Eastern Cape Archives - Page 4 of 6

TSITSIKAMMA NATIONAL PARK

This year my birthday present to myself was spending the day at the Tsitsikamma National Park with my daughter as hubby was in a far away place in Africa. Situated halfway between Port Elizabeth and my hometown of George it was an ideal place to hook up with my daughter to do a hiking trail or two in the park. The weather was just what we have ordered – sunny without wind and low humidity. Before we settled for our walk to the mouth we enjoyed brunch, on the deck of the Cattle Baron, with breathtaking views of the river mouth and cliffs as a backdrop. The day is going to be good! The wooden walkway contributes to an easy walk to the mouth …… until you get to the last steps. Well going down is still easy going and not the biggest problem, but as you know what goes… Read more >

THE ROSE GARDEN TEA HOUSE, PORT ELIZABETH

My aim for 2016 is to find a new eatery in Port Elizabeth with every visit to the Friendly City. This year started with a Sunday breakfast at the Rose Garden Tea House at the Floradale Nursery in Charlo. Arriving a bit before nine there was already a queue of cars waiting at the gates. I think we were at the right spot for a Sunday morning breakfast! We chose a protected spot on the stoep with a view over the garden as the wind was unpleasant and inside all the tables were already chock-a-block. Even the children were not too enthusiastic to visit the playground in the wind. However we were welcomed with a smile and soon my aromatic cup of coffee arrived. This was a good start to my day. It was hard to decide what to eat as everything on the menu looked delicious and even more… Read more >

ST ANTHONY’S, BUSHMAN’S RIVER

St Anthony’s Cathlolic Church with its green roof sloping down to almost ground level is tucked away in the sleepy holiday village of Bushman’s River Mouth. In the church grounds there is a beautiful Wild Fig tree providing generous shade in the hot African sun. The church is small and can seat about 150-200 people however large crowds of people are apparently overflowing the church and crowding the doorways during Easter and the summer holidays. But today with all the holiday makers back to the grinding stone there was nobody in sight. St Anthony, a Portuguese Catholic priest born in 1195, is often depicted holding the infant Jesus, a book or a lily. He is the patron saint of mariners, fisherman, elderly people, poor people, shipwrecks and travellers. I think these attributes are very fitting also for the village of Bushamn’s River. This is yet again one of those unexpected… Read more >

BRAKKEDUINE

Een van die beste plekke om jou bass visvang skills te kom bemeester is hier by Brakkeduine. Sommer net ‘n klipgooi neffens Port Elizabeth is hierdie juweel, in die hartjie van die Tsitsikamma, geleë en net reg vir ‘n vinnige naweek wegbreek wanneer die stad druk. Die grondpad vanaf Humansdorp verby Oesterbaai raak soms ‘n bietjie sleg, maar juis te meer maak dit van Brakkeduine meer spesiaal – dit is nie sommer enige Jan Rap en sy maat wat hier uitkom om te kom ontspan nie. ‘n Mens wil amper die plek geheim hou en dit nie met die massas deel nie. Hier is kinders welkom en kan hulle nog vry rond hardloop en na hartelus kerjarkker op die groen gras. Die foefie slide, glybaan, swaaie en swembad hou hulle ure besig en ‘n mens vergeet amper van hulle. En as die grootmense voel om ‘n slag weer ‘n kind… Read more >

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, KING WILLIAMS TOWN

The first and foremost thing that struck me about King Williams Town, as we drove into the centre of the town, is the abundance of steeple chases complimented by the purple jacarandas that was coming into bloom dotted all over town. King Williams Town started as a mission station on the banks of the Buffalo River in 1834 and boasts a number of old and interesting buildings. This probably also explain the abundance of steeple chases that you can see when scanning the horizon. While having breakfast at the Spur I had a good vantage point to admire yet another Sophy Gray church. When reading up on the history of the stone churches I became hooked on this remarkable and inspiring woman that Sophy Gray was and now try to find as many of her churches as I possibly can. It seems they just have the habit of popping up in… Read more >

ST CUTHBERT’S, PORT ELIZABETH

Tucked away in Westbourne Road in Port Elizabeth is St Cuthbert’s Gray Memorial Church, which was consecrated in March 1884 and commemorates two saintly men St Cuthbert and Bishop Robert Gray. (Grays’s wife is the legendary Sophy Gray who designed and built numerous other small chapels dotted around the country). It is called St Cuthbert’s because of Bishop Robert Gray’s connection with the See of Durham. With the expansion of Port Elizabeth’s residential area to Westbourne Road and surrounds the need for another Anglican church was seen and in June 1882 the Town Council granted a piece of ground for the erection of a church in memory of Bishop Robert Gray. Due to lack of funds the first building was of wood-and-iron, designed by Mr WT Miles, the municipal architect. The new chancel (the area around the altar of a church for the clergy and choir) was built in 1889… Read more >

SARDINIA BAY

On a quick weekend visit to my daughter in Port Elizabeth I was afforded the opportunity to visit and explore the less touristy but scenic beach of Sardinaia Bay on the western side of Port Elizabeth. The morning was greyish but quite pleasant when we set off from home in St Georges Park. Our aim was to do a cache here, but on arrival was pleasantly surprised to see that the locals were out and about with dogs and children enjoying a sort of windless day – only a slight breeze tucking at my pants, so quite pleasant! We walked up the dune and spent some time on top of it to admire the views and breathe in the fresh sea air. Fantastic. I must say our country must be one of the most beautiful places on earth that God has created! Reluctantly we made our way back down… Read more >

Tag Archive: Eastern Cape