New 2010 Green Point Stadium as seen from Milnerton Beach on a windy afternoon.

The wind was so strong I could hardly stand still,I and my camera were eating sand so I had to beat a hasty retreat

Brand new 2010 Soccer stadium in Cape Town, as seen from the Milnerton lagoon beach

We had super weather on sunday and more of the same for the next few days !
From here the stadium looks tiny
and it certainly doesn't detract from the beauty of the landscape, as lots of people had feared
This was from the beach near the Wang Thai restaurant a favourite of mine

Life is a beach in KwaZulu Natal This is Southbroom on the Wild Coast

I wanted to see the Oribi area of the South Coast in KZN and when I arrived at my accomodation late afternoon there was just an hour of day light left (17.15 pm was sundown)perfect to saunter along the beach with my camera hoping for a nice sunset


It was an average sunset compared to what I am used to see in Cape Town but it was nice nevertheless and the beach was glorious

Note the full moon...

Umngazi on the Wild Coast photos.Third and last part

I spend the rest of the afternoon walking along the beach, which beauty was difficult to capture
Needless to say my jeans got totally soaked when I took this shot crouching down low in the water and a wave rolled in while I was looking through the viewfinder but I didn't care the day was warm and when I finally arrived back in the camp in late afternoon my jeans were dry again

Its been an amazing time staying in the Umngazi bungalows on the Wild coast was pure bliss, it was very easy to make temporary friends with other guests, everybody young and old,seems to have a fantastic time, that evening there was live music in the bar before we devoured a sea food buffet with Crayfish calamari prawns and loads of other delicacies,finished off with a dance and singing show by our Zulu staff it was fun ;)

These last photos were taken during the morning hike in the hills


I must say I felt so sore the next day, the climbing and walking in soft sand had taken its toll

you can see the accommodation clinging to the hillside, surrounded by sub tropical vegetation on the right of the photo

I hope I was able to show you what an heavenly place this is
Difficult to get to, bad roads and lots of cattle wandering on the road forces you to take them slow but so worth it !

Whales Rescue Attempts on Long Beach and Kommetjie beach were to no avail

Groups of rescuers made desperate attempts to push the creatures back to sea. Hundreds of volunteers tried to help them but, it was all in vain, with most of the false killer whales re-beaching themselves and then slowly dying of organ failure

Rescue teams had contemplated taking the whales to a nearby naval base and transporting them on boats to the deep sea, but the idea was abandoned because the animals' condition deteriorated rapidly.

So the most humane option to end their suffering was to shoot them Many of the False Killer whales turned out to be pregant females and calves, some of the whales bodies will be taken for research since its still not completely understood why they beach them selves en masse

To me this was the most poignant sight of the 2 hours I spend on this scene of destruction,

to see these young people sitting in freezing cold water with a helpless whale hoping against hope that they could rescue it

Some of the beached Whales Kommetjie Photos were published yesterday on the Cape Town Tourism website The best IMO if you are planning a holiday in Cape Town

View of Camps Bay

Camps Bay is a 15 minutes drive from Green Point with about 20 restaurants along the palm lined boulevard this is where the seriously wealthy people live I like it because it has a permanent holiday atmosphere and its a great place for people and car watching while enjoying a sundowner or dinner but I tend to avoid it in the summer because the cars are bumper to bumper and the beaches packed with bodies


"Blues" a rather famous restaurant which you can see in the middle of the below photo, used to be the place to go to in Cape Town for a special dinner, it has huge panoramic windows with views of the beach where you can hear and see waves crashing over big boulders and watch stunning sunsets I have been twice end enjoyed the setting but the food and the service is not what it used to be anymore I much prefer Tuscany Beach which is almost next door

I would like to brag a little and tell you that another photo essay
of mine was published today on the official Cape Town Tourism website