I know their is (was?) a museum in Dundee that has tons of info on Rocks Drift.
I visited the museum a number of years ago and was very pleased that I did. No charge but a donation would not be declined notice is posted at the front door.
Well worth a visit plus I also second Seb's referral of Kevin.
Enjoy the drive, the history and the surrounding battlefields.
Stay safe.
Rourkes Drift...the valiant Welsh
and the Zulu salute for bravery right at end of clip.
Tx guys, absolutely brilliant apart from Moz trying to skite me off the mountain...so much for a friend hahahaha
Can't help but say you guys are a fountain of knowledge and it's the one reason I'm drawn back onto the board ......much appreciated.
Last time I was up there which is about 3 years ago the wind was that strong they were forced to shut down the cable. Strangely at street level in the city there wasn't even a breeze.
Dave, I've also been to the Bell, check with Moz, think he has one better, not sure but it sounded like it's not too far from there.
Dave
Was the Port Alfred Marina developed before your departure from SA? I used to stay over in the hotel in the Marina a number of times in the early 2000's, Nice experience.
The last time I was in Grahams Town it was a mess - not nice place to visit - the town was dirty and the present situation is that the water system basically collapsed. Extremely poorly managed.
The N2 through Grahams Town has been rebuilt recently and is now in a better state than it used to be 10 years ago. The road between PE and East London through Alexandria and Port Alfred has also been drastically upgraded - as a result I never used the N2 through Grahams Town since the 1990's bar one visit in 2002.
I know what you mean, it's about stepping back in time and identifying with one's roots. That's great mate, I'll never forget my roots.......my kids who are born in Oz will never understand neither do I expect them to. Three things I always do when I visit my spiritual home, (1) I visit my parent's grave site, (2) Robben Island and (3) walk the old District 6 where I grew up.
and hey, there's nothing like a rooikrans braai
Tell me, where in the world can you buy a whole snoek for $A20 straight off the boat at Kalk Bay harbour? I used to park there and wait for the boats to come in, buy the fish and have it cleaned and cut for an extra $A2 plus a tip......sweet days they were. Doubt whether anything's changed as far as that goes.
Not sure when you did buy the snoek - but the while fishing industry became one huge swamp of bribery and corruption in the last decade and the coast line was grossly over-fished by fishing vessels from foreign countries granted fishing licenses by corrupt officials. Some cleaning up is underway - but with the National Prosecuting Authority nearly destroyed by Zuma in his drive to cover up prosecutions for bribery and corruption only the surface is at present being scratched.
One of Zuma's most corrupt Ministers have been arrested this past week and has been granted bail - the case is likely to start in January. Another prominent arrest was the Mayor of Durban as well.
Dave
I fully sympathize with what you wrote, As one gets older the memories and longing for the past came back stronger and stronger. I can remember how we used to live on one of the oldest farms in the Southern Cape with buildings dating back 250 years and one can only think about our childhood on the farm sometime with tears.
We had a domestic servant Louwisa who worked for my mother for 52 years and when I saw the movie "Gone with the Wind" I saw her in action - she was a replica of Mammy in the movie. When she retired I bought her a house in town and I can remember talking on the phone with my father a week before his death. It was weird Louwisa's husband died 14 days after the death of my mother - she died 14 days before my father's death. My father refused to talk about her to me in that last conversation - he died the next week.
Our playmates on the farm were children of the farm workers and I often see some of them still in Riversdale. My mother insisted on all the farm children going through school and even get post-matric education - she assisted them all-out and the children of the time when meeting me after my return to Riversdale in 2015 spoke to me for hours about our life on the farm and how they respected my parents and us as a family.
"Not sure why I’m writing this down but it’s memories I guess"
No, it's the inner you speaking, I fully understand, this is what's sacred to you and thanks for sharing it with us. Respect.
Go well, mate.
Dave you probably went there in your student days, its still going strong I'm told. On the way to Port Alfred in Bathurst (pineapple town) there's the oldest pub in South Africa...The Pig and Whistle ( not to be confused with the one in Rondebosch)...worth having a frosty there on the way.
Peddie
Alice
Grahamstown
Port Alfred
Kenton
Bushmans
Christmas Rock
Seavale
Kaisers
Gonubie
Haga-Haga
Cintsa
Glen Gareth
Kei Mouth
Some places I would spend my weekends... growing up
Dave, I also grew up in the same area, so I have no doubt that you must have had one fucking good youth...…… one has to experience all these places to understand the meaning
Then you still have Stutterheim, Hogsback, Berlin, East London...…..
Never ever would I wish for anything else...…. it was a complete and utter blast
Hogsback is a must
Rhodes (Walkabouts Inn) Tiffendell is a secret gem and a unique beauty not seen anywhere in SA and perhaps the whole world.
Yeah Seb, Hogsback is awesome
I remember visiting the Madonna and child waterfall......
Cool Denny
Drop me a whistle closer to the time.
Saffex, on a positive note about the Eastern Cape, there have been a lot of developments there.
Schools, roads, hospitals and so on. Since 2013, 200 proper schools have been built. Some in the most rural of areas.
If you travel up through there, I'd suggest seeing the mountain top airstrip in Port St John's.
Was built by the ANC during apartheid, as they knew Mthatha was monitored.
Funny thing is, it's too short and relies on the up-draft on the cliff's face for take off. The old stone guard house still sits at entrance to the strip.
Beautiful view from up there as you see the river run through the mountains and into the sea, against a backdrop of cascading mountain ranges that fade into the background.
Great post Dave.....what a childhood we all had. Running down the side of mine dumps beats any roller coaster.....by the time you hit the bottom your legs were going so fast, stopping was an issue.
The place I loved was Sedgefield. We would net our shrimps, then go to the railway bridge at Swartvlei to catch moonies. The next step was to put your live moonie in the stream running into the lagoon. And hey presto......two weeks later you might catch a leervis!
Say Moz, I have a date....with wifey.....we're going to Harbour Watch.....it better be good! Hahahahaha best you go into hiding if it's not hahahahaha
Have you been to the Bell?
Harbour House Denny.....avoid the crowd outside they can be a bit frisky and you'll be fine. Catch of the day comes straight off the boat.
Can't recall ever going to the Bell ....nice place?
Catch of the day will do me thank you kindly. It has to be better than the Sea Bas s we had in Italy.
Can't tell you much about the Brass Bell, 10 of us were seated and all of a sudden I felt ill and we were forced to leave......unbelievable experience that one hahahaha.
I see there are two Harbour House restaurants, there's one in the Waterfront as well.....which one did you go to?
Harbor House is a bit grander than the Bell.
Black Marlin, Millers Point, Simon's Town.
Looks good, hope its good value all round, in Sydney we pay for the view not the food. There's a standing joke, when you book a harbor-side restaurant make sure there's a macca close by..
I haven't eaten there in years, but last time it was very good. A bit pricey for my budget though.
"I recall the Brass Bell as being more of great spot to have a few drinks, take in the views and listen to live bands not so much a dinning spot but it has been many many years"
Correct. The food's not bad, but not on the level of some of the other spots. The Cuban place just down the road has a nice vibe going too. Depends on what time of the year you'll be here, but there are lots to do right around the year. At the boat club in Millers Point, they do the Tuna and Marlin deep see angling thing. Next level stuff if you don't mind the price tag.
Dave,
CM,s offer of accommodation plus a braai thrown in is still open I believe.
Sorry guys but could not miss this shot.
