|
Turtle Essays Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
| << May23, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 134 dated 23.5.2005 |
June06, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 136 dated 6.6.2005 >> |
|
Turtle Essays Edition no 135 dated 30th May 2005 ** Turn your dog into the best behaved pooch on the park with Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer Guide Book http://www.dogproblems.com/clicksecrets.htm?hop=brerrabbit ** In this edition: Editors Blurb Travel tips for visitors to South Africa Paternoster fishing village on the west coast. ** Editors blurb Hi there folks! Welcome to all my new and regular readers. By the time most of you read this it will be June and nearly the middle of winter here in Cape Town. So far this season we have had a mixed bag of weather with thunder storms, strong north winds and rain and some beautifully warm sunny days in between. Everything is lovely and green again and its quite amazing what a few drops of rain can do . Unfortunately even though we have had some rain, w ater restrictions are still in full force as dams are still less than 30% full. We still need a lot of rain and snow to fill them. With cold weather forecast for the weekend we might get some of the rain we still need. I have written two articles for you this week, one a travel tip for people who seem to get their itinerary wrong and cover the same airspace twice when it is totally unnecessary. That's enough from me for this week. See you all again in June. Geoff Fairman. ** Visiting South Africa I often get emails from abroad requesting information about places in and around Cape Town. Its enjoyable replying to most of them and its quite interesting how some people set up their itineraries. The Kruger National Park seems to be on most visitors list of things to do in South Africa, It is a great place to visit and you will definitely see animals. The problem however is that most people want to visit Cape Town as well and end up arriving in Johannesburg, then go off to the park which is on the Mozambican border. From there they return to Johannesburg and then fly to Port Elizabeth and travel by road along the Garden Route to Cape Town or the other way round as well. When they leave South Africa they have to fly back to Johannesburg which costs them an extra flight and a lot of touring time in the air. With all the direct flights coming into Cape Town these days my advice to any would be traveller is to start your holiday in Cape Town. Its a lovely place to visit and there is plenty to see and do. Give yourself at least a week to explore Cape Town and its surrounds before going off up the Garden Route. To make the most of the Garden Route stay over in Mossel Bay, Knysna or Plettenberg Bay for a few days. Using any one of these towns as your base you can visit Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo and see the Cango Caves, an Ostrich farm, Crocodile farm and a farm where Cheetahs are bred. Its only an hour over some spectacular mountain passes into the interior. Mossel Bay is extremely beautiful and has some beautiful beaches to visit especially during the summer months. Fishing along this coastline is good for those who like to try their hand. Knysna with its heads and lagoon are spectacular. Take a boat ride and don't forget the Choo Choo from George to Knysna and back. For those who love oysters Knysna is the place to visit. The Noetzie Castles are well worth the climb down the 200 steps to the beach in order to see them. Plettenberg Bay is the rich man's paradise of the south coast. A walk along the Robberg beach with millionaires mile looking down on you is most enjoyable towards evening when every man and his dog is out exercising. Everybody is so friendly that it really is a pleasurable thing to do. Beacon Isle Hotel situated on its little island that used to be a whaling station is a focal point in the bay. Try and visit Natures Valley while in Plettenberg Bay and drive down the Groot River Pass with its indigenous forests and sheer drops. The scenery is spectacular. The mouth and estuary of the Keurbooms river is so beautiful when the tide is in. From Plettenberg Bay its a two hour drive to Port Elizabeth. The roads are good and there are some fantastic bridges to cross along the way. The Bloukrans Bridge is the highest bungee jumping launching point in South Africa. Once in Port Elizabeth the friendly city, there is much to do. It has some fantastic beaches, a dolphinarium and some lovely drives down its coastlines. About 40 minutes away is the Addo Elephant park where the big seven can be seen. That includes great white sharks and whales as part of the park includes the coastline of Algoa Bay. The big difference between Addo and Kruger Park is that Addo is not in a malaria infected area. From Port Elizabeth you can either drive to East London through some really wild country or you can fly on to Durban or to Johannesburg. Driving to Durban through the Transkei is possible as long as you do so by day. Before doing so however, make enquiries as to the conditions of the roads and the safety of the area you will be entering. Make the Kruger Park the last stop of your stay in South Africa and arrive home with the roars of hungry lions still ringing in your ears. If any one needs any advice please contact me at Geoff@turtlesa.com I'll be glad to help. Geoff Fairman. ** Learn to Flyfish. http://www.flyfishingguidebook.com/swres/brerrabbit.html ** Paternoster Paternoster is a small fishing village about 15 kilometres north of Vredenburg on the West Coast. Its claim to fame is its crayfish. Paternoster is one of the oldest towns in the area and today there is still uncertainty as to how it became known as Paternoster. One school of thought is that it was named after the "Our Father" or "Paternoster" prayed by Portuguese sailors as they sailed passed the bay. Others feel that it might be named after the beads (Paternosters) that were worn by the Khoi tribes who frequented the area in the early 1800's On old maps of the area it is called St Martins Paternoster. The name was obviously too much of a mouthful for the locals and over the years appears to have been shortened to Paternoster. The town has a long white beach which is dotted with fishermen's cottages. Being so far from civilisation it's a real sleepy hollow, but during the school holidays in December/January it comes alive as visitors stream in to visit Tieties Bay about four kilometres away. The hotel in the town has a lovely veranda where visitors can sit and watch the sun set over the sea and the whales when they visit the bay from July onwards. Paternoster has been the scene of a number of shipwrecks over the years. In 1876 the iron steam troopship SS Saint Lawrence was wrecked on Great Paternoster Point. She was bound for Cape Town and was carrying the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Buffs. Luckily no lives were lost when she ran agound. Other ships to founder in this region were: the Portuguese twin-screw mail-steamer SS Lisboa (1910), SS Haddon Hall (1913), SS Malmesbury (1930) and the SS Haleric which sank off Cape St Martin (1932). According to local folklore the SS Lisboa was carrying barrels of red wine which washed up on the shore after the ship sank. The locals apparently buried some of them and dug them up after the customs men left the town. Cape Columbine a majestic headland near to Paternoster got its name after the British wooden snow ???Columbine??™ was wrecked there in 1829. Because of the many shipwrecks that occurred along the coastline it was agreed that a lighthouse should be built in the area. After long delays the lighthouse commission in 1906 finally recognised that Cape Columbine would be a suitable location to the build a lighthouse. The rising ground at Castle Rock was chosen as the site for it. Things normally move very slowly on the west coast and in this instance it took thirty years before the construction of the lighthouse took place. Harry Claude Lee Cooper was appointed engineer and the Cape Columbine lighthouse was the last lighthouse to be designed by him. Its design was quite different from the conventional tapered circular towers found around the South African coastline. Cape Columbine was built with a slightly tapered square tower with the outer faces of the walls recessed to form buttresses on its four corners. As with most lighthouses the tower was painted white with the lantern painted red. Being the most modern lighthouse of its time, it was the first to receive all three navigational safety features, which other than the light, included a fog horn and a radio beacon. As it had taken so long to build the Columbine lighthouse, everybody living in the area held their breath on the on the 1st October 1936 when Mrs Cooper flipped the switches after sundown to put the lighthouse into operation. Immediately its two beams of light shone out over Britannia Bay and could be seen as far as 50 kilometres out to sea. Paternoster also boasts a small nature reserve which was established in December 1973. It covers an area of 263ha along the rocky coastline and has numerous inlets and coves. The vegetation ranges from the well-known West Coast fynbos to succulent Karoo. In spring which starts in August the area is covered in a bright tapestry of wild flowers and is a show not to be missed. For people wanting to holiday in the area, the reserve offers accommodation in the Beach Camp where comfortable tents and wooden A-frame huts are provided. Other than beds and pillows it is necessary to provide your own linen and blankets. Hot showers, cooking facilities, as well as a wind protected lapa are on site. The camp caters for a total of 23 people and can supply meals for those who do not like self catering. For those who like sea and sand and to get away from it all Paternoster is just the place to visit. It's full in December so book early. See you there soon. Geoff Fairman. ** Turtle Travels new blog is online now. http://turtleessays.blogspot.com There are some interesting new articles being posted today. Be sure not to miss them. * 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 |
|
| << May23, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 134 dated 23.5.2005 |
June06, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 136 dated 6.6.2005 >> |
|
Turtle Essays Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on Turtle Essays |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |