September 2018 -- Peter Giddy Guided Tours -- Addo Elephant Park; Garden Route; Namaqualand Flowers
Peter --- showing guests some interesting point.
Contact Peter
peter.giddy@gmail.com
A sample of tours on offer
- Addo Elephant Park
- Kragga Kamma Wildlife Reserve
- Garden Route and adventures
- Namaqualand Flower Tours
- City, Cultural, Township and Historical Tours
- Hiking -- A social 2-3 hour hike. Port Elizabeth and surrounding areas.
This is Anne Haug;s bike. We leave at 5am for the beach. And I drop her and Sabrina off near to Mc Donalds. Anne goes on to a podium position at third place. It seems that she had to work hard for this as the competition was fierce although conditions were near perfect with a light westerly and clear skies.
Anne finishing her Ironman in 4.07 -- stunning time and result
Anne is placed third in the Pro Women / overall.
We celebrate the Ironman event and Anne's win with a Braai. When Anne is interviewed she tells the reporter, who asks her what she plans for tonight: I will be having a Brie with my host, Peter. In this pic -- Sabrina and Anne; Ron and a friend of Hazel, Christelle, Hazel and baby Elizabeth, Myself and Hakan. Lyn and Desmond who is taking the pic.
September 1st. Saturday. Ironman event in Port Elizabeth. Today is the Lady's event.
I am up early and take my two guests -- Anne Haug and her friend Sabrina -- to the beach front where Anne will start her swim at 7.30am. Anne is a Pro Athlete and is ranked 4.
I then meet up with Chris; Adrienne; Mike and Lindi for an 8k run.
I spend most of the day catching up with marking of the University scrips that I have been given a deadline until Monday. I also buy the Braai Meat from Merino and collect Barbara's Corsa Bakkie from Nels body works where it has been repaired after I damaged the tail light. The afternoon is spent fetching and carrying my guests.
Lesley and Emily at Daniel Cheetah Project
Sunday 2nd. Drop Hakan off at Kings Beach for the swim. Pick up Lesley and daughter Emily for a Daniel Cheetah tour.
Finish Marking for the University.
Pick up Hakan after his event.
The one winged Jackal Buzzard
Two Spotted Hyena -- Bone and Marrow.
Tim with Khaki the tame Cheetah.
Hakan -- my Ironman Visitor with the Cheetah.
Hakan stayed with me from the Wednesday before Ironman to the following Wednesday. During that time we became quite firm friends.
The two male lions -- Chuck and Norris.
Lesley and Emily with the Cheetah.
Cynthia; Hilary; Brian; Thamara; Isabelle; Michael and Rhianna in Addo
Monday 3rd. I have 7 people for Addo. Hilary and Cynthia contacted me months ago and staying at the Mongoose Manor; Tamara and husband from Chapman Hotel and Rhianna plus two from 9 third ave Walmer.
Tuesday .. Run with the group. Chris; Mike; Adrienne and Lindi. Hakan is off with the fast group.
Daniel Cheetah and then Addo
Supper at the Mexican Restaurant with Hakan and his friends from Ironman.
Elephant up close to the car.
At the Daniel Cheetah Project with TIm; Mark; Paula; Greg; Carlos; Solly; the Guide is Danelle and Hakan.
Addo tour with Mark; Greg; Hakan; Tim; Paula; Solly and Carlos
Hakan; Atilla and Beatrix for supper at the Mexican restaurant in 6th Ave
Cathy is finally up and about and goes home. Barbara is able to sleep in a bed for the first time in a week.
So it is now 20 years since Ted and Cynthia died in motor accident on the N2 between PE and Sundays River. They were living in Bathurst at the time. Following their death, Caitlyn moved into their home.
Francesca (Journalist) and Rupert (Ironman) at Jacks
Hapoor fields looking amazing after recent rains. Green and Golden coloured daisies.
Wednesday morning. A short run with Chris and Lindi then I take Beatrix to the airport. Hakan leaves for Sweden today. I have an Addo Tour.
Extremely wet weather -- dams are filling up and there is a kind of euphoria in the city.
Thursday 6th. I am up early and meet Paula and Tim at the Garden Court Hotel. We drive to Storms River Bridge where we get ourselves a coffee before continuing to the Monkeyland. Here our guide is Duane who has a great humor and is interested in providing the best possible service to our two American Guests.
Our next stop is back to the Tsitsikamma Falls Zip Lines where Tim and meet George who is an old colleague and friend of Peter Wilson. We kit up and have a great Zip Line experience
Our Guides are Heinrich and Ruan here seen with Tim and George.
We stop in the Tsitsikamma village for a lunch at the Rock and Roll (50's and 60's) music tribute to Elvis and others. Fortunately for me Paula is also a fan of this musical era.
Our last stop for the day is the Storms River mouth where we do the walk along the boardwalk to the suspension bridges. Paula becomes nervous and stressed at the feel of heights so we dont continue on to the bridges. Paula takes the stairs and the tough walk totally in her stride.
Our drive home is in the rain and I am really happy to be home by 6pm.
Thursday 6th. Tim and Paula for Tsitsikamma -- Zip Line; Monkey Land and Storms River mouth.
Bushbuck and ewe on the forest drive.
Rupert and Jan, from the Chec Republic, who won the Disabled section of the Ironman. What a gentleman. So humble and interesting to talk to.
Found all four Rhino - one adult male; one female and two calves. Meanwhile I read in the newspaper that Kragga Kamma is now building an enclosure for four Lions which have been rescued from the Ukraine where three of them were being held in a Pit after being dumped by a Circus and a male cub found in a separate cage. Lionel De Lange, who works on Bear Rescue, contacted Mike and Alesha Cantor to see if they can assist. They are all presently working on Permits while the Cantors are creating this 10 000sq m enclosure. Hoping to be completed by the end of October when the Lions are due to arrive.
Friday 7th. The Combi goes in for service. I take Rupert to Kragga Kamma in Barbara's Opel Corsa bakkie. The BnB tenants arrive. Sunet and Tanya with two children who are here for SA Cross Country. Ron and I attend a DA feedback meeting with Athol Trollip, Bobby Stevenson and Bhanga.
Michel -- Ironman competitor with the Guide -- Marthinus and Cheetah -- Khaki.
Saturday morning. Raining throughout the night. My BnB guests go off to run Cross Country (SA Champs) at NMU. Rain continues.
I have a Combo Tour of Daniel Cheetah and Addo for Michel from Chile. It had rained all night and all morning during our drive to the Cheetahs but as soon as we arrived it stopped raining until we left. From there it rained (Poured) all the way to Addo Elephant park. Until we had completed registration and climbed into the car. From there we had clear skies through our Safari. Talk about luck.
Here I am doing my Guiding thing.
Hakan takes a pic of the morning group. Too dark for me to identify everyone but I see -- Matthew; Michael; Colin; Riana; Benita; Natalie; Chloe And probably Lyn; Joan; Suzanne;
Hakan in the company of Khaki the leopard
Hakan and our group at Jacks
Andrea and Ross are with friends in Portugal cycling the Camino from Porto to Santiago
Hakan is in Sweden training with his two friends for the Italian Ironman
Barbara in NZ with Cathy; Saul and Blake -- they spend Saturday 9th across on an Island climbing a Volcano
Kate, on the right, with her team mates as they finish this adventure race.
Sunday. Sunet and Ilse Marie; Tanya and Nicola -- who came to PE for Cross Country, and stayed with me for two nights, leave for Bloem and then Pretoria. They seemed quite happy with the arrangements. It has continued to rain off and on for days now however I manage to fit in a 10k run in the sunshine this morning. Meanwhile my cousin Kate North (Sephton) completed an adventure race in EL this weekend of 70k cycle and 18k run with abseiling inbetween. And Barbara in NZ is with Cathy; Saul and Blake as they climb a Volcano on a nearby island. And Andrea from the running group is cycling the Camino that we did in April from Porto to Santiago. And my Swedish Ironman / guest / Friend is back home and training for a full Ironman in Italy in a couple of weeks.
Pedro from Brazil at the Kragga Kamma Restaurant. Pedro is a friend of Bianca and Anne who were here in July.
Monday starts the day with a Chilly Run of 10k with Chris and Lindi; then I meet up with Ingrid and Lisa and lastly with Benita and Suzanne --
My computer screen hinge is broken and I must take it in for repairs. The washing machine was returned last week but still not working.
Tuesday After my run I pick up some people for Frank's Flower tour that starts today. Then I have Vanessa for Addo which is quite successful.
The descent on the Zuurberg Hiking trail.
Wednesday I have run 8k on Monday, 7k on Tuesday and another 8 this morning. I start off with the walkers, then carry on to meet up with Owen. On the way back to his house I meet up with Ingrid and Lisa ending with the 8 which is more than I had planned but I am very happy.
Later we meet at the 5 ways Spar. I go to the Zuurberg Hike with Ian Andrews. He has an amazing memory for the subjects that we talk about. We leave 5 ways at 6.45am. Register at the Ranger Station at Zuurberg. It is Tourism Week so we do not pay an entry fee. We start walking at 8.30 and do the 14k hike in 4.30 hours. This is a tough hike. I find the descent the toughest. Probably 1.5 lit water would be best especially on a hot day. Plus a bit more to eat than you normally would take.
Kevin identifies these as Painted Lady (Vanessa Cardui)
Crossing the Baakens River is made easy with these stepping stones.
Thursday 13th. I continue to receive plenty of enquiries for BnB but few bookings. This morning Chris is not feeling up to running so I run a 7k with Lindi and Kelly.
This morning I meet the group at Settlers Park for a walk in the Baakens Valley.
.Flowers of Namaqualand... A sample.
Our Flower Tour Group -- Cheryl; Alta; Des; Liz; Yvonne and Peter.
Friday 14th September 2018 to Thursday 20th September.
I am on a Flower Tour with Peter Joseph and five guests -- Alta; Yvonne; Des; Liz; Cheryl
Dirk and Lou. We were granted access to the Cape Recife Lighthouse and climbed up the very narrow steps to the top.
Friday 21st. I swim with Megan -- Just one kay -- to get myself back into swimming.
Later meeting with Peter and Frank and then a Cape Recife and Kragga Kamma tour with Lou and Dirk.
Saturday 22nd. Running 11kay with Viv; Adrienne; Chris and Lindi. We really enjoy the morning and run a little further than we had originally intended.
Barbara is still in New Zealand so I laze around until I receive a call from Caitlin at the Beach Hotel and take Matthew from Italy for a City tour. We end up at the Sacramento Restaurant where he buys lunch and also meet Letitia and her Mother there.
The Southern Kings are playing at the University Stadium so we bypass it. But later I learn that the Kings beat Glasgow 36 to 14 in a surprise upset.
These six ladies are friends from Limpopo province. They all work in the Department of Health and travel as a group once a year. They first wanted to come in their Blue Dresses; I persuaded them otherwise.
For these ladies it is all about image. They appeared to have enjoyed their outing of an Hour of Riding.
Sunday 23
Barbara arrives back from New Zealand in Cape Town for one night then home tomorrow.
I meet Viv for a short Sunday morning run. Coffee with Viv and Kevin at their home.
Pick up 6 ladies for Horse Riding at Heavenly Stables.
Monday is a public Holiday (Heritage / Braai Day). We start at Hobie beach where we meet Maroline and do about 8km run. Pat; Stefany; Viv; Susan; Lindi; Chris and Adrienne.
The tyre was so worn that the thread was showing. And it was on this tyre that I have just completed the Flower tour of over 3000km. When Chris and I tried to remove the retaining plate under the Combi we broke one of the nuts so there was no possibility of using the spare. Just lucky I did not have a flat and was able to change the tyre on a Public Holiday.
Gugu and her husband Piyone (I think) from Durban. He is recently retired and she is a school teacher. On a city tour with me today.
At the Harbour. The Hook is the restaurant at the Angling Club.
The sign reads the Nelson Mandela Bay Yacht Club. However this club no longer exists for Yachtsmen and is in the process (September 2018) of being made into a restaurant.
Monday 24th. We start the morning with a beach run. I then have two tyres replaced. Then take two guests for a City tour and finally fetch Barbara at the PE Airport after being away for a month.
This evening Barbara and I braai as today is National Heritage Day (Also known as Braai Day)
This is at Hapoor today. Looks like I could be back on the Namaqualand Flower Tour. Such colour after rains about 4 weeks ago.
Thamara; Xianie; Stephanie and Mona
Tuesday 25th. Running with Chris and Andrea who has just returned from her Cycling Spanish Camino and tells us some of the stories and difficulties.
Addo Tour with Stephanie; Xianie; Mona and Thamara who are staying in an Air BnB at Herman Brink's old house in Bernard Road.
Pandanus on the beach front.
This tree is at the beach front. Known as a Pandanus. This is NOT closely related to Palm Trees but often called a Screw Palm
25 Walkers on the Sardinia Bay hike this morning.
On the Hike today -- Dave and Heather; Robin; Dave and myself; Dave; Dennis and Penny; Jimmy and Di; Lesley and Keiko; Keith; Margaret; Magriet and Ina; Jenny; Sheilah and Sheilah; Marjorie; Jenny and Russell; Paul; Ralph and Julia.
Wednesday 26th September 2018. My first day off in about two weeks. Hiking the Sardinia Bay Beaches. During the day I manage to arrange a PA System for the Combi.
Addo is looking at its very best at present. Green grasses and colourful flowers make Game Viewing extra special
Chen and Lungelo at Jacks as they braai for the Criss Cross guests
Lunch at Jacks with Thumi; Rojas; Anthony; Camilla; Carla and Derek.
Thumi and Derek; Rojas from Durban; Anthony and Camilla with Mama Mia -- Carla.
Thursday 27th. I run with Chris; Stef; Liesl; Mike. 8km. Then I have an Addo Tour with Anthony and his wife Camilla from Hong Kong and her mother Carla from Italy. Also on tour is Rogas Chetty from Durban and Derek and Thumi from Jhb. A successful tour.
I first go to Walmer Post office and after standing for 30 minutes I discover that the Licencing is not being done. Then I go to Sunridge Post Office where I stand in line for about an hour and a half. Here there are 25 people in front of me.
Friday 28th and Saturday 29th. Take my car in to have the retaining plate for the spare wheel repaired. Barbara's Bakkie Licence done. BnB people should be two and three arrive at 10.30pm and then go out to 3am.
David. Barbara and Joshua on our way to the Stadium.
Singing of the National Anthem. Our beer cups had the anthem written on them so those of us who do not know all the words were able to participate.
At the end of the game there is great excitement and celebrations.
The scoreboard reflects 23 to 12 ... Three tries to two.
Saturday 29th morning. Running at the beach front. 10km with Chris; Lindi; Liesl and Mike. Rugby SA vs Australia. Our neighbour, Marshall, gives us tickets. So Barbara, Joshua, David and I walk to the stadium after receiving wrong information that Mount Road was going to be closed. Lene and Daniel drive as Lene has a sore leg. The Stadium is a near sell out after SA Beat NZ two weeks ago. We later hear that there were 41 000 people in the stadium. This afternoon the game is really tense. SA score a try within the first minute and then again shortly after that. The Australians reply with two tries and then SA Score again. So at half time the score is 20-12. The second half is really tense as Australia are constantly on attack however they do not make use of the many penalty opportunities and do not score again and the game ends 23 to 12.
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