The year 1867 marks the year that diamonds were discovered along the Orange River and fortune hunters flocked to the mining sites via every known route.  The Webster Hotel was conveniently situated and benefitted from this as they offered accommodation, food, a smithy and a well-stocked retail shop on the premises.  Business was good.  When and how the name changes from Webster’s hotel to Ann’s Villa came about is not clear from old papers, but today it is still known as Ann’s Villa. 

From old records it seems that a school was started 24 years after the villa was built.  The teacher for the school, stayed in the first room upstairs in the villa.  It seems that the Websters also paid the teacher’s salary.  The school closed down after World War II probably because the numbers fell below 11 students. 

The Webster sons joined their father in doing business.  Samuel managed the shop and financial affairs as well as the postal agency, James was the farmer and supplied fresh produce to the shop.  William was the carpenter and George was the builder and blacksmith at Ann’s Villa.  John (Snr) ran the bakery.

It is interesting to note on an inventory from a stocktaking during 1918 some of the brands you still find today are on the list:  Tiger oats, Nugget polish, Packo tea, Royal baking powder and Springbok tobacco.  The type of business that was conducted at the Villa also changed over the years.  According to the books the blacksmith’s work declined as motor vehicle came onto the scene. Since 1927 car repairs are recorded in the shop’s ledgers and fuel was sold until 1957. Today the shop can be viewed by appointment only.

Ann’s Villa first became a post office in 1896 and later on demoted to a postal agency in 1910.  From 1955 it was a postal agency again and remained thus until its closure on 18 December 1961.

The Villa is within an easy drive from Port Elizabeth and offer something different to do on a windy day in the Friendly City. Pack snacks for your road trip as no refreshments are available at Ann’s Villa.

On the day of our visit entry to the small museum was R20 per person (cash only).

DIRECTIONS TO GET TO THE VILLA

From Port Elizabeth take the N2 to Cradock, pass the village of Paterson, travel over the Olifantsnek Pass and turn left at the Ann’s Villa road signed.  Continue on the R335 at at the first crossroad turn left and after 1 kilometer you will find Ann’s Villa.

ooOOoo

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This canon was on the deck of the Portuguese galleon Sacramento when it ran aground on 30 June 1647 off the coast of Port Elizabeth – for those of you who do not know Jan van Riebeeck only arrived in 1652 in the Cape of Good Hope so five years prior to old Jan setting foot ashore at the Cape of Good Hope.

What caused the disaster and how many people were aboard the Sacramento is unknown, but 72 made it to shore.  After 10 days the group decided to walk from Port Elizabeth to Maputo – which is about 1 300 km away by the way – from where they planned to get a ship to Europe.  It must have been hostile and wild country back then so an easy walk it was not!  A mere 9 persons survived to reach Maputo (then Lourenco Marques) on 5 January 1648. Now I am wondering did they really know how far Maputo was or were they just sort of taking a guess or maybe started walking and just hoped for the best outcome possible?

The canon weighing in at 2 500 kg was manufactured in Macao, China and cast by the Bacarro family foundry.  The bronze canon was only salvaged 330 years later in 1977 and the detail is still in pristine condition.

How do you get such a heavy canon salvaged from tons of sand in the ocean floor? If anyone knows the story to this, please share it in the comments section. I would really like to know.

The canon overlooks a few rock pools and the sea and a bench provide a space to sit and contemplate or watch the dolphins frolic just behind the white of the waves.

If you are planning to do the nearby hike, make sure you take enough water and some sun protection for the round trip of 8 kilometers.  You can read more on sun wise tips at The African sun is not for sissies

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RISE AND SHINE!

Get up nice and early.  Go for a stroll along Shark Rock Pier to watch sunrise over the Indian Ocean.  What a better way to start your day?

BE A VOLUNTEER

Sancobb (but you will probably still remember it as Samrec) is always looking for volunteers of any age to help with daily tasks caring for the penguins at the centre as well as to help protect our precious marine life.

A GIANT FLAG

Did you know that Port Elizabeth is home to the largest flag in South Africa?  Take a walk around The Donkin  and watch the giant flag of 12 meters by 8 meters, sitting on a 65 metre high pole, fly in the wind.   It has become a real landmark on the Port Elizabeth horizon.

TAKE A WALK

Take a walk on the Heritage Trail and visit 51 historic places around the old Hill area.  While on the trail you can marvel at 1820 Settler history and historical architecture.   Did you know that you can even meet a Queen in front of the public library?

FUN ON THE WILD SIDE

Stay clear of overcrowded beach and head for miles of unspoiled beach at Sardinia Bay.  It is perfect for long beach walks, playing on huge sand dunes until you are exhausted and the German Wurst Wagen.  You can even take your pet there if it is on a leash.

Also see the post Sardinia Bay.

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SAMREC at Cape Recife

At the centre you can interact with some African penguins, (also known as the jackass penguin and black-footed penguin) a ganet and cormorant or whatever type of bird that they rescue and is on the road to recovery.  Once extremely numerous, the African penguin is declining in numbers due to a combination of threats and is classified as endangered. (In fact more endangered than our precious rhinos).  Penguins mate for life and they recognize each other according to the amount of black spots on their chests – it works something like the human’s fingerprints – not one penguin’s marking is the same than the next one.  Penguins have an average life span of 10 to 27 years, but in captivity they easily reach the age of 30.

Penguin crossing

The African penguin is only found on the south-western coast of Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay near Port Elizabeth.  It is the only penguin species that breeds in Africa.

The world map

For the smaller ones there is a touch and feel area where they can have a look at all sorts of marine related animals as well as some snakes and birds while mum is having some refreshments at the Flying Penguin coffee shop.  Although the teens will probably be more interested in the hospital area where they prepare the food and treat the sick birds.

In the touch and feel area

The little coffee shop, with a view on the penguins, is also available for small functions with prior arrangement.

The view from the Flying Penguin coffee shop

Then there is also some special cases like Wanda, an African penguin, that is blind in one eye and will never be released in the open sea again as she will never survive.   She is a very playful soul and will come close to you to check you out and even pose for a photo or two.

Wanda

The centre heavily rely on volunteers of all ages to assist with various daily tasks.  On the day that I visited SANCOBB Port Elizabeth there were grey haired ladies assisting at reception through to school children who feed the penguins.  So if you have a soft spot for marine life this might be the thing for you.

Feeding time at 14:30

You can visit every day of the year from 09:30 to 15:30 except on Christmas day and over the New Years period.  Note worthy is that the birds are lovingly fed by the volunteers at 14:30 daily where record is kept of who eats what and how many.  This enables the staff to keep track of who is on the road to recovery or which bird needs some extra TLC.

The language that they speak

As many other animal rehabilitation and rescue centres they heavily rely on donations from business and individuals and have a wish list available.  Except from money for fish they also need some simple items, like washing powder to wash blankets, copy paper for the office, coffee, tea, milk for the volunteers, scrubbing brushes for cleaning, salt, a donation of a lawn mower – anything and everything will be much appreciated to help this good cause.  So why not when visiting SANCOBB Port Elizabeth take something from your kitchen cupboard (tea or milk maybe) with  – it can make a huge difference!

Wish lists

Entrance fees at the centre are R25 per scholar and R40 for adults (as at February 2018) but SANCOBB Port Elizabeth is also part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Pass initiative to promote tourism in the city.   You will also find SANCOBB Port Elizabeth on Facebook.

 Come on guys please help us support this good cause.

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St Francis dune vegetation

Despite some problems with invasive Australian Acacias the vegetation is in very good condition.  The trail meanders through the reserve, providing opportunities for observing the exciting fauna and flora of the area.

A giant snail on the trail

Do take time to visit the reserve on different times of the year to experience the whole spectrum of the flora and fauna.

Flora

 There are two trail options that can be walked, a 3.2 km or a 2.5 km loop. Both trails cover relatively flat terrain and are suitable for moderately fit people and no bundu bashing is required.  There are also a couple of geocaches (www.geocaching.com) that can be logged on the various trails.

 The tranquility of the bird hide, located near the entrance of the trail, can be utilized to observe some of the birds at a water pan.  So bring your binoculars!    If you are lucky you will spot the proud Springbuck or a plains zebra grazing in the fynbos.     Also look closer for some very interesting creatures that roam in this reserve.

A scary looking hairy worm

On the morning of our walk we did not encounter any of the various buck, but we found a lot of caracal spoor on the trail.  Don’t worry about the caracal (not the same as a lynx) as they are very shy and the possibility that you will encounter one of them is very rare.  You will be very privileged if you spot one!

Caracal spoor

Do remember that this is a nature reserve so there is always the odd possibility of snakes, especially during summer time.  Good advice is to take a walking stick when walking in the veld as well as some sunscreen and a hat for the relentless African sun.

NMMU also offers game drives, in what is probably a South African first for a university, through its private nature reserve.

 Please note that for safety purposes you need to report at the security boom when entering campus – just state that you are going to walk the Grysbok Trail and they do not have a problem.  Also sign the Visitors’ Book at the fence stile at the start of the trail to avoid any unwanted trouble as they do spot checks from time to time.

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 Our first stop was at the historic Port Elizabeth Cricket Club (PECC) which was established in 1859 where a club match was underway.

The grounds boast a couple of unique achievements such as:

• being the second oldest cricket club in South Africa;
• being the venue for the first cricket test
• the first women’s international Test
• the last Test before South Africa was expelled from world cricket
• the first ever test series win against Australia
• the first Rebel test was played here
• and last but not least it is the sixth oldest cricket ground in the world

 In 2003 it was only the second season that PECC and Crusaders Rugby Club did not share their turf during summer and winter respectively.  The Eastern Province Cricket Board could not afford to have the field badly churned up by rugby boots just before the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

Famous cricketers from PECC are Peter and Graeme Pollock, Dave Callaghan and Gavin Cowley.

Out of the stadium and on towards our next point of interest which is the St George’s Preparatory School just opposite the tennis club.    Knockfierna (Hill of Fairies or Truth) was originally built in 1899 as a beautiful grand Victorian Mansion by John Daverin, from Ireland, who was a successful Wool Merchant. John and his wife, Clothilda, brought up their 7 children in the grand style befitting this era.

Sadly there is only a dilapidated building left  of the tennis club as it had to make way for the refurbishing during the 2003 World Cricket tournament.  The Port Elizabeth Lawn Tennis Club (PELTC) in St George’s Park was founded in 1879 making it the oldest active tennis club in South Africa.

 But on with our stroll.  We made a quick detour to see what  the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Gallery offers which, to our surprise, was open on a Saturday afternoon.    As we were exiting the gallery I saw the War Memorial and gave it the due respects.   This was the halfway mark of our stroll.

 The geocaching walk took us to the public swimming pool which is sparkling clean and attendants on duty at the entrance (and they were not sleeping!).   Entry to the pool is a mere R9 however I spotted only two elderly bathers.  The gardens in front of the pool is bright and colourful and creates a real summer atmosphere.

Next was Prince Alfred’s Guard memorial. It was erected in 1907 in remembrance to men from the guard that died in four different wars. On the top of the central pedestal is a life-size figure of a sergeant-major of Prince Alfred’s Guard in full dress.   The Memorial is also situated on top of Port Elizabeth’s second oldest water reservoir.

Our next stops took as to the old Sea Scouts house amongst the trees and then on to the St George’s Park Conservatory where we saw some magnificent tree ferns.

Close by at the Port Elizabeth Bowls Club (founded in 1882) lively music was playing and on closer inspection we found some bowlers enjoying their Saturday afternoon game on the rhythm of the music.  Not bad for a bunch of old people!  And on this happy note our stroll came to an end.

What a pleasure to visit the park with all its history dating back more than a century!

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