Donkin Garden of Remembrance

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has put aside a small section next to the lighthouse on the Donkin Reserve as a Memorial Garden in memory of municipal councilors who have died while serving the public.  The garden was unveiled by the mayor a couple of months ago and it remembers 52 (at the time of unveiling) councilors from different political backgrounds who's deaths while in office range from illness to car accidents and even assassination.

50 Shades of Little Grey

Before a penguin gets all decked out in his black and white tuxedo he wears a greyish onesie.  At SAMREC they currently have a number of little greys they are caring for.  A week or so ago I was at SAMREC early one morning and they were busy feeding the penguins before they were taken to the pool outside.  This little guy was the last in line and had to get some medication so he became the focus of the paparazzi while the "nurse" prepped his meds.

Brewing beer at Bridge Street

Visitors to Bridge Street Brewery can do more than just drink some of the best craft beer around (award winning craft beer actually) and eat scrumptious meals and tapas, you can also book a brewery tour and beer tasting in advance if the brewer is available.  The tour isn't a long one but shows you how the beer is brewed and stored before it gets sold to the customer.  After the brewing process the beer goes into these tanks as part of fermentation before going under pressure and cooled in the next room, ready to be served

Beachfront Tuctuc

Last Saturday I organised an Amazing Race around Port Elizabeth as a fundraiser for the KidZ' school.  One of the stops during the day was at Kings Beach Park.  While checking up on a couple of stops before the teams arrived I popped by Kings Beach Park and chatted to the teacher manning the point.  Chaos Boy took the opportunity to try out the new Tuctuc feature at the play park.

Penguin release at Cape Recife

I can't say enough how good a job the guys at SAMREC does when it comes to penguin conservation and caring for penguins found on our beaches.  Once the birds have gone through the rehabilitation process at the centre in the Cape Recife Nature Reserve they get released back into Algoa Bay to make their way back to their home on the islands in the bay.  The penguins don't get released on their own and when there are a couple ready to go they normally invite the public to come and watch the release.  This is all about creating awareness of these threatened sea birds.  For this week's Friday video I came across this one of a penguin release filmed by a member of the public some time in 2013.

Looking down on the Campanile

The Campanile stand 52 meters tall and to get to the top you have to climb up 204 steps which will take you to the half circle windows above the clocks.  Looking at that you would think it there wouldn't be much opportunity to look down (and not in a bad way) on the Campanile.  That is unless you are standing on top of the lighthouse on the Donkin Reserve. 

 

The Campanile is currently closed for renovation.

Beachfront seen from the top of the Donkin Lighthouse

The top of the Donkin Lighthouse must be one of the best view point in Port Elizabeth.  My favorite actually.  Looking south this is the view of the beachfront beyond the harbor area.  The Kings Beach parking area is in the foreground, then the Humewood slipway and Shark Rock Pier just beyond.  In the back Something Good at Pollok Beach is visible and the tall building in the skyline is the Radisson Blu Hotel.  It wasn't the clearest day when I was up there, but always worth the climb.

Beer tasting at Bridge Street Brewery

Craft beer has very much become an in thing with many patrons preferring it over the traditional beers.  Bridge Street Brewery has brought craft beer to Port Elizabeth big time since opening in the Baakens Valley and the venue has become quite popular not just for its beer but also the excellent food they serve.  If the brewer is available they will even do brewery tours and beer tastings for groups on request.  Last week I visited Bridge Street on a media tour and they lined up their four beers and one cider for us to taste while the assistant brewer explained each one to us.  Amongst them was the Celtic Cross Premier Pilsner which won them second prize at the recent annual South African Craft Beer Championship. 

The South End Museum

 

South End, as a suburb, was once a cosmopolitan community. Men, women, children and families lived harmonious lives in the epicentre of cultural diversity.  Blacks, whites, coloureds, Indians, Chinese, Jews, Greeks and many more were united in their attitude towards family values, faith and morals, despite the diversity of religion, language and race.  This all changed with the Group Areas Act coming into being in the 1950's.  South End was classified as a "whites only area" and everybody of colour was moved to other parts of Port Elizabeth.  These removals were often carried out by force.  Most of South End was demolished and lives shattered.  Today visitors to the South End Museum can come and learn more about the people, families, customs, stories, music and sport of this formerly culturally rich area.  South End may not be as well known as District 6 in Cape Town or some of the townships all over South Africa, but the museum is a really interesting piece of this country's sad history and well worth a visit.

Red, white and blue fishing boats

Last week I got to attend an event at the Algoa Bay Yacht Club to celebrate a couple of awards won by Port Elizabeth's marine tour and whale watching operator  Raggy Charters.  I noticed these three red, white and blue fishing boats tied up to each other and just had to snap a pic.  Oh, say! can you see by the dawn's early light....