A Saturday morning stroll

On Saturday morning we went for a walk along Kings Beach to enjoy the beautiful weather we had over the weekend.  Miggie was feeling a little under the weather and not her normal bubbly self so strolled along by herself to the one side.  Of cause dad always has his camera...  

Peace and Blessing

I think I'm going to take a little break from Campanile posts before people get tired of it.  I have a few more but will keep it back for a week or two.  Route 67 literally has 67 art pieces scattered along the way between the Donkin Reserve and Campanile.  Next to the bus station at the bottom of the steps down from Market Square, you will find the Walk of Words.  The pavement contains a whole host of words in different languages to represent the new South Africa and its prosperity as a democratic nation.  As trying to decide which ones to photograph and this was the shot.  PEACE and BLESSING.  

Campanile view - Looking south towards the beachfront

This is the last of the Campanile View trio of posts (There should have been four but it seems I never took a pic out the new big viewing window of the whole harbour).  Unfortunately the south viewing window doesn't open like the north and west windows, probably because the new lift's doors is right by the window.  Looking out the harbour dominates the foreground while the beachfront with all it's recognisable landmarks are visible in the background. 

Campanile view - Looking west towards Central

Yesterday I posted a picture of the view looking north from the Campanile observation floor.  It means I have three more directions and what's the use of showing you only one?  So here is the view to the west.  The Settlers Freeway is at the bottom and slightly to the left of the centre of the picture is Market Square and the historic Public Library in the city centre.  Above on the hill is the Donkin Reserve, lighthouse and pyramid with the Great Flag (65m high pole and 15m x 10m flag) next to it.  

Campanile view - Looking north along the Settlers Freeway

There are four viewing windows at the top of the Campanile.  The new full-length viewing window looks out to the east over the Port Elizabeth Harbour.  The view south is towards the beachfront, west across the city centre towards the Donkin Reserve and then north along the Settlers Freeway.  Looking at the picture the Settlers Freeway (M4) is on the left and the railway lines on the right.  The roof at the bottom of the picture is the Port Elizabeth Station building.  Into the distance Algoa Bay is on the right-hand side and the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is the white building roughly in the middle of the picture while the mountains on the horizon are the mountains beyond Uitenhage.

The Campanile's new viewing window

One of the new features of the recently refurbished Campanile is a full-length viewing window on the harbour side of the tower.  The window has caused some ruptions with historic purists but personally I think its a great addition.  The window really gives the best view of the adjacent Port Elizabeth Harbour and all its activities.

A tour of the Campanile

It's very easy to do a self-guided walk around Route 67 but if you really want to get the just of it then you have to do it on a guided tour.  There are a number of guides who do the walk and more information is available from the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism info centre at the Donkin Lighthouse building.  When I visited the Campanile the other day there was a guide and intern based at the entrance who were available to guide visitors for free up the tower and tell them more about the history and recently completed renovations.  I'm not sure how long the guides would be available to do these free tours, but while they are there I would highly recommend making use of them.

Step 67 of 204 going up the Campanile

The Campanile is actually seen as the starting point of Route 67 going up the hill and ending at the Donkin Reserve.  With the refurbishment and re-opening of the Campanile recently, it is now fully part of Route 67 and one of the novel bits that was added to the Campanile was marking step number 67 as you climb up the tower's 204 steps.

Just for those unfamiliar with what Route 67 is, it consists of 67 public art pieces symbolising Nelson Mandela's 67 years of work dedicated to the Freedom of South Africa.  The artworks were all designed by local artists from the Eastern Cape and the route is a proud celebration of our city's heritage and history. 

Renovated Campanile

Have you been to visit the newly renovated Campanile yet?  After extensive renovations which included the removal, renovation and return of the bells, total overhaul of the bell structure, installation of  a lift (if only they can get it to work properly), the installation of a big full length viewing window on the harbourside, a viewing hatch to see the bells and a number of new smaller features, the Campanile - originally opened in 1923 - reopened to the public about six weeks ago.  Since reopenening I have been up three times already and I really want to urge everybody to go and do it.  Parking is at the PE Station, there is security around and, most importantly, there is no entrance fee.  There is so much I want to show you about the Campanile so stayed tuned.  

I'mmmmm baaaaack

When I started blogging in 2008 I didn't do it because I wanted to be a blogger.  I did it because I enjoyed traveling (even if it was just around my own city) and taking photos, and wanted to share everything I got to see with others.  Over the years I've done over 3000 posts on Port Elizabeth Daily Photo and close to 1800 on Firefly the Travel Guy, shared pictures and information of many places and things, discovered so much more than I ever realised I would, made numerous friends and followers, built up a brand and changed my blogging style yet kept to being myself.  There have also been struggles blogging burnout turned out to be the biggest one of them.  

This year has been a busy one both personally and at work and I started running out of pictures, especially for the Port Elizabeth Daily Photo blog.  I felt pressured by myself to keep producing posts and started to lose my blogging mojo.  One morning I got up and felt like I just lost interest.  After chatting to a good friend about it his advise to just make a clean break and take some time off.  Which I did.  It's been 6 weeks and the main thing I have realised is that I should dictate to my blog and not allow the blog and other people to dictate to me.  So here I am and I'm back, but under my own terms without making myself feel guilty if I don't blog every day.  I know this blog is called PE Daily Photo, but rather than change the brand I decided to keep it as is for now, even if I only end up doing four or five posts a week depending on how much material I have.

Before I end off I just want to thank those people who emailed and messaged me to find out why I suddenly stopped posting and if anything was wrong.  I really appreciate your support and I'm really sorry if your daily Friendly City fix suddenly disappeared.  I am back again and I hope you continue to enjoy everything I share with you.  

My comeback picture is a selfie reflection taken on the observation level of the newly refurbed Campanile looking through the see-through trapdoor at the bells above. Lots of Campanile photos and info to come in the next few weeks.

Love you all!

Firefly