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| << February14, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 121 dated 14.2.2005 |
March01, 2005 - Turtle Essays No 123 dated 28th February 2005 >> |
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Turtle Essays Edition no 122 dated 21st February 2005 Love to Travel? Find out how to make your money go further! Get your copy of ???The Travel Secrets Guide??? and start saving today! http://hop.clickbank.net/?Brerrabbit/infodawg ** Looking for cheap airtickets to all destinations. Try us! http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=26917872&siteid=41315606&bfpage=homepage" ** In this edition: Editor's Blurb Addo Elephant Park Imhoff's Gift Farm ** Editor's Blurb. Hi there folks! Welcome everyone. This week there are two more articles on places we have not visited before. One about a farm near Kommetjie which dates back to the 1700's. The other about an elephant park that has expanded rapidly and offers the Big Seven. Read all about it lower down. Water is still a problem with dams dropping below the 40% capacity during the last week. There is nothing one can do about that with the hot weather and strong winds we have been experiencing of late. This weekend has been overcast and blustery with most people hoping for rain. One or two scattered drops and the clouds blow away again. Weather forecasters are predicting above average rains for the coming winter season. Let's hope it happens and fills up all the dams. Today our local English pub burnt down. Visit my blog at http://turtleessays.blogspot.com/2005/02/cape-town-happenings.html to read the article an see the pictures. Your comments there will be appreciated. Enjoy! Geoff Fairman ** Addo Elephant Park Port Elizabeth the friendly city on the southern coastline of South Africa has much to offer the visitor. Not only does it have lovely beaches, good roads and friendly people it also boasts a number of top class hotels. The most well kept secret however, is its game reserve which is just an hour's drive away. The Addo elephant park is home to the BIG SEVEN which is more than the well known Kruger Park can boast about. Addo is hidden in the thick bush that runs along the banks of the Sundays river and is home to 420 elephants, 450 Cape Buffalo, rhino, various species of antelope and the flightless dung beetle which is only found in this part of South Africa. The park was established way back in 1931 when the last eleven elephants of the many thousands that once roamed the area came close to extinction. Hunters and farmers were responsible for the demise of the large elephant populations. Today Addo is the fastest growing park in South Africa. The 120000 hectare park has recently had another 360000 hectares of land added to it. An exciting development is that lions and spotted hyenas have once again been released in the park after being absent from the area for more than a 100 years. With the reintroduction of the lion the big five have been restored to the Eastern Cape. Addo however boasts the big seven. They are elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lions plus two marine animals being the whales and great white sharks. Whales and sharks in an elephant park? Addo's boundaries run along the coastline east of Port Elizabeth and a 120000 hectare marine park has been added adjacent to the park. Included in the marine park are a number of islands where gannets and penguins breed. Addo is unique in this respect.. Visitors to Port Elizabeth have the best of both worlds. A large city and a nature reserve covering 480000 hectares on their doorstep. It's easy to do day trips into the park and see the big five even if you are limited for time. For those who love nature and want to spend time in it in relative comfort there are various types of accommodation available including chalets, rondawels and guesthouses. A shop and an a la carte restaurant cater for the lazy and those who have forgotten something at home. The main camp in the park has been established near a watering hole. To make the visit more memorable the hole is illuminated at night and the chalets have been erected close to it to allow visitors to watch the animals come in for a drink during the hours of darkness. A unique experience for those who have not experienced the African bush before. The park is open daily throughout the year and has 75 kilometres of roads for visitors to drive along and explore the park. Finding something to look at and stopping your car to do so can be great fun. Any car following you will pull up behind you to see what you have found. Sometimes an emergency toilet stop can get mighty embarrassing when everybody stops to watch. Of course this is not allowed as wild animals are dangerous and you never know when there is a lion lurking behind a bush. Park rangers provide guided tours and night drives through the park for those interested. They can be great fun especially at night when a lion could sneak up behind the open vehicle that you are in and roar. Panic reigns when this happens. Driving yourself is the best way of seeing the park. It allows you to do your own thing and to travel at your leisure. You are able to settle down beside a water hole as evening approaches and watch the wildlife as it comes to quench its thirst after a hot day in the African sun. It's amazing what you will see if you keep your eyes open. Addo Elephant Park is a well kept secret in the Eastern Cape and in terms of large animals offers more than any other park in South Africa. When all its newly acquired land is included Addo will be one of the largest parks in South Africa. Why not get to see it before it becomes too popular. See you all there soon. ** Water bills going through the roof? Are any of the following affecting you? High water bills. Water restrictions. Hot weather and drought conditions. Garden using too much water and forever thirsty. Attempts to save water not effective! Answer yes to any of the above? Great! I've found just the ebook for you, where you can get more than 20 practical tips and low cost ideas to save water. Interested? Visit http://www.landscapingsecrets.com/?hop=brerrabbit today and gain instant access to the practical tips this book has to offer and start saving water immediately. Hurry over to http://www.landscapingsecrets.com/?hop=brerrabbit today to grab the bonus 25% discount being offered. Water is precious! Start saving it TODAY! Please read the disclaimer found at Http://www.turtlesa.com/Disclaimer.html before purchasing any products. ** Imhoff's Gift Farm. Baron Gustav Wilhelm von Imhoff arrived in Cape Town in 1743 with the task of setting up a harbour facility in Simonstown and to provide food for the ships that called at the Cape. Christina Diemer a widow who farmed cattle and vegetables in the southern Peninsula approached Von Imhoff for a grant of land in the Simonstown area. Von Imhoff responded to Christina's application by granting her a piece of land above Simon's Bay called the "Goede Gift". The "Kommetjie land" and a piece of land which is now known as "Noordhoek" were also granted to her. The Kommetjie land stretched all the way from Chapman's Peak (Noordhoek) in the north to Kommetjie in the south and was known as the farm ???Slangkop???. In honour of Baron von Imhoff the farm's name was eventually changed to Imhoff's Gift. The terms of the grant were that vegetables grown on the farm had to be supplied to the Company at a fixed price as there was a need for supplying fresh market produce to the ships lying at anchor in Simon's Bay. The vegetable garden on Imhoff's gift became known as the Compagny's Tuin or Company Garden. Over the years the farm had various owners but in 1912 was taken over by the Van der Horst family who still own it today, The van der Horsts lived on the farm and utilised it to farm cows and produce milk. In addition to the cows their farmyard boasted a number of horses, a couple of goats and fowls. Some of these animals had vicious streaks in them. A dog named Baskey (which could have been a Rottweiler) first bit and asked questions later. One of the horses named Blackie was quite happy to be ridden while heading away from the farmhouse but the minute he decided that he had gone far enough turned and made a dash for home leaving the unsuspecting rider hanging in a bush somewhere. A pet goat whose name I cannot remember sneaked up behind me one day as I was entering the farm kitchen and butted me in the backside. That was life way back in the 1950's. Then in 1958, the unthinkable happened, a runaway bushfire blown by galeforce south east winds swept down onto the farmhouse and burnt it to the ground. Two wooden busts which were mounted either side of the stairway to the homestead were still burning three days after the fire had been put out. On the stretch of land between thefarmhouse and Noordhoek are a number of lakes which form a wetland area. One of few on the Atlantic coastline of the Peninsula. These lakes were in the news a couple of years ago when algae in them turned toxic and threatened to poison all the birdlife in the area. Fortunately a disaster was averted by dropping chemicals into the lakes from the air. Today the farmhouse and its surrounding buildings have been restored and the farm has been opened to the public to visit and enjoy. Attractions such as horse rides along trails which wind their way through the bush and around the lakes onto the pristine Noordhoek beach are to die for. Ostriches roam the farm and camel rides are available for kids of any age. The views from the homestead which is situated on a rise above the lakes are still as beautiful as ever. Chapman's Peak in the distance is a picture especially on a clear day. Do yourself a favour and visit Imhoff's Gift the next time you come to Cape Town. Brushing up on history and nature is a good way to a spend a day relaxing in the southern part of our beautiful peninsula. See you there soon! ** Turtle Travels new blog is online now. Latest Topic : Cape Town happenings. http://turtleessays.blogspot.com * Like to have your own rose garden. Find out how to do it from an expert. Here is his link: http://hop.clickbank.net/?brerrabbit/mcplants ** For my personal details, contact address, and warnings regarding products advertised in this ezine please read the disclaimers which can be found at: http://www.turtlesa.com/Disclaimer.html See you all soon Geoff Fairman ** |
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| << February14, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 121 dated 14.2.2005 |
March01, 2005 - Turtle Essays No 123 dated 28th February 2005 >> |
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