Saturday, October 28, 2017

Peter Giddy Guided Tours -- Hotel and Airport Transfers; Addo Elephant Park; City and Township Tours. October 2017 blog


Peter Giddy Guided Tours.                                  October 2017
We offer --  Transfers from the Airport and Hotels; Our speciality is Wildlife Reserves such as Addo and others in the region. We conduct Historic and Cultural City and Township Tours.

Activities such as Elephant Back riding, Sandboarding, Horse Riding, River Canoe Trails, Surfing Lessons.

peter.giddy@gmail.com

October 2017
Garden Route Tour

Peter Giddy is your Tour Guide.  Here is crawls out of the disused mine tunnel on a hiking trail.

I start the month with a Garden Route Tour. It is a week long Guided tour of the Garden Route with a Family.
Our first Two days are in Tsitsikamma Forest and Nature reserve. We stay at the Tsitsikamma Inn; We then move to Knysna where we stay at Pezula for the next three days. Each day is busy and full of activities. One night is at the Garden Route Game Lodge.
The last two days I am with this family we are in Hermanus where we do the Whale Watching from Gans Baai and the Quad Bikes in Stanford.
On Sunday I have to be back in Port Elizabeth for the Municipal Association Hike that is planned for Cape Recife.
My bedroom in the Albertinia Hotel. Notice the box radio above the bed.  Here is was able to have about 5 hours sleep before setting off for PE at 3am on Sunday morning.
After dropping the family off in Cape Town on Saturday 7th I drive through the night to Albertinia where Barbara has found me a Hotel Room.  I arrive at about 9pm and after checking in with Sebastian I go to their bar for a nightcap. 
Loud Afrikaans music playing crude and vulgar songs.  Youngsters dancing, singing along and smoking.  I did not last long and was in bed asleep pretty much immediately in this room with a wireless above the bed.
Sunday morning I wake at 3am and just brush my teeth and start the final leg of this journey back home.  I get home just before 9am.  Quickly unpack, wash the combi, take it back to the rental at the airport. Load the Landrover with bags and water which Barbara has prepacked for me.
Have a quick shower and then phone to confirm that the hike starts at 13.00.  No says Melindi. It is due to start at 11am.  A few quick phone calls and everyone agrees to meet at 11.
I rush down there. Pieter is my driver of the bus and he is already loading people up.  We transfer the bags and water, I park the car and run back to the hotel just in time for the last of the delegates to board.
And we drive to Pine Lodge.  This is a Municipal Conference of Electrical Engineers and their suppliers. An annual conference where they like to have activities for the delegates the day before the conference begins.
Robin Holmes and Jenny Levy who I hike with on Wednesdays are with me to assist with leading the walk.  We introduce ourselves and there is a bit of banter on the bus. Everyone appears in a happy mood.
 We have a group of about 50 people on this hike today.
 Walking up towards the dunes and Military observation post
 Coastal dunes and fynbos makes for an interesting and fun route.
We see the beached whale but the blubber on the rocks makes everything from shoes to hands smelly.
We leave the bus and start the hike on the Cape Recife road. Right turn towards the bird hide and dunes.  Walking through the coastal fynbos area and up over the wetlands towards the Military WW2 Observation posts.  We regroup from time to time and it appears that the delegates are enjoying the views and outing.
Then down to the beach where everyone starts to pick up shells and other interesting stuff.  We have a bit of a chilly  breeze behind us. For many it is clear that this is going to be at their own pace.  Slow takes on a new meaning.
We gather together in a small cove for a snack.  I have prepacked some fruit and sweets for everyone to have something to eat and drink.
As we approach the lighthouse we see a beached whale which we had heard was there.  We walk across the rocks to get a better sighting and find our shoes and hands becoming full of blubber. Quite stinkey!
The last part of the walk is relaxed and easy going.  Everyone appears to have enjoyed being in nature and out in the fresh sea air. 
Back to the hotel and the delegates move to their respective hotels and rooms for a shower before the opening evening function.
Julia; Ntombekahya and Brigitta -- Township tour -- Walmer Township.
Monday 9th. Morning run / walk with Adrienne, Gaye and Shani. 
Later I pick up Claire and Geoff at the Beachwalk and we do a city tour including a bit of shopping.
I then take Brigitta and Julia on a Township Tour  where I introduce Ntombekayha to the offering so now I have an additional home to take people to. 
 The two lionesses which we used to refer to as the Cubs until Josie had three more cubs.  With a single male on a buffalo kill.  If you enlarge the pic you can see across the valley a 7 ... It was here a bit later that we saw the three Rhino.
Geoff.  Peter and Claire on Safari today.
Tuesday -- Half Day Addo Safari with Geoff and Claire.  It is raining when we start but we have an amazing day with Lions on a kill; Many Elephant and Buffalo and at the end we see three black rhino.  The weather was great for us and we really have fantastic sightings.
Susan and Joseph at Fort Frederick with the Indian Ocean in background.
Wednesday... Start my day with a run / walk with Adrienne, Sjani and Gaye. 
Later this morning I meet Joseph and Susan from Switzerland for a City tour.  We visit the Donkin area as well as the Campenile for a cultural and historical tour.
Lungi and Honey at Ayanda's Pottery and Ceramics
Thursday 12th
After a morning of arranging flights for family's overseas trips, I have a Township Tour with Honey who is Malaysian now living in London.
Friday -- Start the day with a Walk / Jogging with Adrienne; Sjani; Gaye and Adele
Barbara and I are working on Visa Applications.



 Girls finishing Grass Roof Parkrun on Saturday morning.  Adrienne; Sjani and Adele
It started off a windy morning but in the forest area you could hardly notice the wind.
Saturday 15th morning.  Adrienne invites us to join her at the Grass Roof parkrun.  She is one of the race directors at this parkrun and likes to do an early morning helpers run.  So Sjani picks me up and we join Adrienne and Adelle for a Walk Run through the forests.  Michael, owner of Grass Roof, joins us with his dog for  a while.  This run has a number of short ups and downs.  We are taking it easy with a bit of jogging and lots of walking.
Later I receive results -- Sardinia Bay 29th Parkrun time 43minutes.  Position 112 of 201 runners. 14st in Age Category.
Monday 16th October. -- Morning walk with Adrienne; Gaye; Sjani and Adele.  Barbara and I are in Plett for a meeting with Giles.
Megan Holden joined the group this morning.  It was chilly and windy but seemed to have enjoyed the company and hopefully be back. Also in the group -- Gaye; Sjani, Adrienne and Chris.
Tuesday -- Morning walking with the group  Later I take my Landrover in for Roadworthy -- this is to allow me to get a Double Disc which is required to transport Passengers for payment. The Vehicle flies through.  I then take the Nissan (Ron comes with me) and we follow the same procedure but it seems to be taking longer. So we try to find out what is happening and suddenly we find ourselves surrounded by Police and Detectives.  It seems that they are there to make arrests and confiscate computers. 
We never found out what was going on but eventually they insisted that the company refund me the R350 I had paid in and they let us go.
Then I have a City Tour so I take the Landrover which returned from a Service on Monday afternoon.  And the vehicle breaks down so I have to cancel the tour and am towed back to Savoy Motors for them to check what is wrong.
I arrange to meet Ron and Lyn at the yacht club. They leave on Wednesday for a couple of weeks in JHB with Duncan and then in London with Craig.
Today there are 21 of us walking this beautiful farm style trail.
Wednesday 18th.  Our walking group of Gaye; Sjani; Megan Holden and myself Start from Westview.  I jog to the start and we begin walking at 5am.  The girls walk too fast for me so I have to jog to keep up. As we round Grey Almarie and Adel join the group for a while.  Sjani gives Megan and I a lift back.
Braai Time at home this evening.
I join Robin and the Wednesday walkers for  the Sleepy Hollow Lourie Hiking trail. This is a first for me and an exciting, challenging hike. Later this evening we braai --- Venison and chicken sausages for something different.
Beautiful sunrise for our walk / jog this morning.
Thursday...  I almost stay in bed.  There is the sound of the wind in the trees outside making it sound much worse than it is. But in the end it is Gaye; Sjani; Angela; Chris and Adrienne with the group this morning.
Picnic lunch at Jacks with Pauline, Rob and Lynne.
Huge bull elephant crosses our pathway.
I have an Addo Safari with Rob, Pauline and Lynne.  Derrick Joliffe had phoned me about this family who was in Port Elizabeth for the memorial service of Ken and Elaine of Schoenmakerskop.  They had been murdered by men who had come into their home one night.  This incident has upset the whole community. Rob tells me how important the leadership role of Derrick is.  He has a calming effect on the villagers. Our Safari is quite successful ... We don't see Lions however we do see a Black Rhino reasonably close to the car.
Berthill; Judith; Karol; Paula and I am at the Algoa Lookout.
Friday 20th.  Morning walking / jogging to start the day.  An Addo tour with Berthill and Judith from the Netherlands staying at the boardwalk and also Karol (Poland) and Paula (Chile) who are doing some round the world travel together. Overall a good day with the highlight of some Elephant babies playing around next to the car.
 Saturday morning group... With Adrienne; Chris; Liesl; Lindi; Amanda and Maria (Asun)
Despite the slow look here --- we actually did do some running.
Saturday.... Start the day with our morning run.
I am using Peter's Peugot 806 as my Land Rover is in for repairs.  It gets a mud bath as the Elephants splash themselves with muddy water.
I have an Addo Tour with Bethany; Nelson and David.  We are so close to the Elephants Water hole that we are splashed with mud as they throw mud over their backs.
Sunday 22nd.  Tracey of Azifani has asked me to do an Addo Tour with the family from Germany.  We have a great outing with sightings of a variety of animals up close to the car.  Here we are at Cattle Baron for lunch.  Benita; Marcel; Charlotte and Paulina.
 Today Christian turns 15. 
 Daniel runs a 1km event at the beach and wins his age group and third overall.
 Ally is with Nicky to celebrate Chris' Birthday.
And Blake turns 6 ... he is rewarded with a bike and other presents.  This also means he starts School as in NZ they start school immediately  they turn 6
Monday.  After our morning run I make up a list of "things to do".  And as I work through the list I have great satisfaction in scratching off from the list.
Gio is from the Netherlands and we spend the morning in Addo today.
Tuesday 24th.  Morning run and then I learn that I have an Addo for one person from Hippo. I have to use Peter's Peugeot as the Landrover is still at the Auto Electrician for repairs.
 Jacks picnic for lunch with Yaen; John; Jacqui and Alisa.
This is the closest I have ever seen an Eland at Addo
Wednesday 25th. Running with Chris.  Walkers not walking and I battle to keep up. I have to hire a Quantum from Mark for the group of five but then one cancelled on collection and so only four for Addo today.   
Today would have been Michael's 38th Birthday.
Thursday 26th.  My land rover is in for repairs.  A real stressful issue in my life.  I have a City Tour with Eduardo and Manualina from Uruguay; Montevideo.  With an Ilios Hyundai.  A bit of a mix up as they had a 10am pick up planned while I was given an 8.30am instruction. A cold and windy day but ended up okay.
Mariette and Jack who I spend the next 8 days with.  Here we are at the Robberg Hiking trail.
I receive a late call for a Garden Route tour starting Friday 27th to Friday 3rd November.  I then spend about 3 hours working the logistics and issues out.  Barbara has to hire a car as we now only have one car.
Friday 27th. Barbara and I pick up a hired vehicle for her to use in the week while I am away.  I have a dentist appointment as I am suffering with toothache.  I then drive to Amakhala to pick up the guests and take them to Plett for the next two nights. From Plett we go across the Outeniqua Mountains to Oudtshoorn and then back to the coast at Mossel Bay for two nights at the Gondwana wildlife Reserve.  Our last two nights on this tour together are in Hermanus where we have a boat whale watching experience. Finally I drop the guests off in Stellenbosch as I must be back in Port Elizabeth the following day for some clients I have committed to.

Ally at her concert weekend
 Cathy has trimmed her hair -- Nice looking fringe.
Emily for her Ballet dancing.  She has been interviewing for a possible film series with Knickelodeon children's series
Family pic with Emily; Anabelle; Jacqui; Michael and Tom
Jacqui produces these drawings free hand









Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Peter Giddy Guided Tours. October 2017. Sleepy Hollow trails.


Peter Giddy Guided Tours.
Hikes and Walks  -- Join me for a couple of hours of walking / hiking -- a variety of trails in and around Port Elizabeth.

Contact Peter --  +27 82 550 3174  peter.giddy@gmail.com
  • Airport and Hotel and Wildlife Reserve Transfers
  • Addo Elephant Park
  • Kragga Kamma Wildlife Reserve and other Wildlife Safaris.
  • Shore Excursions.  Ships docking in Port Elizabeth.  Passengers are welcome to contact me directly for a day of activities in PE.
  • Historical and Cultural City and Township Tours
  • Garden Route Tours
See also www.saguidedtours.com

Port Elizabeth Hiking Trails.
The Sleepy Hollow Hiking Trail  -- Wednesday 18th October 2017
Important note.... When doing this trail, take a torch for the Mine Tunnels.


Robin and I drive together this morning and meet at  Sleepy Hollow.  This is off the Van Stadens Road on the way to Blue Horizon.  Turn off at the Mother Goose dirt road and continue to the end.
Here we meet the group.  Today there are 21 walkers:  Lisa; Grant; Dave; Reg; Robin; Rob; Peter; Ralph who is our hike leader today as he knows this trail. Jurgen; Dave; Jim; Jimmy; Magriet and Ina; Sheila; Di; Peter; Paul; Chantre; Flo and Bev Reens who has just returned from a 5 week St James Camino walk of 800km.
 Meeting up with the group at the parking and braai area
 When we arrived looked like not many would be joining us as it is a reasonably difficult trail. But eventually we were 21 walkers
 We start the walk with a long climb from the Lourie Trail.
 We take a couple of breaks to catch our breath and to admire views.
MILKWORTS -- POLYGAMA
 One of the colourful trees / bushes see on the trail  -- Milkworts (Polygama)
Looking back to the Sleepy Hollow campsite
The hike is the Lourie Trail and starts with a climb of about 2km. Under bushes and a couple of scrapes we finally emerge at the top of the hill where we have magnificent views of the Campsite below; the Fields and the Ocean at Maitlands river mouth.
 Looking across to the Maitlands River mouth area. Beautiful fields and valleys to be seen.
 Regrouping to admire views and to catch your breath.
 Every now and again the trail disappears back into the bush
 Our mid hike snack time.
Everyone has a different idea of what to have as a snack. Personally a banana is usually sufficient so long as I have enough water.
After our mid walk snack we continue to the Gate where we turn right back on the loop. From here we can see the Wind Turbines and the Ladys Slipper mountain across the valley.  We have to crawl under a fence and then start the descent back to the camp site.
 David explains that this type of gate lock is called a "Kopseer" Headache.  If you do not hold the tension pole when loosing it then it can easily snap back and hit you on the head.
 The Kopseer gate lock
 Over the horizon is the Ladys Slipper mountains.
 If walking on fields with horses and cows around you is of any value to you then this hiking trail is for you.
 At this point there is no gate so we have to Leopard Crawl our way under the fence.
 Paul does not get quite low enough and gets stuck for a moment while Flo holds the wire clear.
 Almost all on the other side.
 Paul and Bev chatting about their Camino Experiences.  Not clearly visible in the background are the Wind Turbines.
 There is a fairly long steep pathway leading down and it is here we find the three disused tin and lead mines. Mine shaft 3 is about 100m long and I walk a few meters into it but it is so dark that you see absolutely nothing.
Look carefully and you see the outline of Robin Holmes.If you don't have a torch you are in total darkness in the mine.  I tried to take a pic using the flash and the result is the same. See absolutely nothing.
 Looking back to the entrance where Robin is waiting for me.
 A real exciting time for me getting into this small hole which opens up and you are able to stand upright. If you are short like me that is.
 Had to crawl to get out of the opening to Myn 1.
 Paul and Flo examining the entrance to Myn 2
 Mine number two where we understand that Lead and Tin were mined.
 The entrance to Mine 2 was bigger but I understand that Mine 3 which we first entered has a tunnel of about 100 meters.  Next time I will bring a string and a torch.
 Mine 1 is almost completely collapsed and overgrown.
Paul and Dave emerge from examining Mine 1
So we are almost finished our walk after checking the Mines.  Here is the list of places to lookout for.
 This is the Olienhout Swimming hole. It is actually a bend in the river with some rockface on the other side which allows for safe swimming.  But a bit further on is the Waterfall where we hear there is a Zipline type of slide.
Olienhout Swemgat.
We find the entrance to Two and One a bit further on.  The group goes on ahead while some of us stop to look at the river.  We are almost finished the hike.  It has been a 2 hour walk with many stops and viewpoint lookouts.  So probably not much more than about 6 or 7 km. But a worthwhile morning.
Finally, our last adventure is the Olien Hout Swemgat.  I jog to catch up with Robin so that I don't miss my lift home.  Barbara meets me at his house.

For hikes like this and others --- Contact Peter Giddy Guided Tours.
Peter would love to be your "Friend for a Day" taking you on an easy and quite doable walking trail around Port Elizabeth.
peter.giddy@gmail.com