Nelson Mandela Birthday

Today is Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday. We are very fortunate here in Port Elizabeth that we live in a metropolitan area carrying his name. Port Elizabeth along with the towns of Uitenhage, Despatch and Colchester forms part of Nelson Mandela Bay.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in the village of Qunu near Mthata (Umtata) in the Eastern Cape. He is also known worldwide as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan.
Mandela was an anti-apartheit activist, and the leader of the African National Congress's armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe. He was convicted in the Rivonia Trail which led to him going to prison for 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island. Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela supported reconciliation and negotiation, and helped lead the transition towards multi-racial democracy in South Africa. In 1994 he became the first democratically elected president of South Africa. In 1993 he received the Nobel Peace Prize and is currently a celebrated elder statesman who continues to voice his opinion on topical issues.

The picture was taken from the top of the Donkin Lighthouse and shows the Port Elizabeth city centre, harbour and beachfront in the distance.

Algoa Bay Yacht Club

The Algoa Bay Yacht Club is based within the Port Elizabeth Harbour and is one of the premier yacht clubs in the country. The club has an outstanding restaurant in the Chartroom Restaurant which can be booked for functions. I haven't eaten there in a while, but I know the restaurant serves excellent food. Anybody keen on going sailing should contact the yacht club and I'm sure somebody would gladly invite you for a sail into Algoa Bay.

Happy Valley characters

Happy Valley is quite a popular spot with families with small children on a calm summers evening. The attraction of Happy Valley is the colourful lights and characters from fairy tales, rhymes and popular kids movies. In this pic you can see all the characters from Winnie the Pooh as well as The Three Blind Mice and The Three Little Pigs.

The dunes at Sards

Another of the pics I took at Sardinia Bay on Sunday. The coastline from Sards towards Seaview has some magnificent dunes along the beach. On Sunday there were a couple of boys sand boarding from the dunes close to the car park while families were playing in the sand and couples were either walking along the shore or sitting on top of the dunes enjoying the view. A perfect winters day.

Sardinia Bay

The beach at Sardinia Bay may not always be the safest swimming beach around, but it is one of the most popular spots for the people who live on the western side of Port Elizabeth for a nice leisurly stroll. Its also one of only a few beaches where dogs are still allowed on and most weekends you will find a number of people taking their "best friends" for a walk along the shore. The weather was awesome this last Sunday and we decided to take the kids down to "Sards" to go and play on the dunes a bit. A huge amount of people were making use of the opportunity to get out and enjoy the weather.

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium next to the North End Lake is the 44,000 seat multi purpose stadium (48,000 during the World Cup) purpose built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The five-tier, 1.1 billion Rand (approximately $150m) Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is one of three coastal stadiums built in anticipation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
This is the first world-class soccer stadium to be built in the Eastern Cape. It was supposed to have hosted matches for the 2009 Confederations Cup but was removed from the list as it was believed it would not be ready on time. Well here is some egg on FIFA and the LOC's faces. It has became the first newly-built 2010 Stadium to be completed. It has already played host to a British and Irish Lions tour match attended by 35 000 fans as well as the 2009 Premier's Cup soccer tournament.
After the World Cup the stadium may be used as the home ground for the Southern Kings if they are admitted to the Super 15, as well as Bay United if they return to the Premier Soccer League. The stadium has truly become a new landmark on the Port Elizabeth skyline.

Ice Cream Man

"Ting ting ting ting..." You can hear the ice cream man's bell way down the block long before you can even see him yet. I remember when I was small my folks often bought ice cream from the ice cream man on a Sunday afternoon. But over the years the ice cream man has disappeared off our streets. Until now. Lately this guy has been doing the rounds through our neighbourhood on Sundays. Every now and then we buy ice creams from him and I imagine that he must do quite well around here cause he's back every Sunday. When last have you stopped the ice cream man?