litres of milk every day. Most of the cows on these farms are Jersey and Friesian cows. The ones on this farm in the Gamtoos Valley west of Port Elizabeth are Jersey cows.
Driving along the N2 one passes over the Swartkops River just before getting to the suburb of Bluewater Bay. Swartkops is a very popular fishing area with loads of boats out on the river over weekends. The area on the banks of the river is called Amsterdamhoek and was named after a Dutch ship (Amsterdam) that sank off the river mouth in 1817. Its a very upmarket area and is only seperated from the river by a narrow road. 
The other day I did a post on the Sacramento Trail leading from Schoenmakerskop to Sardinia Bay. At the start of the trail in Schoenies these steps take you down to the shoreline to the bottom section of the trail.
The King George V Memorial can be found on Canon Hill overlooking the town of Uitenhage. It was erected to commemorating the coronation of King George V in 1910.
A couple of restored settler houses in Central. I love the bright colours that was used when they got painted. The church in the background is The Hill Presbyterian Church next to the Donkin Reserve.
Merry Christmas everybody. I hope Santa had less problems getting into and down your chimney than he had here on top of Executive Kids in Newton Park. I hope everybody has an awesome day and don't eat too much.
The lights of the Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment Complex reflecting on the Boardwalk lake. The Boardwalk is very much in the centre of most of Port Elizabeth's summer entertainment with lots of activities going on inside the complex as well as at Hobie Beach across the road..jpg)
I have posted various view from the top of the Donkin Lighthouse before, but here is one I haven't. Looking south, you can see Fort Frederick in the background between the apartment buildings while the light green building in the foreground is the Prince Alfred Guard Museum.
One of the main components at the Red Location Museum in New Brighton are the 12 Memory Boxes. Each of the Memory Boxes consist of a corrugated iron room 6 meters by 6 meters by 12 meters high. Each box has a different exhibit which is only revealed once visitors enter it. Each exhibit is an experience all on its own, and while each can stand on its own, they are all bound together. If you get what I mean.
A couple of the old settler houses in one of the older parts of Central. Its amazing how these old houses are exactly as a child would draw a house. Rectangular with a door in the middle, two windows (one on each side) and a chimney on the one side of the roof.
The Anglo Boer War Memorial in Uitenhage can be found in front of the Town Hall and was unveiled in 1904. The names of Uitenhage citizens who died in the Anglo-Boer War fought between 1899 and 1902 are inscribed on the base of the monument. It is said that the features of the life-size soldier that makes up the memorial was that of an actual soldier in King William’s Town.
I posted a shot of the tug mooring area from a harbour vantage point in August, but got a totally different view from the top of the Campanile the other day which I want to show you.
The NSRI guys on their way to their training exercise last weekend. Its amazing how fast that rubber duck was moving even though the sea was a bit on the rough side. Seeing the way the crew was going about their way in the exercise, I would say that one would be in good hands when they come to rescue you in the case of an ocean disaster.
We don't get much fog in Port Elizabeth and if we do it clears up by mid morning at the latest. The other day the coastal part of the city was shrouded in fog for most of the day. I stopped at the Humerail Shopping Centre overlooking the harbour to get a pic of what it looked like. Pity I wasn't on holiday yet as I had lots of photo ideas I would have liked to have tried out. Oh well, next time.
We went to ride the miniature trains at Londt Park last Sunday and it was very interesting to watch afterwards how the guys clean them by taking out the burning coals and blowing the trains clean with a steam gun.
Looking east from the top observation area of the Campanile, one looks across the Port Elizabeth Harbor. One of the things you immediately notice are the cars waiting for export. With both General Motors and VW have big export contracts, a lot of cars get moved through the harbour which means that there are a number of car ships docking every week.
The view of the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium from the top of the Campanile.
I know this isn't a typical PE Daily Photo, but I wanted to do a post on donating blood. I am a regular blood donor (42 donations so far) and donate blood four to five times a year. A person can donate blood every 56 days and every time you donate they take an unit which is the equivalent of 480 milliliters.
I popped down to the beachfront last weekend to have a look at the guys (and gals) from NSRI Station 6 here in Port Elizabeth doing an airlift rescue exercise. With summer season at hand and more and more boats out there (both commercial as well as recreational), it is important for their guys to be sharp at all times. I have the utmost respect for the NSRI crews as all of them do it purely on a volunteer basis which means that they give up valuable time away from their families to risk their lives to save others.
Late afternoon next to the Gamtoos River. The Gamtoos River can be found west of Port Elizabeth just before you get to Jeffery's Bay. The river flows through the Gamtoos Valley which is one of the main agricultural areas supplying fruit and vegetables to the city. The valley is also where you will find the Kouga Dam, one of the metro's main water supply dams.
The Campanile was built and completed in 1923 in commemoration of the centenary of the arrival of the British Settlers in 1820. The site on which it stands used to be the landing beach where the settlers were offloaded before their long journey to the Grahamstown district. The tower is 51.8 meters high and has 204 steps to the top. It also has a carillon of 23 bells.
The Trinity congregation was founded in 1854 when a group of parishioners broke away from St Mary's Church The original church was built at the bottom of Military Road but a growing need for a church by the people on the Hill saw the church moving to its present site next to Havelock Square. The new church was opened for worship on 1 April 1866. In 1897 a deranged woman set fire to the Church and all but the walls as well as the tower was destroyed. Holy Trinity was only constituted as an Anglican parish in 1930.
The Sacramento trail follows the coastline between Schoenmakerskop and Sardinia Bay and is about 4km each way. Its been years since I've done the walk and its high time I do it again. Hopefully at some stage during the holidays I will get a chance. Most people take the walk early in the morning and then go for breakfast at one of the little restaurants in Schoenies.
The Victoria Tower in Caledon Street in Uitenhage was built as Public Building between 1896 and 1898. It was named after Queen Victoria who was the ruling monarch at that stage and used to house the law courts. 
On display in the Red Location Museum are manuscripts from Nelson Mandela's diary from the years he spent on Robben Island. These manuscripts are in his own hand writing and is one of the museums most prized exhibits.
Victoria Park is one of a number of public parks in Port Elizabeth located within residential areas. Situated in the lower section of Walmer close to the airport, Victoria Park has several fish ponds with beautiful waterlilies and big lawn areas. Every year the Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra has a sold out performance in the park which shows that there is a demand for such shows in Port Elizabeth.
Looking down Upper Hill Street in Central one can see a couple of old historic settler houses dating from the mid 1800's on the left and some of the high rise (high rise in PE terms) buildings in the city centre.
The VW AutoPavilion is situated next to the VW factory in Uitenhage and probably is the biggest attraction in the town. The museum is a high-tech, interactive expo and heritage centre and takes you on a journey through history with the cars that defined the past and inspire the future. I'm not a "car fanatic" like some guys, but I do enjoy visiting the museum every now and then. I haven't taken Chaos Boy yet cause I'm not ensured for museum exhibits, but I'm sure I'll take him there quite soon for him to experience it as well.
On Sunday the first Walmer Park Food Festival took place at Walmer Park Shopping Centre. The festival will be held on a bi-annual basis with the Summer Festival taking place in November and the Winter Festival in June. The festival included stalls from deli’s, restaurants, entrepreneurs, farmers, manufacturers and suppliers to the food industry as well as cooking presentations and entertainment. At most of the stalls visitors could taste and buy their products. The smell of all the foods were amazing and the taste buds were truly treated to some awesome flavours. I am really looking forward to the next festival as I am sure they would evolve it to be even bigger and better than this one. I think Cooksister would truly have been in her element if she could have visited the festival.
I had to pop into the Prince Alfred's Guard Museum to other day to take some pics for a brochure. I've actually never been in the museum before then, although I know the monument at St Georges Park quite well. The museum houses military exhibits in the Regiment's Victorian Drill Hall (built in 1880). It is a national monument and one of the finest surviving examples of its type. 
Port Elizabeth has a number of golf courses around the city. The best known one is the Humewood Golf Course, a links course which is seen as one of the best courses in the country. One of the lesser known ones are the 9 hole Sardinia Bay golf course. I'm not much of a golfer (not enough time), so I haven't played the big courses, but I thoroughly enjoyed playing Sardinia Bay the other morning with my Boet.
I have posted a picture of the Uitenhage Concentration Camp Memorial before, but wanted to post another. It is situated on the site where there was a concentration camp for Boer women and children during the Anglo Boer War (1899 - 1902). Each of the pieces of back wall represents one of the 9 people who died in the concentration camp.
In the old days South End was a vibrant multi cultural area, but in the 1960's everybody was forcible removed from the area because of the Groups Areas Act and relocated to other areas in Port Elizabeth. The majority of the buildings in South End was demolished and the area laid empty for about twenty years. In the 1980's they started developing the area again and since Democracy in 1994 some of the people have even moved back into the area. Here are one of the old South End roads that run past the South End cemetery. Today its nothing more than a footpath to the top of the hill.
The southern coastline of Port Elizabeth from Cape Recife to Schoenmakerskop is generally knows as the Wildside. It's mainly because the coast is rugged with lots of rocks and little sand. Its also open to the prevailing south-westerly wind which means that it can become quite stormy out there outside the shelter of the Bay.
After my last venture up the Donkin Lighthouse, Sue sent me two old pictures that were taken from the lighthouse in the late 1800's. She asked me if I had any pics taken in the same direction to be able to compare. I didn't, but took Chaos Boy to climb the lighthouse on Saturday and took a couple. I am sure that I recognise the rusty roof house in both the old and new pics. There is another one which I'm not 100% sure of, but keeping in mind that the lighthouse's height was increased since the early pics were taken, compare the pics for yourself.
On Friday afternoon I made a quick stop for bread on my way home. As I came out the supermarket I saw the fire department's grass fire truck go by and noticed smoke just up the road. I rushed over and found a grass fire next to the suburb of Overbaakens. The fire truck pulled in just after me (yes, I took a shortcut) and the team got their kit out very quickly and got working on the fire. I was actually very impressed with the speed they got working on stopping the fire from getting to the houses. There are more picture on The Firefly Photo Files. 
EPSAC is currently hosting an Watercolours exhibition by the East Cape Watercolour Association. I popped in on Friday to have a quick look and was quite impressed with some of the work on show. For anybody looking for the perfect Christmas gift for an art lover, this is the place to come and buy something. And best of all are the prices. The majority of the paintings range from about R150 (US$18.50 or 12.50 British pounds) to R450 (US$56 or 37.50 British Pounds).
Yesterday (Friday, 20 November) was the deadline for submissions of personal tax forms. As per any deadline there were lots of people who hadn't done it timely either manually or via e-filing. I drove past the SARS (South African Revenue Service) office in town at about 1pm and this was the line standing outside the door in the early summer heat.
The second photo is just to show how the line continued past the Phoenix Hotel next door.
A couple of the historic houses in one of the streets of Cental. In this immediate area there are many old settler houses that date back to the mid 1800's. Most of them are very well looked after and maintained while others are being restored. Unfortunately just down the street a couple of blocks away there are a lot of buildings crying out to be restored. Unfortunately some of the property owners in Central doesn't care enough about the heritage buildings in their portfolios to fix them up to their former glory.
The Maitlands River would never really be called a river of note, more like a local stream. But on its way to the ocean it flows through Sleepy Hollow and past the giant Maitlands sand dune. Just before it slowly flows into the ocean, it forms a small lagoon next to the dune. Usually in summer kids will splash around in it as the sea at the river mouth is a bit of a dangerous spot to swim in.
Fort Frederick can be found on the hill overlooking the Baakens River valley and Port Elizabeth Harbour. It's a stone fort built in 1799 by the British Forces to defend the mouth of the Baakens River to prevent a possible landing of French troops to assist the Graaff-Reinet rebels. It was named after Frederick, Duke of York and was commanded by Captain Francis Evatt. Even though the fort was built to defend the Bay, ironically, no shot was ever fired in anger from it. The Fort, containing a powder magazine and a guardhouse, was originally defended by eight 12-powder guns.
Havelock Square is one of a couple of public parks around the historic part of Central. Havelock square is a bit different though as it is an unfenced park with a one way paved road going around it. Havelock Square was part of The Grey Institute Grant originally surveyed in 1856, with the oldest houses being built in 1862. The Holy Trinity Church on the eastern side of the square was built in 1866 and re- built in 1897 after being destroyed by a fire, while the St Johns Methodist Church on the western side was opened in 1894.
