Tsitsikamma... place of much water

Tsitsikamma the ancient San people called it the “place of many waters” and indeed you find water in abundance

What a country ! Driving along route 62 and the N2 stopping off at places of interest is really the best way to see the diversity of the landscape and believe me its stunningly beautiful This country has so much going for it Tsitsikamma is eyewateringly beautiful I had only time to hike around for a few hours before darkness set in,its incredible The sea the waterfalls the views the birds .. I will be back I had been on the canopy tour in the morning and I need to check my photos I might have a few to show you

The main feature and most photographed suspension bridge of Tsitsikamma crossing Stormsriver

Emily's restaurant in Plettenberg Bay

I had read about Emily's restaurant The setting is gorgeous with an amazing view of the river and the wetland valley and you can take Emily Moons canoes out along the Bitou river to enjoy the peace and quiet and see the many beautiful birds but unfortunately my Thai salad was a disappointment

The restaurants I tried in Plett and can highly recommend is Sand in the Plettenberg Hotel for a special dinner, it was superb from beginning to end and that includes the staff and the Bramon Wine Estate for lunch I very much enjoyed their mezze platter

Swartberg pass, South Africa

The spectacular Swartberg Pass runs through the Swartberg mountains, a mountain range that runs along the northern edge of the semi-arid area,Little Karoo in the Western Cape province of South Africa

Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo was my first stop I am on a few weeks holidays,back in Cape Town mid July, driving along the coast of South Africa, escaping the worst of the winter weather, I hope to go well past Durban

I will post updates of the stadium, from time to time which will be send to me by the person who is house sitting for me and also continue to post daily photos

So hang in there meanwhile come along to see what I saw

Pipe Track Walk along Table Mountain with views over Camps Bay

Pipe Track Walk along Table Mountain starts off at the beginning of Tafelberg road

I like to do this easy track a couple of hours before sunset its very close to my home so I can decide to go at the last minute but I never go alone I do see people on their own but they are usually running with their dog
I like to bring my camera and tripod + a picnik so that I can shoot the sunset,its not a streneous walk but it is essential to time it properly, not to go too far at that time of the day

You need to be back at your car soon after sunset because its not safe or wise to be wandering there after dark You can just see Lions Head peeping over the top of the steps

I did see security people walking close to the beginning of the track which if anything is reassuring The views are absolutely out of this world as all the hikes and tracks on Table Mountain are
Camps bay

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

Green Point/Mouille Point in Cape Town

Apart from the photo at the bottom which I published in flickr I have never shown any of these shots before, simply because someone critisised them so much What do you think of them ?
Tall building on the left is the Ritz hotel with the only rotating restaurant in Cape Town at the top The view is stupendous , rooms on this side look over the whole of the Green point Common and far beyond
Click photos to enlarge

The place I am standing is called Mouille Point

the mountain is Lions Head

When I roll my car down the hill I end up here Well more or less .. I like this spot...its right behind the Green Point Light House because no matter which way you turn, there are gorgeous views to shoot, its also an excellent spot to shoot the sunset

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

Fog On Signal Hill

Click to enlarge photo

Just to satisfy my curiosity ;) which of the 2 do you prefer ?

Strange.. I had published my blogpost last night but it wasnt here this morning.. it is now ;)

Believe it or not this was the second time in a row this weekend that I went up Signal Hill to shoot the new 2010 Green Point stadium from above at sunset when something spoiled my fun This evening it was sudden fog even though I had left Green Point bathing in sunshine

but 19 minutes later when I was back at home again I shot the photo below The fog was just high up Signal Hill

I almost hit a whole flog of guineafowl you can see them next to the road which is the road up Signal Hill

Can you help to get Table Mountain named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature?

There is a road, Tafelberg Road which gets you to the Cable Car Station but if you keep following it, you will find it closed off to cars because the road isn’t in good condition, there are points where it's falling away and there are rocks which have fallen onto the road but the views are stupendous and its great for cycling, jogging or walking, it winds all around Table Mountain until it meets Devil's Peak (about 10 km's) then the tarred road becomes a gravel track which will take you around the mountain towards the Southern Suburbs
I found it to be rather busy around sunset which means I might dare venture there on my own on good weather days

I read that Table Mountain climbed to number five in the New 7 Wonders of Nature global rankings on Monday June 8 rocketing 24 places from its previous position of 2of the week before . It is now officially ahead of legendary mountains such as Mount Everest, K2 Mountain and Mount Kilimanjaro.
Table Mountain itself is so beautiful, rich in flora and fauna with pretty waterfalls and ponds the mountain is just incredible either to look at it or to be on it or to see the view from it, it deserves to be one of the new 7 wonders, at one time I even considered to run a blog just about Table Mountain but that was before the Stadium bug bit me :) maybe one day ...

The New 7 Wonders of Nature will be determined by votes from South Africans and foreigners who can show their support for the Mother City's majestic mountain by visiting Vote for Table Mountain
Please cast your vote if you haven't done so yet !

Start of top truss construction on the Green Point Stadium

On June 11 the first truss on the upper side of the stadium was installed Eventually the PVC membrane will be attached to these trusses It hadn't registered with me that this was a truss too, initially I thought it was a contraption to do with the laser show :)

After a few stunningly beautiful and really hot days we are back to winter weather, grey, dreary and wet a very wet weekend but on Teusday it will be sunny again and
20°C expected on thursday

This colourful dredger caught my attention, it is called Prins Der Nederlanden and while I am typing this its coming back into harbour ..I wonder why
Here is a cool website with the ship movements in and out of the Port of Cape Town

Just learned that there is a virus on Skyscrapercity
Darn !