July 2019 ---- Tours and fun with Peter Giddy guided tours. Port Elizabeth wildlife; Addo Elephant Park; Activities and attractions.
July 2019
Peter Giddy Guided Tours -- Shore Excursions -- Addo Elephant and other Wildlife Reserves -- Garden Route. Flowers of Namaqualand --
0027 (0) 82 55 03 714 Whatsup
peter.giddy@gmail.com
- Addo Elephant Park
- Kragga Kamma Wildlife Reserve
- Daniel Cheetah Project
- Pumba; Shamwari; Amakhala; Kariega -- Day trips Private Reserves.
- Mountain Zebra National Park in Cradock.
- City Historical and Cultural Tours
- Horse riding for both experienced and inexperienced riders
- Hikes and Walks around Port Elizabeth (2 hour Nature and Coastal walks)
- Garden Route Adventure Tours (Zip Lines; Segway in the Forest; Adventure Quad Biking; Bridge Walks; Bungy Jump; Knysna Elephant Park; Monkey Land and Birds of Eden; Big Cats Sanctuary; Oudtshoorn Cango Caves and Ostrich farms)
- Shore Excursions from Passengers ships
- Airport; Hotel and Wildlife Reserve transfers.
- Volkswagen Factory visits.
- Golfing in Port Elizabeth -- where everything is supplied.
- Flowers of Namaqualand. Seven days of adventure and exploring places and sights you never even knew existed. History and natural beauty of the South West of South Africa
Website -- petergiddyguidedtours.wordpress.com
For tours and bookings.. email me at. peter.giddy@gmail.com
Contact me on Whatsup.... +27 (0) 825503174
Monday 1st July 2019.
I pick up Marianne for an Addo Safari.. Marianne is a Brazillian living in Germany. She is in South Africa for a Study Group of Angolan History. Marianne explains that there are similarities in the History of Angola and Brazil and this is her field of study in Germany. This morning we are really fortunate as we come across a number of animals within the first hour of our Safari. Then we find a single bull elephant which has an injury on his right hand shoulder. He looks tired and aging. It could be that the wound is infected and he is struggling to maintain his strength. Wounds like this could be caused by a number of factors. Probably the first that comes to mind is a fight with a rival bull elephant. Or it could be that Lions attacked him. It may even be something less dramatic like a thorn or branch. But their skin is so thick that this is an unlikely
There is a strong cold wind blowing today and we dont find any more elephants until we are about to leave the reserve. Fortunately we find two adult females with their young. This gives us a wonderful end to a reasonably successful day of game viewing. Today we were able to find a group of three lionesses. They were in the distance and we had to use Binoculars.
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| Mia; Christian; Zara and Aaron leaving for CT. |
Nicky leaves for Grahamstown with Werner. It is Festival Time. Wernerr is playing in some shows. Christian; Aaron; Zara and Mia leave for CT. They leave a packet of dough which I make into Amagwenya but there is no one to eat them.
Saturday 6th July. I have an Addo Tour with Flore Laurent from Paris, France. Flore is working for Ives St Laurent on Sustainability is South Africa. She is here to check out the Mohair farms and general industry. She will be travelling to Stellenbosch and the Carnarvon to look at an Abattoir before returning home. We have a successful Safari with Elephants all around the car at one time.
Sunday morning. I had discovered the Myrun and so registered for myself; Barbara and Ally to run at Falcon Rock. They cancelled as they thought the weather would be too bad for running. So this morning I decide at the last minute to run the Humewood Myrun. It is at the Humewood Golf Course. As I was driving there it was pouring with rain but I was up and out anyway so arrived at the Golf Course with minutes to spare. Here I find Bertus and Christien who are the organisers. Steve; Jacques and Adel all arrive and we line up to start the run... It is either 2.5 or 5km. Both are Official Distances. The run is free to everyone. If you want to be timed you need to buy the Wristband for R60.
The four of us line up at the start and at 8am we start running. Steve goes ahead and I run with the other two runners. The route is the perimeter of the Golf Course running in an Anti Clockwise direction. Well marked with red pointers -- just at the end I became a bit mixed up. But all good -- you really cannot get lost. As a real treat Bertus bought us coffee at the end. Another runner, Dennis from Cape Town, had gone all the way to Falcon Rock only to find they had cancelled so he had to rush to Humewood and started 10 minutes late.
This is perfect for me as I need motivation to get up and running on mornings when I am not working and there is no Group Run. In Fact this was my first and only run of the week.
My time for my first run was 38 min.
Monday morning. Ally's car in for panel beating. I swim 1200m with Megan.
Tuesday. Back to running after a bit of a break. 9km with the walking group. Mike; Mitch; Antoinette; Stefany and Gaye.
Wednesday... Back to swimming .... 1500m with Megan. Starting to feel fit again despite regular knee issues.
Wednesday morning. I start the day very early fetching Ally and Jessica from a night out. I have little sleep there after as I fetch Megan for our swim -- 1500m this morning.
Ally wakes up in time and joins me for the Wednesday walk at Sacramento. We pick Lyn Jolliffe up on the way. Today, despite a chilly wind, there are about 35 walkers on the trail. During the walk I receive a call to fetch Alexandra for Kragga Kamma. A bit of a rush but we have a great afternoon.
Thursday I had planned to run and to walk but my knee plays up again and I struggle to even walk in the house. So irritating.
Saturday. I am so frustrated. Our group was down at Hobie beach for a run and I could not be there. Afternoon -- Barbara and I drop some stuff off a the Penguin rescue place. They have recovered 100 penguins which were caught in an oil spill. They have huge piles of Newpapers and Towels and other stuff required to clean up these birds.
I go to Framesby to watch the rugby vs Grey. At present Framesby is 5th top of SA Schoolboy rugby while Grey is at 10th Position.
The day is quite unusual as I do not meet up with any of the "Usual Suspects" who I would expect to see at Rugby. But a Great afternoon of rugby anyway. The Vibe is great. And the main game is really suspenseful. Grey score 22 points in the first half and Zero in the second half. Framesby score 12 in the first half and manage a converted try early on in the second half putting them in striking range of winning. As often happens they do not take conversion penalties rather going for Trys and in the end Grey defense is so solid that they manage to hold Framesby off even in the dying minutes with Penalty after Penalty being given against them. So the final score is 22 to 17 in Grey favour. Grey must surely move up in the rankings.
Later the following week I see that the First 15 Schoolboy Rugby rankings for 2019 have the following results make up the top 10 and a couple of other schools of interest.
- Grey College (Bloem)
- Paarl Gym
- Paarl Boys
- Grey High (PE)
- Paul Roos Gym (Stellenbosch)
- Framesby (PE)
- Selborne EL
- Monument (Krugersdorp)
- Garsfontein (Pretoria)
- St Andrews (Grahamstown)
26. Dale (Kingwilliamstown)
29. Despatch
41. Kingswood (Grahamstown)
71. Nico Malan (Humansdorp)
78. Queens College (Queenstown)
Monday 15th. No running or swimming. Knee injury has taken control of me.
I have an Addo with Malte and Janina from Hamburg Germany. They are on Honeymoon and enjoying a bit of SA before going on to the Seychelles.
Today, after a great start which included a herd of buffalo; a hunting Jackal; and Eland.... We struggle to find any good sightings of Elephant. Then when we had just about given up; the flood gates opened up and we saw so many Ellies -- Females with babies; Huge Bulls in Musth and real close ups of the most interesting behaviour. What an afternoon it turned out to be.
Thursday 18th July 2019. I visit Dr Paddy Carolin. He is retiring from daily consultations. I have had a sore knee basically most of this year with odd periods of relief when I could walk and run normally. He prescribes anti inflammatory pills and I go for Xrays which shows that I dont have any really serious problems like arthritis. While I am in the Hospital for the X rays I see Brett and Kelly Holmes as well as Tommy Satchwell. He tells us that Geoff Roberts is in ICU.
Geoff ran Knysna 42 and had a fall in which he broke a rib. I was really fortunate to be able to visit Geoff and he tells me that X rays of the rib, subsequently revealed a tumor which is on his lung and lymph gland. He has had surgery and may have to undergo more surgery.
Friday 19th.
Ally and I drive to Cape Town. We stop in Plett to talk to Val Ludgrove Estate agent with her two staff members; Yolande and Esme. Esme will be handling the leasing of the flat if Patrick and Julia agree to this. They will do a professional job for us and probably have a much higher success rate.
On our way we stop at the Worster Shell filling station. Ally leaves her phone in the toilet and we only realise on the way, so we have to turn around and go all the way back. Fortunately an honest cleaning lady -- Nomonde, had picked up the phone and handed it back to Ally. After much stress there was much joy.
A wine cellar -- used to be a bike repair shop. Biking and running are part of the community culture of this "Free Access" wine estate. It is a beautifully kept area and appears that they encourage these community activities. It is the 4th birthday of this parkrun and they have cupcakes for free at the end of the run. I meet the Race Director, Andre, and compliment him on a great event.
Saturday 20th. Nicky and I do the Meeredendal Parkrun. A beautiful morning. I meet Belinda Deysel who I used to work with many years ago in the JDG. We do a time of about 33 minutes. Official results for myself and for Nicky. We are both 2nd in our age group.
| Durbanville parkrun results for event #198. Your time was 00:32:40. | |||
Congratulations on completing your 72nd parkrun and your 1st at Durbanville parkrun today. You finished in 127th place and were the 104th male out of a field of 324 parkrunners and you came 2nd in your age category VM65-69.
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Later this morning Ally and I go to town where she is shopping for jeans at speciality shops. We have breakfast at the same coffee shop as we did on the previous occasion. Eggs Benedict with Salmon. Yummy. Ally then does some shopping for provisions before dropping me off at the airport. My flight is delayed but the pilot is able to make time with a strong following wind so we end up landing just 15 minutes behind schedule.
Monday. A short run with Chris. He gives me this pen which he had made in Canada. Sadly we learn that Lloyd Emmanuel (my cousin, Judy's husband) died. It seems that he had been unwell for some time. Lloyd and Judy were good friends to me for many years. Daughter of my Dad's sister Puck and her husband Martin Woods, Judy and Lloyd were farmers and business people on Little Falls Cattle and general farming at Mooi River. They were "Neighbours" to Puck and Martin. Judy has three (now adult) children; Shaughnah; Megan and Colin.
Tuesday 23rd. Running about 7k with Chris and Adrienne. It seems that the group is mainly walkers at present. Very few slow runners and not many fast runners in the group. Walking this morning. Mitch and Adel; Stef and Liesl; Antoinette.
Wednesday... Swimming with Megan. I got to 1300m while Megan would be at over 1500m
At Newton Park pool this morning. John; Liz and Lisa who are being Coached. Rain cancelled my plans for a Van Stadens flower reserve hike.
Thursday 25. Running about 7k with Viv and Adel. Hiking about 8k with the Thursday walking group. We do the Bridal Path off Sardinia Bay road followed with a Braai.
Saturday 27th. Park run at Adrenalin Addo Farm. This is where the dual Zip Line takes place. It is their first. There is so much enthusiasm from the staff; volunteers and runners. People from all over have come to run this event. Tourists -- People who have run at 20 or more venues. And parkrunners who have run 50; 100 and 250 events. I run with Bob Norris this morning. 31 minutes. This is a great place for a parkrun. Through the orchards; which are currently dripping with ripe oranges. There are a couple of up hills and easy to take a wrong turn. This is not a flat fast route but also not particularly difficult. The twists and turns make it an interesting route and you never know quite where you are. You must be vigilant -- looking for the orange direction arrows. I am sure that Ryan (Owner) will make sure that the route is clearly marked to avoid confusion.
After the parkrun I meet with our morning running group (MPRG) for breakfast at Old Grey. Adrienne is leaving for 4 months in the UK. Susan is running the International Transplant Games in Newcastle and there is Rugby -- SA vs NZ in Wellington. Springboks open with two converted penalties and then the All Blacks score a converted try at half time. So the score is 7-6 in NZ favour. In the second half NZ score a second try and SA a penalty. BUT then at the very last minute the Springbok scrumhalf, Herschel Jantjies, score a converted try to make it an historic 16 - 16 draw. This puts the Springbok team on top of the Rugby Championships log after two games. (Australia and NZ).
Replacement scrumhalf, Herschel Jantjies, scored a try in the final minute of play to help South Africa snatch a 16-16 draw with New Zealand in a tense Rugby Championship clash in Wellington on Saturday.
Jantjies pounced on an error by Aaron Smith to silence most of the soldout crowd, who had until the try been expecting a tight win for the world champions at the Wellington Regional Stadium.
It is another fairytale story for the young scrumhalf, who scored two tries last weekend on debut as the Boks beat Australia in Johannesburg.
Jack Goodhue scored the only try for the All Blacks after a scintillating break from Beauden Barrett, while the fullback and flyhalf Richie Mo'unga added the rest of the points from the boot.
Springboks flyhalf Handre Pollard kicked three penalties for the visitors, then held his nerve to slot the conversion that locked the scores at 16-16 and ended the game.
| Adrenalin Addo parkrun results for event #1. Your time was 00:30:54. |
| Congratulations on completing your 73rd parkrun and your 1st at Adrenalin Addo parkrun today. You finished in 15th place and were the 10th male out of a field of 82 parkrunners and you came 2nd in your age category VM65-69 |
| This evening we join Derrick and Lynne Jolliffe for a burger braai. They have a neighbour; Heather Gibboni over. She is a teacher at St Georges school. A ex contemporary of their daughter. Moved to Australia and NZ but now lives in Schoenies. Is going to do the same Camino from Porto to Santiago that we did last year. |
Sunday morning. Barbara opts out of the myrun. I go to Falcon Rock myrun. This morning is my first time to do this route. I did the Falcon Rock parkrun some years ago but now myrun has been going for about a year. This is my third myrun and first at Falcon Rock. There are about 12 participants.
I start off with Briget and Dave who are the organisers of the Lady Slipper parkrun. They and others pass me on one of the hills. I continue along this path which continuously changes up and down and criss cross.
This morning is particularly hot as there is no breeze in the forest area. The route can become a little confusing as it doubles back on itself a couple of times. But in the end it is a tough track to run on, And a really worthwhile 5k run.
After the run I have a hot chocolate and muffin which is on sale. I am the only one who takes advantage of this small treat. Some of the others get back on the track for some extra distance while the rest relax before leaving.
As I am about to drive off I see some hikers have come to walk the Lady Slipper trail. Makes me think that I should be doing the same soon.
This afternoon the Tour de France ends in Paris with Colombian Egan Bernal winning. South African Daryl Impey is placed 72nd and Reinardt J v Rensberg at 124 of 155 finishers. Great to have SA represented and Daryl winning a Stage. The first since Robbie Hunter won a stage in 2007. Robbie Hunter was the first ever South African to take part in TDF in 2001. Another South African to do well in the TDF is Louis Meintjies as he was placed 8th overall in 2016 and 2017. Between Louis, Robbie and now Daryl -- We have TDF Hero's. This year Reinardt Janse van Rensburg also took part and if he hangs in he may be able to make an impression for future rides.
He lives and operates from Johannesburg.
This afternoon I find and then buy a new Braai Drum.
Wednesday 31st. Swimming 1300m with Megan. The water is warmer today at about 25 degrees. In the pool is Armand; John; Leise and Lizette. I enjoy being early into the pool as the water is clear for the first half of the swim. This morning I use the leg float thing which means that I do not kick at all. Helps with my ongoing knee injury. I am trying to breath every 4th stroke instead of every second stroke which is what I am used to. I think that this should help build lung capacity.
Hiking the Cape Recife Trail with the Wednesday Walkers.
