Green Point Park A beauty at night !

Like a painting ..The new WC 2010 Cape Town Stadium at sunset

Minutes after sunset

North side

Still allot to do on this side

They have to paint the facade frame by hand

I hope they dont need to do that every year !

Smelling the fresh sea breeze while walking along Mouille Point's Beach Road in Cape Town

Its been wet, grey and cold in Cape Town these last few days, but thankfully the sun peeped through the clouds again late afternoon.
I had a look at the stadium first, from the deck of Café Neo (Free WIFI internet access ) and then crossed the road, to the promenade behind the Light House, from where I took this photo. The Mouille Point promenade is Cape Town's answer to California, as droves of joggers, rollerbladers and walkers power their way along the paved sea front.
Its all part of the Green Point Area which is being upgraded for 2010

A trip to Hout Bay to see fur seals takes half an hour from Green Point,Cape Town

July 29 has been a grey cool day, nothing of note to report about the stadium other then that they are at still at work at night, so I would like to show you a short scenic trip I took a few days ago If you do this for the first time you will never forget a minute of this route

From Green Point take the road passed Camps Bay and Llandudno through the "Suikerbossie Pass" and half an hour later you arrive in Hout Bay This is the beautiful protected Hout Bay harbour where I took a boat to Duiker island to see the colony of fur seals after I had a calamari lunch on the terrace of Chapmans Peak Hotel with view of the harbour

There are hundreds of seals and birds on the island, I wouldn’t like to swim in these waters apart from being icy, seals are one of the delicacies on the Great White’s menu. You can see the spectacular Chapmans Peak drive on the left, which is at the moment closed because of rock fall but I could see they are busy repairing it

A close up of a fur seal I took in the V&A waterfront harbour here I can certainly still remember how awestruck I was the first time I saw the scenery on this route I had a fantastic day again with walks around the harbour and in the countryside

Huge diamond found in Cape Town !

Click photo to see it large
Ok its the new Green Point Stadium which twinkles like a diamond at night
I took this shot from the new golf course on the Green Point Common and when I saw this photo it reminded me of the first time I ever saw the concept photo of the Green Point Stadium
Look here

The Urban Park of the Green Point Common is still a mess

The West side of the Green Point Common is where the new Urban Park is going to be, but right now its just one mud bath Imagine trying to navigate there after dark like I did last night !
This part of the Common looks the most unfinished the East side where the Golf course is looks already fabulous and green Its such an improvement from the brown look of the old Green Point Common !

I know that butyl liners have a limited lifeline so I was surprised to see they aren't using cement but I must admit this one is very THICK as you can see here
The water is still from the heavy rains we had it a week ago, it must be so difficult to work under those circumstances
Click photos to enlarge

Compare this water feature with the 10 story building behind it and you get an idea of the size !

Sunset over the pretty lagoon at the mouth of the Knysna River.

I woke to pouring rain in Knysna and even though it was supposed to be 23 degrees it really was fleece weather then to my dismay the sky stayed grey the whole day but at sundown, just as I was about to down a glass of delicious Chenin, the sky briefly cleared and coloured red, forcing me to grab my cam, ruining my moment of peace. :)
The above photo was the fabulous view from my hotel room

See this view on webcam here
I was at Cornuti's a super nice but very busy restaurant at lunch time, its on top of a hill over looking the limestone cliffs of the Heads which dramatically separates the tranquil lagoon from the pounding surf of the Indian Ocean and while waiting for my table I shot this tiny lighthouse, warning sailors of the dangers ahead
The Knysna lagoon at low tide on a rainy day

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve in the heart of Zulu land

Hill Top Camp restaurant while I had lunch and a cold glass of wine on the terrace we spotted a huge herd of elephants down in the valley this was only part of the group when I had finished lunch we drove around seeing loads of animals then when it was time to leave we drove slowly in the direction of the gates when suddenly a whole family of elephants appeared from the bush and wanted to cross the road As soon as the bull noticed the car he immediately let us know he wasn't pleased to see us his ears went up and he gave us a vocal warning then proceeded in our direction !

So we hastily beat a retreat till we were at a safe distance to watch them cross

After Durban I stayed in St Lucia for 4 nights and 1 of those days went to the oldest game park of South Africa Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve

to see the big 5, lion, rhino (back & white), elephant, buffalo and leopardClick on photos to see them jump at you ;)

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 !

Umngazi on the Wild Coast.. a very special place

It was late afternoon, when after a very long drive, I first saw Umngazi river bungalows They are in the middle of nowhere on the Wild Coast. Words can not describe the beauty of this place but I will try and show you through my photos

The recent storm force winds had whipped up the waves of the Indian ocean so high it was an awesome sight to watch and at times sounded like gunshots The only way to get to the beach was by boat which ferried you over or back as many times as you liked

The third cottage from the right was my home for a few nights it was right at the edge of the river and with views and sounds of the sea

Leisurely days at Addo Elephant National Park

Deep within the shadows of the dense valley bushveld of the Sundays River region of the Eastern Cape lies the Addo Elephant National Park where I spend several blisfull happy days photographing animals it is home to the densest African elephant populations in the world
but even though there are numerous elephants its no guarantee you see them the place is huge !
164 000 ha to be precise

There are 450 elephants, Cape buffalo, black rhino, a variety of antelope species
zebras etc


I have many close ups of animals but here I selected a few photos where you can actually see the landscape of Addo

The mouth of the Sundays River a stunning area it reminded me of the desert

While on Table Mountain...

Close to sunset while walking on Table Mountain, nothing spectacular, yet it was so beautiful to see and be there The top photo shows you the cable car and the summit from a different angle then you would usually see in photos

Green Point, Cape Town as seen from the sea

Notice the Green Point Lighthouse.... and the tall building the Ritz Hotel, the stadium is on the left side of this photo but not shown
Click photo to enlarge

The other side of the new 2010 Green Point Stadium in Cape Town

I usually shoot the Green Point stadium with a piece of the Green Point Common on the left, this time I show you the right side, there is a lot happening there, the fan walk,new roads and roundabouts Click photo to enlarge

V&A Waterfront in Cape Town

V&A Waterfront This is where I see a movie or have dinner with a view I also go at least once a week for an intensive food shopping spree always heading for the Haagen Dasz ice cream shop first come rain or shine then I wander along the harbour with my ice cream watching the boats the weather the mountain the people, thoroughly enjoying myself:)

I took these photos at various times in the recent month's this was during the week we had daily mist

Wandering along the quayside of the Waterfront I always have my camera ...mounted on a gorilla pod in my bag, even when I go to the supermarket or the cinema !
Wisps of mist blown from the left when I took this shot

This is what I learned from watching other people's photos on flickr,

never think the weather is not right for a photo its always right !

Cape Town by night As seen from Signal Hill

The first time I saw this view which is about 3 years ago, I was absolutely mesmerised by the beauty of it, what you can't see here is how the city is sitting snug inside the surrounding mountains ..Devils Peak, Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Signal Hill on 3 sides then the sea on the 4rth side
This was the blue hour....after sunset but before darkness I find it difficult to capture this time of the day,I was disappointed and always get annoyed with myself :) for not getting it right

So I went back and tried again this time waiting for total darkness but I am still not satisfied ofcourse there is a nickling voice in my head saying its the camera ! :)

My question is which one do you think is the better photograph this one or the top one ?

Close aerial view of 2010 Green Point Stadium,Cape Town, South Africa

I can say I was frozen to the bone after I was finnished ..I had to hide from the wind behind a bush it was so strong my tripod was rocking like a ship on high seas

Zooming in like I did here... the slightest movement would have blurred the photo

Click photos to enlarge
Don't you just love that glass roof ?

Its really gorgeous you will not believe how many times it changes colour during the day

Come to my beautiful city: Cape Town, South africa

Driving home this evening I stopped to capture the view from the road up Signal Hill
Its over the CBD and the Port of Cape Town

then I just turned into Tafelberg road because with the thick misty heavy cloud over the city, the last sun rays just catching the buildings I couldn't resist taking this shot it was begging me to share this view with you

I posted a photo of the stadium I took this evening here on flickr

Aerial view from Table Mountain

You really need to click the image to get an idea of the view I had while walking on Table Mountain

On my left and behind me not shown here is Table Mountain

I am looking down on to the city bowl district of Cape Town, in summer this is where the South Eastern wind richochetes around and round, sometimes for days on end

The pointy peak is Lions Head, then the hill on the right is Signal Hill where I live but I live on the Atlantic side You can just see a strip of the sea, that side is also called the Atlantic Seaboard

I knew the photos would be lousy since I had the light against me and it was also very hazy so I am dying to go back soon but in the morning, when I will have the sun behind me


The Port of Cape Town

Cape Town is South Africa’s second busiest container port, after Durban and provides services to the emerging oil industry in West Africa in support, repair and maintenance facilities The deep sea fishing industry uses Cape Town too and numbers of Far Eastern fishing vessels are based at Cape Town for a large part of the year
Cruise ships like to stop by for obvious reasons

This is why there are so many different ships in my photos, I have full view of the entrance to the Port of Cape Town