Road Trip: Campanile and South End Museum

Today we were tourists again ( as opposed to holiday makers.)
This morning we went to visit the Campanile. It was built to mark the centenary of the landing of
4 000 British Settlers in 1820 although it was only opened in 1923. It is 53 metres high. It was refurbished last year. The 23 Bells were taken down and cleaned, a lift was installed (as an alternative to the 204 steps) and art works were added. Some of the bells have received new inscriptions in Afrikaans and isiXhosa and rededicated to celebrate, amongst others, the deceased crew of the SS Mendi.

The Campanile from the station parking

Flow Poem and Frieze opposite the entrance

Model of a ship that brought the Settlers

View from the 7th floor towards the Donkin. It was too windy today to fly the giant flag.

View of the iconic soccer stadium

View of the Docks

The Ticking Pendulum

The Ghost Bells, taken from below

My favourite painting, "Port Elizabeth" by Ethel Sawyer circa 1923

We went up by lift and took the stairs down. At each landing there was some kind of display. I thought it was very nicely refurbished. There was a tour guide at the bottom who told us a bit about the history. I was glad we had visited it, even though the heritage walk book had said the area might not be safe. There was a security guard at the station parking and besides the tour guide who stayed at the bottom,  other officials could help with questions. Perhaps the Heritage Trail booklet is out of date.

After this we went to visit the South End Museum. It commemorates the heyday of what was South End, sadly destroyed by apartheid.  I found it heartbreaking. It affected me more than the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. To start off we were shown a video. There was an alcove decorated like a dining room which was typical of the time. A transparent screen showed the interaction of a coloured family in that same dining room when they first found out that they would have to move because of the Group Areas Act.

South End was once a cosmopolitan suburb bustling with street life, known for its respected schools, numerous family businesses and at least five churches and two mosques. The area was bulldozed to the ground. The family realised that they would no longer have the friends they had, they could no longer attend the church they belonged to, many lost their family businesses and had nothing. Only one old fig tree and two mosques were spared.

Brian was interested in the Pier St Methodist Church because when his father was the minister at Humewood, he also had oversight of the South End church. Brian knew that the church no longer existed but he hadn't known what had happened. His family moved to Empangeni before the area was demolished in the late 60's.

There are a number of rooms in the museum, almost all of them covered with old photos of how life used to be, first hand accounts of how various families experienced the removals, famous people who lived in the area including many sportsmen and women who lived there or eyewitness accounts of what people experienced. One room also contained a huge floor map of how the area used to be.

At the end of the route where we signed the visitors book there was a typical wooden bench displaying the restriction signs I remember from my youth.

There was also a time line of the various apartheid laws, set into a staircase.

It was brought home to me how unfair and inhumane some of the previous policies were. Thinking about the destruction of what people had spent years building up made me realize again how easy it is to break down, demolish and trash places compared to how hard it is to build and create. Why is it that politics always seems to be more about breaking down than building up?  Today the newspapers are still full of destruction in the name of politics. Universities burned, cars trashed, shops closed down. Has anything changed?

Road Trip: Down Memory Lane

Yesterday we left the Willows.
Port Elizabeth is known for two things. It is the Friendly City and it is the windiest city in South Africa. Yesterday we had the wind. Interestingly, once we got back into the relative shelter of my brother' s garden, it seemed at least 10 degrees hotter than we had experienced on the sea shore. So there are some benefits to the wind.

On the way back we had a picnic lunch at Summerstrand, facing the sea. We stayed in the cab because of the wind but were able to watch the waves breaking and some hardy souls sitting on the rocks (probably fishing).

We could also see the giant flag at the Donkin which was flying despite the wind.

although not as well as we could see it from the freeway.

As our time in PE is drawing to a close, we decided to go to movies last night, taking advantage of the pensioners' discount. ("Wonder" - a feel good movie with Julia Roberts. I would recommend it)

Today is Sunday and we had a choice of going to church at St John's Methodist church in Havelock Street where Brian's grandfather had been a minister or Humewood Methodist Church where Brian's father had been the minister 54 years ago. We opted for Humewood which turned out to be a good choice. A very good sermon and a very friendly congregation (albeit elderly). We met a couple, Joe and Yvonne Kapp, who joined the church when Brian's Dad was there. They remembered him well because they had come as visitors and his Dad had welcomed them and invited them to tea at the manse. They decided to make it there home church and have been there ever since.

Since those days the new church has been built (it used to meet in the hall where we had tea.)
Brian had a lovely time reminiscing, chatting and reliving memories of the four years spent there. The steps leading into the manse can be seen to the left of the hall. The other people were also very friendly. They ensured that we got a visitors welcome pack (including a small Bar One) and made us feel very welcome.

So we  got to experience Port Elizabeth as the Friendly City as well as the Windy City..

Road Trip, Day 41. The Willows Caravan Park.

Staying in my brother's garden has meant we were at least half an hour from the beach so, when we found out about the 50% pensioners discount rate starting from the 7th January at the Willows Caravan Park, we were very interested.  Brian's sister and brother-in-law, who are also pensioners, decided to join us for three days. Three nights for the four of us with the pensioner's discount came to R405.00.

On our way to the Willows with our bikes on the back of the motor-home, we took the opportunity to cycle along the promenade near Kings Beach. It was unfortunately a rainy day, but we persevered wearing rain gear, but stopped at Angelo's for breakfast instead of cycling further.

Outside Angelo's was a busker, sheltering under one of the umbrellas playing a guitar.

I really enjoyed his music. Especially a song called "He will Carry You."

Once we got to the Willows we admired the beautiful view of the sea from our camp site. The rain had stopped and we haven't seen it since.

Both Brian and I have history at the Willows. When I was a Girl Guide in Port Elizabeth, Guide camps were held here. Brian's family often used to caravan here when he was a boy.
I was happy to see that not only is it well maintained, but improvements have been made. It is a lovely place for a family holiday. The ablutions are clean with hot water and access to washing machines and tumble dryers (coin operated).
There is a putt-putt course,

 A super tube,

 Swings and things,

 and a games centre where there are two pool tables, a table tennis table. One can hire fishing rods, snorkeling equipment, inflated inner tubes, body boards and clubs for putt-putt as well as paying for the super tube tags.

There is a tidal pool in front of the kiosk/coffee shop. The shop seems to stock everything a camper might require from tent pegs to mini first aid kits.

 I was also impressed by the responsibility of the management. The splash pool below the super tube is covered by a safety net overnight and when it is not in use. When it is running there is somebody supervising, making sure there is sufficient gap between each person or group going down.
They also have posters in all the ablution blocks telling us how to save water.

We've had a lovely three days here although today has been particularly windy and we kept checking that our gazebo was not going to blow away!
Tomorrow we'll be packing up and moving back to suburbia for a couple of days.

Bayworld

On Friday we decided to go to BayWorld. When our children were young, we made many happy family memories watching the dolphin show at the oceanarium and visiting the aquarium. There is also a museum and snake park as part of the complex.

We started at the museum. The first hall dealt with fossils and dinosaurs. I was struck by a mold cast from a fossil of a pterodactyl. It was no larger than my hand and must have flown about much like a bird.

Somehow I had been led to believe that they were giant flying creatures. Just shows you - you can't believe everything you are shown in the media.
There were also some large skulls which testified to the size of other common dinosaurs, as well as some life-sized reconstructions.

There was also  a hall of maritime history.

Before proper harbours or docks, people were landed in Port Elizabeth in landing baskets.

This will be how 4 000 British settlers landed in Port Eizabeth in 1820 as part of Britain's attempt to solve the unemployment problem after the war.

Recovered and restored portion of shipwrecked Sacremento

A similar type of ship to the Sacremento

Captain Hermanus Hofmeyjer grounded his ship, the Amsterdam, on the beach 2km from the mouth of the Zwartkops River in an effort to save his crew and passengers.
Of the 223 on board, only three drowned.

There were stories about other shipwrecks along the coast that were very interesting.
One of them is about the sinking of the SS Mendi.
http://www.navy.mil.za/newnavy/mendi_history/mendi_hist.htm

We realized that time was running out and the feeding of the seals would soon take place.
We were told a little about the seals but there was no seal show because the staff had the afternoon off.

After the seals it was the penguins' turn.

We were very disappointed in the aquarium. It was about a quarter of the size we remembered - there was a notice saying the shark tank was structurally damaged and the general impression was of a run down has-been. There were some fish and sea creatures but not much more exciting than a good pet shop might have, although some were bigger.

Unfortunately the whole complex gave an air of being run-down, badly maintained and short-staffed.
We were interested to read an article in the Weekend Post on the Saturday all about BayWorld and plans to improve it.
http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2018/01/06/bayworld-revamp-cards-2/

Road Trip: Port Elizabeth. Beach and wildlife

Today is our anniversary. 39 years ago we were married in Port Elizabeth.  It is very special to be able to celebrate one's anniversary in the place one was married.
It dawned a beautiful, sunny, windless day - perfect for the beach.

On the way we saw the giant flag was flying again. The pole is 60 metres high and the flag is the size of a tennis court and can be seen even from the beachfront. There is a you tube video of it being taken down in a typical Port Elizabeth wind.

First we went to Angelo's on the beach front for breakfast. We had a lovely table with a view of the beach.

We watched kayaks paddle past, swimmers doing laps to the pier and back and people just enjoying the sea.

After a yummy breakfast we went to the other side of the pier to Hobie Beach.

I had forgotten how much fun swimming in the sea can be. Port Elizabeth must have some of the best beaches in the world.  The sand is clean and neither too course nor too fine. The sea bed is soft and the water is clear. We went beyond the breakers to the swells and bobbed up and down hoping the waves wouldn't break in our faces. I thought I was too old to enjoy swimming in the sea but I had so much fun!
A number of other people had realised what a lovely day it was and the beach was reasonably crowded.

Different people were having fun doing different things.

Divers coming in from their morning dive

Families making memories together

Nobody is too young to go to the sea

Some people had fun surfing in the waves

Others enjoyed digging in the sand

Once we'd had enough sun we made our way to Seaview Predator Park. It is a cross between a game park and a zoo. We drove around the game park area by car and saw some giraffes and wildebeest.

The lions and tigers were in fenced off enclosures

Lions sleep 18 - 20 hours a day

Tigers are not indigenous to South Africa. These were Bengal and Siberian Tigers.  Unlike lions, tigers lead solitary lives in the wild. Unlike most big cats, tigers love swimming. Every tiger in the world is unique; no tiger has the same stripes.

There is a restaurant nearby where even the chairs fit the wildlife theme.

From there the Sanctuary, or zoo,  is accessed via a rather rickety bridge/walkway.

The animals I found most interesting were the caracal and the meerkats.

Lots of information was given about the various animals on large signboards.

After an enjoyable  and interesting day in the sun, we finished off with dinner at the Beach Hotel which is where we spent our wedding night 39 years ago. I'm happy to report that the standard is just as good as it ever was. Tomorrow morning we are going to church at Walmer Methodist Church, the church in which Brian's Dad and his Uncle John conducted our marriage ceremony.