Port St. Johns

The road to Port St. Johns is beautiful, although scattered with the odd pot hole, herd boy or Nguni cattle wondering around, it is a driver's paradise with awesome curves & bends undulating through the scenery.  The Allroad's performance was exquisite, I was actually disappointed the driving had ended once we arrived.  

Port St. Johns on the Wild Coast is a curious place and reminds me of the old 80's TV show Island of the Golden Monkeys (I think that is what it was called?).  It is a real backpackers nirvana with laid back surfers, dread-locked travellers, graffiti, lonely dogs in the street, ganga and a sense of 'Hey bru, I can check the surf from my hammock man!' while you sip milky tea from a chipped, enameled tin cup.  I wish we could've stayed longer to soak it in all in, but to be honest we weren't in the same frame of mind and had to press on.

On the way out the following morning we did check out the bay and, despite the litter and general derelict appearance of the countryside, this place has true potential.

Arniston

 This isn't the main cave in Arniston, but I thought the image had some merit so I posted it on this lazy Saturday afternoon.

Fountain

Enjoying a Sunday morning breakfast with friends in Montagu recently, I took this photograph of the fountain in the courtyard of Deli Fresh.  The Pentax K7 is a great camera, it has its flaws (which system doesn't?), but when it all comes together the results are superb.

French Spring

I know, I know.......another barging photograph.  What can I say, except that the south of France is beautiful in spring on Canal du Midi.

Torte di Santiago

My second attempt at baking an almond tart, this time for my brother's 40th - it accompanied our Rusticus Barrel Fermented Viognier perfectly.

Hit the road ...

Apologies for the short delay in posting, but we just had to hit the road for a few days to get away from it all.  We didn't get far, or stay away long, but the change of scenery did us good.

Beach Shack

A small lifesavers shack near Pringle Bay, photographed in a high wind as you can see from the grass.

Alien Flower

I have no idea what flower this is, it isn't plastic if that is what you are thinking.  I found it while kayaking down the Breede River recently, growing out of the sandy riverbank.  Comments & ideas welcome.

Rusticus

We needed some product shots of our Rusticus wines, so I grabbed my Pentax K7 and played around abit.  I thought for a make shift studio in the cellar, and not having any experience with product shots, the results are not too shabby :)

Trapped

An abstract of an autumn leaf trapped in a clump of grassy reeds - simple, but nice.

Tranquil

A sea of tranquility on the West Coast near Stywelyne, the possibilities are endless.

Ostrich Chicks

Has anyone seen mum?  Which way did she go?

Grillled Canard

Duck (canard) breast grilled to perfection with an orange glaze, roasted mushrooms with gruyere and a fresh French salad.  All served on a boat floating on Canal du Midi in the south of France, with a glass of superb Rhone viognier and your soul mate by your side - blissful to say the least.

Japanese Fountain

A Japanese drinking fountain in Kyoto, outside a Shinto Temple.  This is another scan from Velvia slide film, taken more than a decade ago during a business trip to Japan.

Wind Power

Near Malmesbury, a previously defunct experimental wind power farm has finally been called into service since Eskom dropped the ball and displayed gross incompetence with South Africa's power supply.

Paris Nightlife

Bal du Moulin Rouge in Paris, despite the obligatory loud tourists who nearly made a greater spectacle of themselves than the performers did, this is truly the great original live show.  At first I was apprehensive to spend the cash on this entertainment, but it was fantastic and I'd love to do it again - you even get a complimentary bottle of Champagne!

Plaza Espana

This was taken in Granada (Spain) a lifetime ago.  I backpacked around Spain with a dear friend of mine and it was superb...........many memories were made, plenty of beer drunk, and even some hearts broken.  Digital cameras were not even in the planning stages then, so amazingly this is a scan from Velvia slide film.

Barging Holiday

A typical scene on Canal du Midi in the south of France, still one of the best ways to travel through a country - by barge that is.  Travelling at your own pace, stopping where you like, when you like, shopping in medieval markets, preparing your own food on the barge, sleeping on the barge.............no catching of trains, planes & automobiles on a schedule, no hotel or restaurant reservations, no carrying of your luggage around.

Kite

We managed to catch an injured Black-Shouldered Kite on our farm and put it in one of our old bird averies a few years back.  Perhaps it isn't nice to hear, but we fed it mice from the pet shop until it was strong enough to be released again.  It made a full recovery, what a beautiful bird.

Pizza

Crude, but effective - our impromptu Mcguyver pizza oven.  We made use of a very old clay oven originally design for bread baking, a baking tray to keep the pizza grit free, a braai grid to place & retrieve the pizza conveniently, and a nice hot fire to melt the cheese.  It worked like a charm !

Tomatoes

This is probably my favourite fruit, berry & vegetable (or d. All of the above) - the vine ripened tomato.  So versatile and a key ingredient in so many dishes.

Bubbles

Picture it, you are in the south of France touring one of the finest examples of a medieval village along with the hustle & bustle of several hundred other tourists.  Everywhere you look are tourists, you can't get much done without bumping into someone, even taking a photograph free of sock & sandal clad people is a challenge. So you take a breath, slow down, and let your eyes wonder up to exclude the people.............and there in the distance you see a beautiful French lass on a balcony gently blowing soap bubbles, far above the madding crowd.

Backseat

If only these seats of an old Dodge could speak, I wonder what tale they would tell.

Bamboo

I love bamboo, always fresh, strong & resilient...............why is it only becoming popular now?

Clarens

It was recommended by a good friend that if we are in the area, we should make a point of visiting Clarens in the Orange Free State (near the Golden Gate National Park).  A decision we didn't regret, what a superb village full of cafe's, restaurants and artists..............beautiful.........we will be back.  Here are a couple of snaps ...

Clock-spring

It has been pretty hot lately, so I thought I'd freshen things up with this young clock-spring fern frond.

2010 - The Year of Great Expectations

Happy New Year and all of the very best for 2010.  Hopefully with South Africa hosting the World Cup of Soccer 2010 I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunity to sparkle, regardless of how hard & multi-faceted the problems.