Tag: Sea
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African shoestrings – South Africa Day Thirty-seven – Rhodes Memorial Cape Town
Just up the road from Observatory, we found the Rhodes Memorial. A little gem of a place!
Cecil John Rhodes, founder of the famous De Beers Diamond Company and British Empire builder had a big influence on the way Southern Africa was carved up politically in the nineteenth century. He was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890-95 but by then he had already made his fortune through Kimberley Diamond Mines and a huge Gold strike near J’burg.
He established British Colonial power in Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Bechuanaland (Botswana) to name but a few.
Mind you he profited personally from these ventures as he established a few more gold mines on the way.Strangely enough he’s probably better known for the Rhodes scholarship. Something he established by way of his will devoting most of his wealth to this noble cause. The scholarship even today still sends winners from countries other than Great Britain to study at Oxford University.
From an Australian point of view the most (in)famous winner was the then beer swilling Bob Hawke, arguably it’s most popular Prime Minister ever.Well they’ve built a memorial to this guy (Rhodes, not Hawke) on the slopes of Devil’s Peak. It’s a bit like a mini coliseum, all columns and bronze statues of Lions bordering impressive bluestone granite steps that lead to a bronze bust of Rhodes. Really over the top stuff!
We found out about this place from a couple of white University students who we chatted to on one of our many minibus trips. We’re harden pro’s now. That same bus was also driven by, much to our surprise, a white guy, so times are definitely changing.
Actually they said that the little café next to it was worth a visit. In fact it was almost more fascinating than old Rhodes. To coin a phrase “it was just so colonial”. Wicker chairs and small round tables were scattered around the garden.
Nothing scattered about the young white waiters though, about six of them stood guard at the front of the garden, in their gleaming white shirts and black bow ties, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting prospects. It was the sort of place that had this been England or even Australia, would have made your wallet tremble. But this is South Africa and even our pitiful dollar made it real value for money. Mind you we only had coffee and cake!
Table Mountain in Cape Town from Robben Island former prison of Nelson Mandela Share this:
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African shoestrings – South Africa Day Thirty-six – Cape of Good Hope
We got an even closer look at the Cape the next day after picking up a cheap hire car from the unknown (to us anyway) Atlantic Car Hire. The plan was to explore the peninsula for the day and drop off the car in Stellenbosch, centre of the South Africa’s wine industry and some 40 odd kilometres away and still be within the free 150 kilometre mileage. What we didn’t realise was that drop off and pick up mileage were also included so we ended up having to fork out more money at the end of it than we had budgeted for!
Nonetheless the Cape Peninsula is a beautiful spot. This is white man country, large two storey houses, apartment blocks and trendy little village’s front onto the white sandy beaches on both sides of the peninsula.
No black or coloured townships here, just Cappuccino’s, designer labels and more BMW’s and Merc’s.
Along the western side the famous Chapman’s Peak Drive is up there with the rest of the world’s great scenic drives. Carved into solid rock, this winding 10 kilometres of bitumen has several lookout points to avoid accidents caused by sightseers slowing down to admire the panoramic scenery at every bend. I’m not sure that worked. Cars screech to snail pace as they suddenly realise that they want to stop at the lookout they are in the process of passing!Somehow that day we managed to visit the World of Birds and Groot Constania the Southern hemisphere’s oldest winery, follow Chapman’s Peak Drive, tour the windy Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and explore the trendy the St. Tropez of South Africa, Clifton.
We finished up having fish & chips from ‘Fish & Chips at the Rack’ in Hout Bay supposedly “the Capes best Fish and Chips” and then somehow finding our way back to the guesthouse in the dark with an extremely basic map.
The Cape of Good Cape, a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. Share this:
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African shoestrings – South Africa Day Thirty-three – Robben Island Cape Town
Another pretty interesting guy whom unfortunately we didn’t get around to meet was Nelson Mandela. We did however get to meet someone who served time with him on Robben island a small former prison island 11 kilometres north west of Cape Town.
Eugene was his name and he served seven years on Robben Island for his part in a student anti-apartheid demonstration in 1983. He was still there but this time as a guide.
Mandela spent twenty-six years as a political prisoner there and certainly in the earlier years had to overcome some pretty harsh treatment to survive.
In the 1960’s they were only allowed one visit of 30 minutes and one heavily censored letter every six months.
For around thirteen years Mandela and others were made to work with picks and shovels in a lime quarry where the heat and blinding glare in summer could eventually kill or blind.In the 1980’s the authorities eventually softened under international pressure and stopped hard labour, allowing education of selected subjects to university level.
The prison itself however is not what you expect. The layout is pretty similar to any other high security prison found in the western world, you know, small cells, high walls, a cramped exercise yard and barbed wire everywhere. For effect life size cardboard cut outs of past prison guards are strategically placed around the prison corridor and yards. These guys are pretty lifelike, at first glance I wondered what this guy in the uniform with a gun was guarding! From what Eugene was saying I was glad that they were only cardboard, their reputation as cruel and harsh was apparently well justified. Beatings and other acts of violence were all in a day’s work. And yet the main gate to the prison gives no hint to these brutal facts. Written above it in Afrikaans is “ONS DIEN MET TROTS” that means “We serve with pride”.
The known history of the island dates back some 400 years and has been used as a fishing base, a whaling station, a hospital, a mental asylum, a civilian prison, a military base, a political prison and now finally a museum.
It’s as a museum that it seeks to be as Mandela puts it “a symbol of the victory of the human spirit over political oppression; and for reconciliation over enforced division.”The island itself has little natural beauty to mention although it does have the odd gemsbok and springbok around and the views of Cape Town and its spectacular Table mountain backdrop are worth the admission price alone.
Table Mountain in Cape Town from Robben Island former prison of Nelson Mandela Share this:
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African shoestrings – South Africa Day Twenty-nine
We left J’burg for Cape Town the next day via a domestic South African airways flight.
We had been to Cape Town before but we had felt that hadn’t done it justice, so this visit was to ‘see’ the place properly. Last time we had stayed in a pleasant Bed & Breakfast near the city centre. This time we were going to stay in a backpackers of which like J’burg there were many. Expecting to be hassled by their touts at the airport, we hadn’t bothered to book ahead. Guess what? The only touts we saw were for taxis. After a three or four phone calls to different hostels we soon realised why. They were all full!
It was a long weekend and Cape Town was almost booked. I say almost because eventually we found a backpackers that had a double room and they paid for the shuttle from the airport to take us there, saving us R30 each.
Unfortunately that was not as much to our advantage as we initially thought, we were now obligated to stay at least one night. The Cat and Moose was we thought at the time about as bad as it gets. The landlady led us to a dingy little room with threadbare carpet, paper thin linen and the sort of musty damp and putrid smell that makes you want to vomit! Worse still we had to walk through a dorm for access and it was across an alleyway from the TV area where a little blonde haired prick full of bullshit (we had met him earlier) had the sound loud enough for people in the next suburb to hear.Needless to say we were out of there the next day!
With the help of the tourist office we found the colourful Observatory guesthouse in a suburb called, you guessed it, Observatory, a trendy uni student area. I say colourful because the rooms all had loud colour schemes and the owner, Andre and his manager, Gregory, were both pretty camp. This sorted added a certain ambience to the place and was cheap, clean, quiet and comfortable. But here’s the rub…..we were no longer within walking distance from the city centre and apparently public transport as we know it, was virtually non existent.
Cape Town from the Aerial Cableway lookout on Table Mountain . Share this:
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Sawyer Glacier in Alaska
Prior to visiting Alaska I had seen plenty of glaciers but always in mountain regions. I had never seen a Glacier that flowed out to water.
About 72 km’s from Juneau is Tracy Arm fjord. 48 km long and with one-fifth of it’s area covered in ice as well as, during the summer, it has a considerable amount of floating ice ranging from hand-sized to pieces as large as a three-story building.
This ice comes from the twin Sawyer Glaciers which are about 500 metres across and ‘calves’ off chunks of ice as tall as the aforementioned three story building.
For more pictures of Tracy Arm go to Alaska
The Sawyer Glacier at the end of Tracy Arm on the Gastineau Channel, Alaska To see a larger image or to see purchase options click on the image
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White church in Santorini
The local Cycladic architecture in Santorini is spiced up with white washed houses literally hanging from the cliff. This is not a house but in fact a church.
Many of the churches on Sanatorini and in fact on the islands of the Greek Cyclades have the famous blue dome, so this is a bit of an exception.
Apparently the architecture is influenced by the occupation of the Franks and in particular the Venetians under who’s influence the islands flourished from 12th century.
I still have I have 10 free subscriptions from Zinio to give away. To enter visit zinio choose a magazine title and send me your first and last name and email address and if you want, send me your website address via the contact page or email. For more info go to Zino competition.
A small church sitting on the cliffside in Santorini, Greece Share this:
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Zinio – win a magazine subscription
I have recently been looking at Zinio a digital magazine service. They have what looks to be thousands of digital magazines at low prices. I looked at the travel and photography sections and they have publications such as Lonely Planet, Conde Nast, AFAR, Photo Plus and Shutterbug.
Now they have this new Z-Pass – YOU CAN READ WHAT YOU WANT WITH Z-PASS ON ANY DEVICE, GET 3 MAGAZINES FOR $5/MONTH WITH NO COMMITMENT AND YOU CAN TRY IT FOR 1 MONTH FREE
see Z-Pass for more info:
To entice you to visit the site I have 10 free subscriptions to give away. To enter visit zinio choose a magazine title and send me your first and last name and email address and if you want send me your website address via the contact page or email. Just tell me whether the image below was taken in summer or winter.
The first 10 correct entries will win a subscription of their choice.
Local fishing boat heading through fog to sea from Whittier, Alaska, USA To see a larger image or to see purchase options click on the image
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Blue ice in Tracy Arm Alaska
Ice calving is the breaking off of big chunks of ice at the edge of a glacier. It is the sudden release and breaking away of a mass of ice and often makes a huge cracking noise.
This is a close up of floating piece of ice that had only moments before come away from the huge Sawyer glacier found at the end of Tracy Arm located off the Gastineau Channel south of Alaska’s capital Juneau
Whilst I had seen Glaciers before in the mountains to see one at the water’s edge and changing in front of my won eyes was pretty amazing!
New ice after Calving at the Sawyer Glacier in Tracy Arm on the Gastineau Channel, Alaska To see a larger image or to see purchase options click on the image.
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Fira – Santorini’s town on the edge
Everyone’s heard of Santorini and how it is one if not, the most beautiful of the Greek islands. Pictures, no matter how good, don’t do it justice.
The photo here of Fira the main town gives you an idea of its beauty.
Perched on top of a cliff overlooking the Caldera or volcanic ‘hole’ filled with sea water, it commands all before it.
Arriving by ferry is even more spectacular as you dock below Fira and then have to walk up the steep path to town. There are donkeys or mules that will transport you and your bags but I found that distracting from the whole experience of being there for the first time.
Can’t wait to go back!
Fira, the main town in Santorini at dusk. Share this:
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The A-Z of places: Croatia
Rooftops of Dubrovnik
Rooftops of Dubrovnik’s old town. Dubrovnik is the tourist centre of Croatia. Bells at a church
Bells at a church in Dubrovnik Cloisters
Cloisters in a palace in old town Dubrovnik Old harbour
Boats moored in Dubrovnik’s old harbour Share this:
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The A-Z of places: Canada
Peggy’s cove, Nova Scotia
The very scenic Peggy’s covein Nova Scotia, Canada A misty Peggy’s cove, Nova Scotia
The very scenic Peggy’s covein Nova Scotia, Canada Pow Wow in Ontario
North american indian enjoying himself at a Pow Wow in Ontario, Canada Sunset on the Bruce Peninsula Ontario
Sunset near Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada Share this:
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Alaska Marine Highway photo
Last year I travelled the inside passage on the Alaska marine highway. Not on a cruise ship but on the ferry from Bellingham, near Seattle, to Alaska. More on that in the future. Came back with a lot of images which I am slowly working my way through. The weather was at best, pretty awful to begin with but it made for some interesting skies and scenery. This one is an example. Its not as it appears at first glance, black and white. 1/125 @ f11 100mm ISO100
Misty Mountains near Bellingham WA at the beginning of the Alaska marine highway and the inside passage.©2013 Nick Katin To buy a print of this photo, go to Alaska marine highway photo. To licence or share this photo email or contact us
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Gnarabar beach near Margaret river photo
Merry Xmas to all you out there! I hope to bring you some different images and info next year.
For all of you in the snowy and cold parts of the northern hemisphere I’ll be somewhere like this on xmas day morning (and as its going to 38C (100F) for the next 7 days) probably every day for the rest of the week!
Gnarabar beach This is one of the few calm beaches along the lower SW of Western Australia.© 2012 Nick Katin To buy a print of this photo go to Gnarabar beach photo. To licence this photo email or contact us
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