500th Post......

Well this is it... time to say goodbye, (see yesterday's post if this takes you by surprise!) and thank you all for you loyal visits and the friendships we have made. Firefly, thanks again for adopting our baby! May it give you lots of joy, and not too many nappies to change!

We also want to thank the helpful community at City Daily Photo Blog who do a huge amount of work, and a great job administering the group.

We thought we'd go out with a selection of some favourite photos that have featured here, in no particular order... ones that really capture why PE is such a special place to live, and why it has been a joy sharing it with the world.

And we'll go out with a BANG! Cheers!

Post no 499... big changes coming!

Apple Express Trains being refurbished at the diesel depot in Humewood, reflecting in the engineers pit.

OK, we have a sort of "good news ,bad news" scenario for you. The bad news is that after almost 500 posts on this blog, we are ready to take a break. We have made some wonderful friends around the world, and it has been fun. We will miss you, and I know many of you enjoy your visits to see what is going on in PE.

So that is where the good news comes in... we don't want to abandon you guys who love checking up on the old home town from time to time. And we are leaving you in some extremely capable hands... Firefly is an ex tour guide and works in the tourism industry. He is passionate about PE, and very well informed too, as well as a great photographer. He has agreed to adopt our baby and keep it going.

So tommorrow we will go out with a bang, and our 500th post will be some of our all time favourite photos... and then on Sunday, please welcome Firefly into the driving seat, we are sure you will enjoy the ride!

we meet at last ....

We are approaching our 500th post on this blog, so I thought it might be fun for you to meet us, and see some of the antics we have got up to in the interests of documenting our city for this blog....

Sue uses the tripod to help climb out of a graveyard after a sunrise stroll....

while Max does a quick battery change on board the visiting Portuguese ship Sagres, with a fascinated grandson looking on.

Parliament Street afterparty

This isn't the greatest photo, again the light was green in our favour and there was no time to compose or zoom. It was taken recently from the intersection of Russell Road and Rink Street just before 5am on a Saturday.

The Parliament Street all night party begins to ease up, and the last revellers converge on the apron of the Service Station across the road, dancing to music that blares from various cars. All this would be quite festive if it wasn't for two unfortunate habits... urinating in the street and breaking the liquor and beer bottles as they are emptied. Since we have been doing neighbourhood watch patrols, I have had to repair my tyres 4 times, because it is sometimes impossible to see the glass on the streets at night, until it is too late.

We have seen cleaners trying to keep the street clean throughout the night, presumably employed by the committee that looks after the Parliament Street upgrade. I wonder if this doesn't just make the party-goers even less responsible for their actions... they rightly surmise that their bad habits are creating employment for others, so they carry on regardless. Rather than feeling bad about anti-social behaviour that costs the City a fortune, they feel good that they are benefitting the cleaners!

Nanaga (pronounced none - ugh -ah)

Please excuse the hiatus, we have been in East London for a few days visiting family, and both forgot our cables to go online with our cellphones.

About 50 km out of PE, on the freeway running eastwards along the coast, you reach a famous intersection, and here you decide whether to take the road North through Cradock, NE through Grahamstown, Or East along the coastal road to Port Alfred and East London. A popular landmark for the last 30 years has been the small farmstall which specialises in wonderful home made jams, baked goods and traditional South African cuisine. The stall suffered a fire and has been ressurected nearby in a stunning large building around a courtyard. Well worth a visit!

Bus Rapid Transport System

There has been a lot of conflict lately between the Taxi drivers and the Municipality, over the building of a Rapid Bus system. This has left construction at a standstill, and Govan Mbeki Ave from the bottom of Evatt Street to the corner of Albany Rd is reduced to 1 narrow lane either way, and no parking available, even outside the main Post Office. Hopefully the current agreement will be honoured, and the town can return to normal soon!

spots and stripes

Kragga Kamma Game Reserve on the outskirts of town, we are truly lucky to have a place like this, where we can enjoy our wildlife so close at hand.

By request.........

Pule asked us to show Govan Mbeki looking the other way from the City Hall towards North End. Why are robots only green when you WANT a red light? I was late for a meeting and did not have time to find parking and walk back. So this is the best we could do as we had to go with the traffic flow.

A work in progress

This is the section of Govan Mbeki Ave between Russell Rd and The bottom of Donkin Hill. It is currently under construction, to upgrade it along similar lines to the section near the City Hall. At the moment, perhaps the best thing that can be said is "watch this space!"

Govan Mbeki again

This was taken this morning. The street was not as busy as one would expect for a Saturday morning, maybe it will change once all the building operations are complete further down, we'll show that tomorrow,

Govan Mbeki

We were recently asked to show the upgraded Govan Mbeki Street. This is a composite shot, showing the view back towards the city hall, and showing one of the new street vendor's shelters.

days gone by

This colourful bit of playground equipment in St George's Park is designed to commemorate the "Voortrekkers" or pioneers who opened up the interior of South Africa in the early years. It all looks entertaining and romantic from this perspective, but imagine what it must have been like for a whole family to live in this cramped space, being jolted along for months on end, heading into unknown territory, with danger on all sides. They were exceptional people.

The Spotted Cow

I was in the upgraded Parliament Street last week, for a political meeting, (COPE, in case you are curious :) )which was held at the Spotted Cow. This is a really interesting place, a cocktail bar, with a sports bar attached, in what used to be a church hall. It still has the wooden vaulted ceiling and arched windows, but the interior has been modernised with a stainless steel mezzanine and a massive screen on the opposite wall for projecting sports images.

Constitution Hill

Looking up Constitution Hill, in Port Elizabeth Central. The steeple sticking up in the background is from the Hill Presbytarian Church, which we have featured before.

Fun in the park

Take two young boys, throw some friendship, a sunny day and a jungle gym. Then mix it up with boundless energy and you get a whole lot of fun. E and C having a ball at St Georges Park.

Duckpond Pavilion

If you are a cricket fan and have followed any matches played in Port Elizabeth, you will be familiar with the famous Duckpond Pavilion. It got its name from the fact that it was build next to the duckpond, in St Georges Park. Though the pond is still there the ducks have long since disappeared.

Gracious old home

This gracious old home, on the corner of Newington and Dickens Streets, is now used by financial brokers. The house and all the architectural detail is beautifully maintained and it remains one of the iconic land marks of Richmond Hill.

Shark Rock Pier ...... again!

Shark Rock Pier, caught in one of her more photogenic moments, on a beautiful sunny day.

Mill Park #4

The most well known feature of Mill Park is the Grey School. Here we are looking at the back, from a viewpoint in Mill Park, across one of the tributaries of the Baakens River, which has created many interesting ravines around the perimeter of the suburb. Note the security vehicle parked under the tree. A downside of the ravines is that they provide easy exit points for housebreakers to disappear into, so high walls, armed response, electric fences etc have sadly become part of the picture now.

Mill Park #3

As described in the first post 2 days ago, Mill Park is on the edge of the Baakens Valley. So from many streets in the suburb, you get glimpses of the hills across the valley, and many houses, such as these, have lovely views into the kloofs, and the opposite cliffs.