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| << June06, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 136 dated 6.6.2005 |
June20, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition 138 dated 20.6.2005 >> |
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Turtle Essays Edition no 137 dated 13th June 2005 ** Sometimes one gets lucky! I did when I came across this site by accident. Its offers stunned me so I decided to try it out to see if it was for real. It Was! This amazing members-only website run by a top internet marketer, is UNIQUELY available: at http://www.pr-pl.com/a.php?ELn Check it out today and get some of the free stuff offered as bonuses. ** In this edition: Editor's Blurb Mossel Bay Noordhoek ** Editors Blurb. Hi folks! Welcome to all my new and regular readers. As you all know its winter here in Cape Town and we have over the past week had some lovely storms. It rained for the whole week just like the Cape Town of old. Here and there has been some flooding but the good news is that the dams are starting to fill. They are not full enough yet to drop water restrictions, but when they are, are the authorities going to lower the water price again which they raised when they imposed the restrictions. We'll just have to wait and see. This week we have two articles, one on Noordhoek a booming farm village at the base of Chapman's Peak in the central peninsula and the second on Mossel Bay a town at the centre of the oil industry on the southern coast of South Africa. I hope you enjoy them Its the first rugby test match of the season today so I must be off to watch the Springboks play Uruguay. Thats enough. See you all next week. Geoff Fairman ps It was a massacre Springboks won by 134 to 3 ** Mossel Bay Mossel Bay is a town on the south coast of South Africa about four hours drive from Cape Town. It has lovely weather and is a great holiday destination for those who love the outdoors. The town is situated to the east of a rocky peninsula which has high cliff faces which are buffeted by large waves rolling in from the deep south. On top of these cliff faces is the Cape St Blaize lighthouse, one of only two manned lighthouses on the South African coastline. The lighthouse was erected way back in in 1864 and is a circular cast iron tower which is painted white. Mossel Bay was discovered by Bartholomew Diaz in 1488 when he came ashore and met the local Khoi tribes after seeing their large herds of cattle grazing on the edge of the bay. They were however hostile and would not trade with him. Ten years later Vasco da Gama came ashore at Mossel Bay and also met the Khoi tribes and had more success than Diaz when he traded trinkets for a bull. This was the first recorded business deal between Europeans and the locals recorded on the South African coastline. After this visit many other ships arrived in Mossel Bay and it soon became a post office for passing ships. The old milkwood tree which was used as a marker for mail is still there today. Its branches are gnarled and in some instances are held up by poles and brick walls. Mossel Bay was a sleepy hollow for hundreds of years, but when oil was discovered off the coast the town boomed. Soon afterwards an oil refinery was built on its outskirts and an oil pipeline from the oil fields now comes ashore in Mossel Bay. The effect was that people flocked from all over to look for work. Townships burgeoned on the hills above the town and Hartenbos a quiet holiday village to the east quickly grew as industry moved in to service the oil trade. Mossel Bay is however still known as a holiday destination for most people. It has the most fantastic weather and is recorded in the Guiness book of records as having the mildest weather in the world, second only to Hawaii. Mossel Bay has taken cognisnace of this fact and all along the long sandy beaches chalets have been built to cater for the holiday invasion. In Hartenbos the ATKV have built a large holiday complex where they cater for thousands of people. It has hundreds of bungalows, rondavels, houses, camping sites for tents and caravans. Over the Christmas season the farmers from the Karoo move their families to the coast and a whole tent city happens for the six weeks of the December school holidays. When schools start again the place is deserted and becomes a ghost town. Mossel Bay has much to offer visitors. For those who like older buildings , there are hundreds scattered all around the town and especially near the point below the Cape St Blaize lighthouse. At the Point a large three star hotel has been erected and it looks out over the pounding surf . Below the hotel the rocky coastline breaks up the waves and over the years channels have been formed which are today used as safe bathing areas. Of course with a warm sea and a rocky coastline the area is a mecca for fishermen. Most men staying in Mossel Bay own a rod or two and visitors to the area bring at least one with them. With so many people fishing there will always be amusing stories. One visitor bought himself a new rod, reel and line and after setting up his equipment, baited up and proceeded to make a record cast. What he however had forgotten to do was to tie his line to his reel . A disaster for him as all the line on his reel rolled off and disappeared into the distance. The local fishermen saw the funny side and howled with laughter forcing this would be fishermen to run for cover as they cheered him. It's not all fishing though! Starting at the large cave below Cape St Blaize lighthouse is a trail that winds along the rocky coastline as far as Dana bay. The views are fantastic and the five hour walk is well worth the effort it takes to get to Dana Bay. For golf lovers there is an 18 hole golf course. It's the scene of my one and only game of golf and till this day I still pride myself on my score especially as I only had three clubs to play with. The course is built on top of the peninsula and has spectacular views over the town and the Indian ocean. It's a hilly course and when I played it a number of years ago had very bad rough which was mainly virgin bush. Looking for my ball in it caused me much grief. Mossel Bay is a great holiday destination and if you visit it outside the bustling school holiday seasons you can have the place more or less to yourself. Why not book your visit today. See you there soon. Geoff Fairman. ** Noordhoek Below the cliffs of Chapman's Peak is the little village of Noordhoek. Its setting is beautiful as it looks out over the Noordhoek beach with its pristine white sand and wetland areas. The village used to be part of the Imhoff's Gift farm which stretched all the way from Noordhoek to Kommetjie in the south. Noordhoek has changed over the years as people have discovered this lovely valley. It still maintains its farming atmosphere and if you drive through its streets you will come across fields with horses grazing in them . Other fields have vegetables and fruit. The centre of the village has been built up and now boasts a lively shopping centre housed in Cape Dutch styled buildings. Some of them dating back hundreds of years . Artists have moved into the area and many of the shops sell arts and crafts made by the locals. There is a restaurant and a quaint pub in the complex as well. The village itself is beautiful and has many oak trees growing lining its streets. Quite different from the rest of the Southern Peninsula where you will find bluegums and virgin bush. A couple of kilometres from Noordhoek a major shopping centre has been built which caters for the populations of Fish Hoek and Kommetjie as well. The wetlands close by have been turned into a marina where houses are built on the banks of man made canals. Unfortunately for the residents of these houses a large squatter camp has developed nearby which causes security problems for the homeowners. Noordhoek has its own Kaolin mine which has been built on the slopes of Chapman's Peak above the village. The mine was the subject of much debate over the years as the developers sought to start their mining operations. Eventually a compromise between the parties was reached and mining began. Fortunately the mining company has kept to its agreements to date and the casual visitor to the area will not even notice the mine. The old open cast Kaolin mine near Fish Hoek which was part of the agreement has slowly been closed down and the site rehabilitated. The open scarring is now a lovely green area covered with grass and trees. Noordhoek which lies at the entrance to the Chapman's Peak drive has regained a new lease on life since the road has been reopened. For the years that Chappies was closed few visitors to Cape Town passed that way. That's all changed now and Noordhoek is booming. When next you drive around Chapman's Peak stop off at Noordhoek and visit the town centre. You can enjoy tea and scones under the trees and leave for home with a loaf of farm fresh bread under your arm. For those who would like to stay for a while there is much to do. The long white beach beckons, and with the horses available for hire a ride along the beach is a must. Lets see you all there soon. Geoff Fairman. ** 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 ** 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. ** Start your own home nursery and earn yourself some pocket money! 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 |
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| << June06, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 136 dated 6.6.2005 |
June20, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition 138 dated 20.6.2005 >> |
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