Turtletravel

Tours in Cape Town

2010-03-16T13:26:00.000+02:00

Hi Folks

Visit my new blog photos and information on the Cape town stadium which is complete and ready to host the Fifa world cup.

I have managed to obtain pictures from the day construction started till today.

Go and check them out at
http://www.toursincapetown.com

Whale beaches at Kommetjie

2006-07-24T22:00:00.000+02:00

Whale on the rocks

This week a 15 metre Southern Bottlenose whale beached at Kommetjie near the Slangkop lighthouse.

It caused quite a stir as people from all over the Cape Peninsula made the trip to Kommetjie to see it lying in the sun on the rocks.

Chunks of blubber lie near the whale

Scientists and other interested parties have been to examine the carcass of the whale and have cut large chunks out of it to get to the whale's vital organs.

Disposal of the whale has become a problem as the authorities cannot drag it up to Lighthouse Road as they would tear up a sensitive stretch of veld with their tractors.

If it is not removed soon Kommetjie is going to be in for a "Big Stink " while it rots on the beach.

Surfers at Inner Kom just a few hundred metres from where the whale beached

Surfers surfing at the Outer and Inner Kom will have to be on the lookout for large sharks as the whale is likely to attract their attention.

Geoff Fairman

PS. It took the authorities a week to decide what to do with the carcass of the whale and it was eventually decided to burn it.

It took three days to completely dispose of the whale after piling wood all around the carcass and pouring petrol over it to get the fire started.

Winter in Cape Town

2006-05-20T19:09:00.000+02:00

Winter has come to Cape Town with a vengeance this week.

Its rained for the whole week and has not been the usual drizzle but very heavy rain.

Our dam levels have dropped to a low of 40% full over the past few months but the heavy rain we have had this week will go a long way to raising the levels of the dams.

This photo shows some of the flooding in Monte Vista.

Today I went out with my camera to see what damage the weather had caused.

This is what I found.

A new lake on our park with a pair of Egyptian geese enjoying the water

The photos above show a park here in Monte Vista that has been flooded by all the rain and even more remarkable is the variety of birds that have arrived to make use of the flooding.

The Ibyss and the egrets were also enjoying the new found lakes

Trust you will enjoy the photos.

Geoff Fairman

Knysna holiday town on the Garden Route

2006-04-25T21:13:00.000+02:00

Knysna Lagoon

Knysna is built on the banks of the Knysna lagoon.

As the lagoon is tidal the sea water flows in and out of the lagoon through the Knysna Heads which are two large cliffs on either side of a 100 metre channel that was formed when a combination of sea and rivers cut a channel through the rocky coastline.

The channel is navigable for smaller ships and the navy regularly enters the lagoon with its frigates during the oyster festival which is held in July.

Shipping entering the lagoon has to be extremely careful as there is a large rock in the middle of the channel which they have to navigate around.

Over the years a number of ships have run aground on the rock and their remains lay strewn along the bottom of the channel.

A diving school at the Heads regularly dives in the channel to inspect the wrecks and to spear fish.

Fishing off the rocks in the vicinity of the Heads is good especially on a rising tide when fish enter the lagoon.

The channel through the heads

The two heads have been developed differently.

The eastern head which can be reached by road has been developed into a residential area while the western head has been turned into a private nature reserve.

On the eastern head a number of lookout points have been built giving visitors a fantastic view over Knysna and the lagoon.

The lookout points on the sea side hang over the cliff face with a sheer drop of about 120 metres to the sea far below.

Scary stuff for those scared of heights.

The nature reserve on western head is called the Feather Bed Nature Reserve and is owned by William Smith son of J B Smith the man who discovered the Coelacanth in South Africa.

One can visit the Nature Reserve by booking a ticket on old four legs, a pleasure craft used by the Smiths to transport visitors across the lagoon to the Reserve.

Old four legs actually has four legs which are used to raise the vessel to the level of the fixed jetty on the nature reserve side of the channel.

If not for the legs passengers would not be able to get off the ferry at low tide.

After your excursion across the lagoon its time to explore the waterfront area.

The waterfront is a marina which is built on the banks of the lagoon opposite the heads and consists of a shopping centre, restaurants and residential flats.

Canals have been built between the buildings to form the marina.

There is a small drawbridge which is raised to allow yachts into the marina area so that one can park ones boat and car quite close to one another.

A small boat harbour has been built near the channel into the marina and many yachts and pleasure craft are moored there.

The Outeniqu Choo Choo

Close by is the Knysna railway station where one can board the world famous Outeniqua Choo Choo, one of the last scheduled steam train services in South Africa.

This train crosses the lagoon and puffs its way along the coast through Sedgefield and around the lakes to the Wilderness.

After stopping at the Wilderness station it crosses the Kaaimans River bridge with the sea breaking round the pillars of the bridge far below and then enters a short tunnel before making its way inland to George.

There is a surprise waiting for steam train enthusiasts when they arrive in George.

The Choo Choo does not go to the regular George station but pulls into a station at the entrance to the SA Railway Museum.

The museum covers the history of the railways in South Africa and has a number of old steam trains on display together with many smaller items which were once used on the trains to entertain passengers.

A visit to the museum is recommended.

Knysna is a lovely holiday destination in the middle of the sunshine coast and Tsitsikamma area.

It is not to be missed.

Turtle SA can arrange tours for you to this area.

To contact us send us an email to Tourinfo

We look forward to hearing from you.

Geoff Fairman

Cape Peninsula Tours

Touring with TurtleSA can be a blast

2006-02-27T21:48:00.000+02:00

Lion battery on Signal Hill

The guns that are fired daily on Signal Hill

For the last 194 years every day, Monday to Saturday the gun on Signal hill has been fired.

The tradition started way back in 1806 when the gun (cannon) was first fired from the Castle of Good Hope on the beach front in Cape Town.

As ships had no way of determining the real time it was fired to advise the ships in the bay that it was noon.

In 1902 it was decided to move the gun from the Castle to its present position on Signal Hill from where it overlooks Cape Town, the harbour and Table Bay.

The Lion battery has been fired in excess of 31300 times since it was installed on Signal Hill.

On the 4th August 2002 the gun celebrated its centenary of being on Signal Hill.

Two cannons are utilised, one as a back up to the other.

They were cast in 1791 and 1794 respectively.

Each day Chief Petty Officer Dudley Malgas has the duty of loading the cannons with a 1.5kg charge of gunpowder.

At three seconds before twelve o’clock one cannon is electronically fired from the Astronomical Observatory in Observatory, about 8 kilometres away.

The firing of the Noon day gun is a tourist attraction and can be watched every day on Signal Hill.

If you are a visitor to Cape Town and happen to be walking the streets of Cape Town at noon you will get the fright of your life when the gun fires at precisely 12 o'clock.

The pigeons all take off in fright and even the locals who know that the gun fires will jump before continuing with what they are doing.

The Noon day gun is a great tradition and has been firing for close on 200 years .

Next time you visit Cape Town contact Turtlesa for a tour to see the firingof the gun.

See you all here soon.

Geoff Fairman

Book your Peninsula tour today

Bush fire in Goodwood prison grounds

2006-01-23T16:02:00.000+02:00

Fires seem to be stalking Cape Town at the moment.

We just get one out and another one starts somewhere else.

Today we had a fire flare up in the grounds of the Goodwood prison.

Bush smouldering before bursting into flame

It's really strange how these fires start.

The whole morning was clear and windless and as soon as the wind started to blow the fire began.

What caused the fire?

I think that it was a cigarette butt from a speeding car that landed up in the veld and started the fire.

Port Jackson bush starting to burn.

It was scary as the flames spread quickly and soon a large tract of bush was on fire.

The fire starting to get out of hand.

Luckily the fire brigade was on hand to put this horrible fire out.

Three tenders and a water lorry managed to get the fire damped down and a short while later it was out.

Geoff Fairman,

ps Want to find out more about Cape Town fires visit
Fires in Cape Town

Volvo Yachts arrive in Cape Town.

2005-12-01T23:13:00.000+02:00

ABN Amro One at anchor in the Waterfront after arriving in Table Bay

After 19 days 24 minutes and 2 seconds the first Volvo yacht Abn Amro One arrived in Table Bay at 3.24pm this afternoon.

It made a record crossing averaging 400 miles per day at an average speed of 16 knots which is a world record.

After crossing the line it arrived at the keyside at approximately 4.10pm where it was met by a number of dignatories who handed over a number of prizes.

After a vey tiring crossing I'm sure the crew enjoyed the cases of Heinecken beers closely followed by some of the largest hamburgers I have seen.

The families of the crew members were all waiting on the quay to meet their loved ones.

A number of interviews then took place on the quayside and then the crew were introduced to the public before the champagne was opened and sprayed over everybody.

ABN Amro two arriving at the key in Table Bay tonight

The second yacht ABN Amro Two which was about 80 kilometres behind ABN Amro One got becalmed off the Cape coastline for about five hours before it finally made it into Table bay to cross the first leg finishing line at about 9.00pm.

On arrival at the keyside at about 10.10pm it was met by the crew of the first yacht and hundreds of people who had been waiting hours for its arrival.

The third yacht Brasil 1 is due to cross the line at about 3.00 am tomorrow morning followed by the Ericsson racing yacht.

One of the yachts " Moviestar " will however not be sailing into Cape Town under its own sails as a mishap in rough seas off Spain saw it being withdrawn from the first leg of the race.

It has however been repaired and will arrive in Cape Town in a week or so to be prepared for the leg to Australia.

Its crew will arrive in Cape Town on the 4th of December to continue their training while waiting for their yacht to arrive.

All crews have until the 26th of December to rest and repair their yachts before they face the southern oceans on their way to Australia.

We wish them all a good rest in Cape Town and a safe trip to Australia and for the rest of the race.

Geoff Fairman
Cape Town tours

Bonnievale

2005-11-12T20:53:00.000+02:00

Bonnievale is a farming town about 27 kilomtres east of Robertson in the Western Cape.

Its grown up on the banks of the Breede River which flows through the region.

The town has a number of wine cellars and an interesting history,

;

Some of the vineyards found on the outskirts of the town

A canal system which brings water to the town. The building of the canals nearly bankrupted the owner of the town in the early 1900's

Canals bringing water to the town.

With so much water and a fertile valley some of the residents have fantastic rose gardens.

Keith's rose garden in Bonnievale.

To read the articles about Bonnievale go to
Turtle Essays ezine

Hope you enjoy it.

Geoff

Spring Wild Flower Show

2005-10-16T21:45:00.000+02:00

Its spring in Cape Town and the wild flowers up the west coast are in full bloom,

Just a couple of photos to show you some of the variety and colours that abound.

From small yellow jobbies

to fields of purple that stretch for kilometres

And then there are daisies

And small bushes of white flowers

And cliff faces lined with a carpet of yellow.

Do you want to visit and Cape Town and see some of this beauty for yourselves.

Visit Cape Town tour information and follow the links.

Geoff Fairman

South African National Heritage site

2005-09-12T23:31:00.000+02:00

Near where I live is a patch of ground where wild flowers are protected.

In this protected area there are all sorts of plants including reeds and afrikanders, a blue flower with a potent smell.

Where the grass is short the daisys are out in full force.

Spring in Cape Town

Unfortunately there are also those who abuse this heritage of ours.

Is this the heritage South Africans want to leave their children?

A closer view of what someone thinks our heritage should look like.

Why do people do this?

Do they not respect themselves or others.

Geoff Fairman

Click here to arrange your tour of the Cape Peninsula

Cape Town 's Floral Kingdom

2005-08-13T23:14:00.000+02:00

Mandelas Gold

Cape Town's Floral Kingdom is one of South Africa's World Heritage sites.

Thee are more species of plants growing in this floral kingdom than in the whole of the British isles.

Proteas flowering in Kirstenbosch gardens

Winter in Cape Town is a good time to visit as many of the Ericas and Proteas are flowering.

Here are a couple of the flowers blooming now.

Pincushion protea

Enjoy!

Geoff Fairman

Ps Read about South Africas World heritage sites in thelatest edition of Turtle Essays which is online now.

Click here: Mapumgupwe

Rietvlei Flamingos

2005-06-16T23:14:00.000+02:00

Some of the flamingos wading in the vlei

Rietvlei is a wetland near Milnerton and is probably the home to tens of thousands of birds.

The recent good rains we have had in Cape Town have brought out the birds in force and any one driving past the wetland will see plenty of bird life.

At the moment there are plenty of little black birds swimming about and nesting on the edges of the large vlei.

A flock of flamingoes getting their feet wet

There are also hundreds of flamingos on the vlei and it is interesting watching these white birds with their long necks and legs wade up and down in the water looking for food.

The flamingos stamp their feet and stir up the mud which they then filter for their food with their long beaks.

They are a beautiful sight!

Hope you enjoy the photos herewith.

See you soon.

Geoff Fairman
Turtle Essays ezine

ps

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White Pelicans of the Western Cape.

2005-06-02T15:29:00.000+02:00

Pelicans waiting at the pig farm for offal

Living in Cape Town which has many bird species it is easy to notice the larger birds that fly around overhead.

One of these birds is the pelican which sort of glides along like someone ambling along when going for a walk.

As they often fly over my home towards the south east I wondered where they were going.

A few weeks ago I found out when I took a trip out to Stellenbosch.

At the turnoff to Stellenbosch is a pig farm and there on the edge of the farm dam were hundreds of pelicans.

What were they doing there?

There appeared to be no reason for their presence as they were not wading in the dam but sitting on the dam wall waiting for something.

I've subsequently found out that they were waiting for food.

Over recent years the pelicans have discovered farms around Cape Town where offal is fed to the pigs and they congregate in their hundreds and wait for the food to arrive.

Hundreds of pelicans sitting on the dam wall at a pig farm

Experts studying the birds behaviour are extremely worried about the birds feeding on offal especially dead chicken carcasses.

If the carcasses were to contain any type of poison hundreds of birds could die at the same time just about wiping out the whole pelican colony.

Great White pelicans breed in various places around Cape Town with their main breeding ground being Dassen Island.

They have been breeding on Dassen Island since 1956.

The size of the pelican population on the island has increased steadily, and currently is about 700 pairs which breed, mostly on Boom Point in the northwest on the island.

These birds fly to the mainland to feed.

Other birds such as the Kelp Gull, Cape Cormorants and Swift Terns also breed on the island but these days they are under threat as the pelicans descend on their nests and eat their chicks.

I've always thought that pelicans fed only on fish but this appears not to be the case.

They seem to like flesh in any form and swallow it whole.

Pelicans are interesting birds with their big bills which some say can hold more than bellies can.

Unfortunately for bird lovers access to Dassen Island and its pelican colony is restricted as there is no safe landing for boats.

Authorities are however looking into ways and means of opening up the island for visitors as there is also a large penguin colony on the island which many people would love to see.

In the meantime we will just watch them fly overhead as they are far more graceful in the air than on the ground.

Geoff Fairman.
http://www.turtlesa.com

p.s. Turtle Essays latest edition is online now.

A new type of alien tree

2005-05-21T23:04:00.000+02:00

The tall alien and the normal pine tree close by.

Driving around the suburbs today I came across a new alien tree.

In fact I found a couple in our suburb and have seen others in places as far away as Plettenberg bay.

It looks like a pine tree and has a very distinctive shape.

As you may be aware pine trees are aliens here in South Africa and have to be chopped down.

This new pine tree does not seem to suffer the same fate.

The odd thing about the tree is that it is taller than most pines I have seen, has a smooth bark and all the trees have exactly the same shape.

They seemed to have been cloned.

They are amazingly fast growers as one day they are not there, and the next they are, and are over 20 metres tall.

Reminds me of Jack and the beanstalk and the magic beans.

I decided to do some research and when I took a closeup look this is what I found.

Look closely and you will see the receivers hidden in the branches

The mobile phone companies have got rather sneaky and don't want to foul up the environment with their nasty shaped repeater stations.

They've come up with a novel idea of disguising them in a metal tree that looks like a pine.

No wonder there are so many of them springing up all over Cape Town.

Next time you use your cellphone look out for the alien that is transferring your call.

Geoff Fairman

PS

Turtle Essays latest ezine has been published here

Read and subscribe to it today.

Cape Town's Green Season

2005-05-17T22:58:00.000+02:00

Red Sky in morning Shepherd's warning.
Cape Town sky this week at about 7.30 am

**

Are you a person who cannot handle the heat, large crowds, hotels that are full, and high prices.

Would you like a larger choice of luxury hotels at lower prices?

How would you like to visit tourist attractions and find that you are first in the queue.

Does this sound to good to be true?

I kid you not!

Cape Town is the place to visit in the green season.

Winters in the northern hemisphere are harsh with snow and temperatures below freezing.

Cape Town winters are exactly the opposite.

Yes it gets cold at night, sometimes below 10 degrees celsius when there is a winter storm with wind and rain lashing the peninsula.

Normally temperatures are mild between 10 and 15 degrees at night and a bit warmer during the day.

One can get out and about with a warmish jacket and do things.

Roads are never covered in ice and when there is a snowfall it happens on the high mountain peaks and even sometimes on Table Mountain.

Snow on Table Mountain is an exception not a rule.

Sometimes the winter season can be like a baby, wet and windy but of late we have had very mild winters where it warms up nicely in the day.

As it is winter in Cape Town not many people expect lovely mild weather so they tend to stay away.

That's the secret to my claims above.

Cape Town has plenty of hotels all willing to put you up and to do so they offer reduced prices during the winter months.

Tygerberg with its lovely green tinge
which just a few short weeks ago was brown.

What makes Cape Town winter's great is that everything turns green.

A few drops of rain and the wild flowers come to life and flowers such as the proteas bloom everywhere.

The summer with its heat is always accompanied by the Cape Doctor the south east wind which blows gales all summer long as it whips over False Bay and across the Cape Flats.

In the winter months the wind turns around and the north west wind lashes the peninsula when the weather is bad.

Cape Town however always warns you a day or two before the time of a coming storm.

Lions Head gets a halo of cloud around its head and when Capetonians see that they know its going to rain.

The weather normally produces a fantastic day or two of the most lovely summer weather, where there is not a breath of wind or cloud in the sky with high temperatures just before a big storm.

This week we had a morning with a red sky which means a couple of days of bad weather is on the way.

True to form we have had a northwest gale for two days with cold weather and the odd shower of rain.

The only thing that is really different from the summer season is that the beaches are deserted as the sun is not warm enough to tan in on most days.

The sea water is normally a bit rougher and a different colour to the lovely turquoise it normally is during summer.

For those who love board sailing and kite boarding, a bit of wind is the answer and that they get with the north wind blowing.

The beaches along the Table Bay coastline are full to capacity with kite surfers when the wind is up.

If you are not a beach person NOW is the time to visit Cape Town.

Hopefully I'll see you here soon.

Geoff Fairman

http://www.turtlesa.com

For more articles about Cape Town why not subscribe to the Turtle Essays ezine which is published weekly.

In it you get to hear about happenings in and around Cape town, as well as some history and information on places to see and visit when you come to Cape Town.

Click here to subscribe.

Do so now ! It's free

The new cultures in South Africa

2005-05-02T11:27:00.000+02:00

With the advent of our new government in 1994 things in South Africa began to change.

At first people got freedom of movement.

Where they were previously restricted to certain areas they can go anywhere now, so thousands head for Cape Town every month.

The second thing that happened after the apartheid regime disappeared was that a new pecking order for jobs was introduced. ie African males first!

Everybody else to follow in line as stipulated.

Then it was the turn of affirmative action to be introduced and most jobs advertised were designated AA which meant that only African people could apply.

Many jobs were given to people who had no clue as to how to do them, just so that companies could meet their AA targets.

Somehow many of the people employed in this manner knew how to steal, and boy have they done that!

The number of scams over the last few years that have been highlighted in the press make interesting reading.

Unfortunately many of the people involved in them have managed to pocket millions of taxpayers money and get away with it.

Back when the Nats were in charge there was the odd scam but these days there is just about one a day.

It appears that SA has adopted a system similar to that of the USA where every little matter ends up in court.

Lawyers do not chase ambulances here, but, some certainly know how to defraud the accident fund and the victims of road accidents.

A number of lawyers are behind bars for helping themselves instead of the victims.

With the advent of the new government all sorts of changes to the education system were made.

If you listen to teachers you will find that they are not in favour of most of them.

Where does all this leave the students.

In my opinion most of them are given an inferior school education as the rule states that no one should fail, so learners think that it is not necessary to work.

If someone manages to fail the poor teachers have to write a book as to the reasons why the person failed and why he/she should not be passed.

Another carry over from the apartheid era is that everything should be free.

During that period jobs were scarce for African people, so much of what they got was given to them. (Not a hell of a lot either)

The unfortunate part of all this is that people still think that everything must come on a plate today.

Jobs are there to be abused.

The boss does not have many rights these days.

As far as the worker is concerned he can arrive at any time, do as little as possible and expect to put out his hand for his salary at the end of the month.

In my day it was your responsibility to get to work on time and beware if you turned up late.

You had the riot act read to you.

These days, there is always an excuse, normally the taxis or bus drivers are on strike so the employee cannot get to work.

Once or twice a year I can accept that argument, but not every day.

Here in SA the movie industry is growing and many “extra“
jobs are available to those who take the time and effort to register.

One extra I know has to use public transport to get to the meeting points which are at out of the way places and at odd times, sometimes 3.00 a m in the morning.

He leaves home early using public transport and makes his way to the nearest police station where he asks if he can sleep on the waiting room bench.

That's what I call devoted to duty and if people in SA would have that type of dedication things would get better faster than they are doing today.

An instance I experienced today with a labourer I employed is just the way it is here.

He should have arrived at 8.00 a m, and did not.

He never phoned to say he was going to be late and when I phoned to find out where he was, was told that he had a problem and was not going to get to work at all.

I started my project by myself and at 1.30 pm he arrived.

The only good thing was that he actually made the effort.

EVENTUALLY!

I told him that I no longer needed his services and that he should go home.

His reply was to ask me for his bus fare.

I won't repeat what I told him to do, but decided, that if I must pay him he might as well work for the money I would give him.

It's going to take a long time for us South Africans to get used to the new and sometimes strange cultures we are faced with.

Geoff Fairman

**

Cape Town's winter has begun.

2005-04-11T12:11:00.000+02:00

Storm clouds over Table Mountain

We've had drought conditions here in Cape Town since last winter when we did not get our normal quota of winter rain.

To save water restrictions have been placed on us and gardens have suffered terribly because of the restrictions.

Because of the drought a brand new industry has sprung up in Cape Town.

Every houseowner has decided to put down a wellpoint to keep his garden alive.

Fortunately I got in early and had my wellpoint done a year or two ago which allowed me to water quite freely while others were restricted.

Unfortunately as the drought got worse so the underwater supplies also got scarcer, so much so that where I could water for an hour before the pump started sucking air it did that after about five minutes in the last week or two.

To make matters worse the levels of the dams deteriorated as well and were down to about 27% at the beginning of this last weekend.

Cape Town was desperate for water and one could feel the mood of the people as rain clouds gathered over Cape Town only to be blown away again without a drop of rain falling.

This weekend a south east gale came up, normally this is a summer wind and does not bring rain.

With this wind the thunder clouds started to gather and on Sunday afternoon we had a short sharp shower of rain which came in from the east and not from the north as it normally does.

Shortly afterwards the clouds once again blew away and we thought that the rain had gone again.

An hour or two later the clouds started to build up again and as it got dark Cape Town experienced the most wonderful thunder storm.

Cape Town seldom experiences thunder so you will find most Capetonians and their dogs hiding under their beds as the thunder and lightning crashes overhead.

At times the whole of the sky was alight and here and there fork lightning stabbed groundwards as the storm raged.

With the storm came the rain.

Lovely hard rain that teemed down and lashed the parched earth.

Gutters were soon full and streets became rivers as stormwater drains took strain from the downpour.

The good news is that the storm raged for hours and that this morning (Monday 11th April 2005) it is still raining.

Maybe we are going to have a good winter this year and get our full quota of rain.

The best of all is the feeling one gets when you step outside after the rain has stopped.

The parched earth looks green instead of brown and everything just comes alive when it gets a bit of water.

After such a long and hard summer I am sure Capetonians are all rejoicing this morning, even if it took them hours longer than normal to get to work because of some of the flooded roads.

On behalf of Cape Town I say thank you to God for the rain.

He knows exactly when to bless his people.

Geoff Fairman
Visit the turtlesa website for more photos
**

Ps These storms were very severe and brought about large scale flooding in the Bredasdorp Cape Agulhas area.

Did you know that in South Africa ?

2005-04-11T11:19:00.000+02:00

1.You can be fined a R150.00 for letting an animal stray onto a public road.
2.You can be fined a R100.00 if you are the driver or a passenger on a motor cycle for not wearing the chin strap of your crash helmet.
3. You can be fined a R100.00 for not giving way to an emergency vehicle using its siren.

Above are some of the petty fines that you can bring upon yourself.

Of course there are the more serious ones such as failing to exhibit your car licence which you have already purchased but have forgotten to stick onto your windscreen.

The fine for this serious offence is in excess of R500.00.

Of course the authorities use underhanded methods to catch the unwary.

I'll just list a few for you.

Speed in South Africa causes many road deaths especially on our national roads yet the traffic officials set up their speed cameras on downhills into country towns to catch those people who have failed to slow down to 60 kilometres per hour within a hundred metres of passing the road sign.

The speed limit before the advent of the sign being a 120 kilometres per hour.

On the N1 highway out of Cape Town the authorities have set up a speed camera in an 80 kilometre per hour area where the camera is hidden behind a road sign.

Unless you know of the camera you will ride over the trip wires before you see it.

Over the Easter weekend the traffic officials parked their white panel van on the left hand side of the road just below the crest of the hill facing oncoming traffic so that it looked as if the vehicle had a problem.

When you got closer there was a camera hidden next to the vehicle photographing oncoming cars doing in excess of the speed limit.

You might ask “ What am I going on about”.

Let me tell you!

In South Africa its all about making money.

Road Safety although blasted over the radio and TV is not the main issue.

Municipalities and traffic authorities are out to make budget and the easy way to do it is to target soft targets.

Hidden cameras capture thousands of speeding cars each month in areas where a couple of kilometres above the speed limit will do no harm.

It's also very easy on the traffic officials as there is no confrontation.

Many of the cameras being used on our roads do not belong to the traffic departments because the duty of regulating speed on our roads has been outsourced to private companies.

They bring in far more revenue than the traffic officials ever would even after having to pay a commission to the outsourced company for capturing the speeding motorists on film.

Motorists are being targeted and the real criminals “ murderers, rapists etc are getting away scot free.

A report in a local newspaper listed a number of alarming facts in one of their latest issues.

Below is one of them:

The South Africa Law Commission advises that only 6% of all violent crimes reported and investigated by the SAPS result in a conviction.

Of those reported 75% do not make it to court and of the balance approximately 50% of offenders are actually convicted.

These statistics make really terrible reading.

If we were to compare the violent crime conviction rates to those of traffic offenders I am sure that 95% of the traffic offenders caught on camera end up paying their fines.

It is easy to regulate soft targets and honest people.

What conclusion does all of the above lead me to.

If private traffic officials can achieve about a 95% conviction rate for traffic offences why not employ private investigators to investigate serious crime and pay them when they get convictions.

With a bit of luck the real criminals of our country will get their just desserts.

If this were to happen and be succesful the country would save millions in security costs as the public would not have to turn their homes into prisons to keep themselves safe.

**

Read about S A Prisons in the latest Turtle Essays Ezine
Here is the link:
S A Prisons

See you all soon

Geoff Fairman

Cape Town's roads.

2005-03-24T18:23:00.000+02:00

Who plans the maintenance of our roads?

Whoever this person is he needs to go to school some time to learn something about planning.

I took a drive out to Worcester this week and instead of using the Huguenot Tunnel ( which has a toll of R18.00 now for cars to use it ) I decided to drive over the du Toit's Kloof Pass.

About three kilometres into the pass I came across the first Stop/Go sign board where I was required to stop and wait for at least 15 minutes while traffic coming down the pass utilised the one lane of road that was open to traffic.

What was more than amazing was that nowhere was there any signposting to tell one that the road was reduced to one way traffic for most of the length of the pass.

I was stopped four times with a total delay of about 45 minutes to drive the few kilometres over the pass.

Luckily, I had no time restrictions so I enjoyed the views that I was not likely to have seen had I not had to stop.

On my return trip to Cape Town I had planned to drive from Worcester to Villiersdorp on the road that runs along the eastern side of the Hottentots Holland mountain range.

Lo and Behold ! we were stopped again as they were resurfacing this road as well .

No where were there any prior warnings of roadworks.

Once through all the enforced stops we arrived in Villiersdorp believing that it was not possible to find more roadworks.

Boy, was I wrong?

On the Franschhoek pass road we once again encountered a stop/ go delay.

It was quite amazing that two of the subsidiary roads out of Cape Town over the mountains were blocked by roadworks and that a connecting road on the Worcester side of the mountain was also blocked.

Not only are there road works in the mountains but the N1 highway into Cape Town is undergoing a resurfacing as well.

We are glad that the maintenance is taking place but would love to know who plans the traffic controls.

Both sides of the highway are blocked at the same time and road signs are so badly set up that long delays are caused where there should be none.

Finding your way through the maze of misleading traffic signs is quite a nightmare.

It appears that the contractors who are repairing the roads are left to control the traffic as well.

What do they know about traffic control?

Seeing the chaos made me wonder where are our trained traffic officers were.

Sitting in their cars somewhere using speed cameras to trap people I suppose.

Maybe if they sorted out some of the signage we might not have so many accidents on our roads.

Come on traffic authorities!

Get your act together!

**

To find out where I went on my round trip to Worcester read Turtle Essays latest ezine.
Here is the link:

Turtle Essays edition no 126

See you soon.

Geoff Fairman

**

Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour

2005-03-14T23:47:00.000+02:00

The cycle tour is an annual event happening on the second Sunday in March.

It has grown from a small event way back in 1978 where about 500 people took part to 35000 entrants this year.

If Cape Town could cope with more riders numbers would be well over 40000 by now.

The organisation of this tour is enormous.

The route covering 108 kilometres stretches across the entire Cape Peninsula with the southern section of the route being quite remote from train and bus travel.

Traffic control is a major problem as the route blocks off all the access roads to the southern peninsula for most of the day.

People living in the Southern Peninsula are forced to stay at home or leave home before 5.00am in the morning.

The start of the race at Hertzog Boulevard is another nightmare to organise.

The race is arranged into blocks of entrants whose previous race times are used to stagger the start.

Each entrant is told in which group he/she will start and has to find his way to his group on arrival at the start.

With 35000 entrants with cycles, the start is congested.

With so many people in a race there are bound to be accidents so medical facilities have to be spread all around the Peninsula to be readily available if an accident occurs.

Accidents are a foregone conclusion as most of the 35000 riders are amateurs and are not used to riding in a crowd.

Any slight swerve will take out the front wheel of the rider behind and will cause a chain event of fallers.

Some serious accidents can happen when riders are moving at speed such as the downhill at Hospital Bend near Groote Schuur Hospital.

Cape Town is hot and windy at this time of the year so supplying refreshments for riders is a necessity.

Volunteers have to be found to man water points and to clean up after a group of riders has been through the point.

The Argus Cycle tour is one of the races in which each and every rider is timed.

It's a mammoth task to keep track of all these thousands of people so the problem has been solved by giving each rider a microchip which is attached to his/her race number and is recorded by a computer when the cyclists ride over mats along the course.

Yesterday (Saturday) when I visited the finish of the race the recording mats had not yet arrived and the electricians were starting to panic that things would not be ready for the race today (Sunday).

Not only do race organisers have to time the race, they also have to prepare the course.

In many areas spectators have to be held back and plastic fencing has to be put in place to do this.

In dangerous areas where there is a likelihood of an accident happening straw bales have to be put in place to soften the fall.

As with motor vehicles, brakes often fail on downhills and then the rider is unable to stop necessitating an emergency stop into a bale of straw.

The finish of the race is even more important than the start.

When riders complete the 108 kilometres many are dead tired and in bad shape.

Medical facilities need to be in place to assist the people in need of attention.

Bicycles are expensive items these days and special care has to be taken of them as well.

A rider in need of medical care is unable to attend to the safety of his bike so it is placed into storage until it can be collected by him.

The finish of any race is always popular with spectators so arrangements to cope with traffic and parking is necessary.

A tent town has been built near the Green Point Stadium for catering and looking after the many thousands of spectators who will come to the finish to fetch their loved ones.

Speaking to an electrician working in the tent town I was told that approximately 10 kilometres of overhead wire had been installed to provide power to all the tents and that on Monday morning all of the wiring would have to be dismantled again.

What a lot of work for just one day of action.

I have written more articles on the history of the race and the routes around the Peninsula which are used.

Read them here.

Turtle Essays ezine no 125

See you all soon!

Geoff Fairman

Making Popcorn

2005-03-07T23:04:00.000+02:00

A lonely popped popcorn kernel

**

It's fun making popcorn when things go the way you plan them.

A glassbowl, some oil and some popcorn kernels into a microwave for a few minutes normally results in a lovely bowl of fluffy white popcorn,

We've done it so many times in our household we can do it with our eyes closed.

Of course when you do anything different to the norm expect things to go wrong.

Tonight we used a glassbowl we have never used before and after two minutes in the oven there was a loud crack.

The bowl split in two with popcorn all over the place.

When you are in the mood for popcorn you can either go to the movies and their pay prices or you can make it at home.

Tonight we should have gone to the movies.

A suggestion to use a plastic bowl after the glassbowl split was taken literally.

Oil in the bowl, some kernels, and into the microwave for five minutes.

After two minutes the popcorn started popping , and soon the bowl was full of lovely fresh fluffy popcorn.

That was until the bowl was removed from the microwave.

All that lovely popcorn ended up on the floor.

Here's the reason why!

The remains of the plastic bowl after a session in the microwave

**

Two perfectly good bowls wrecked in 10 minutes and still no popcorn.

Tonight paying the exhorbitant movie prices would have been cheaper.

Next time we'll use ovenware bowls!

Geoff Fairman
ps

Turtle Essays is an ezine about Cape Town and its surrounding areas.

This week we have fresh articles about our Americas Cup Challenger Yacht " Shosoloza" and some lovely pictures of the penguins at the Boulders Beach in Simonstown.

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Fire in the Lions Head Pub

2005-02-24T21:54:00.000+02:00

On Saturday I reported that a fire had destroyed our local pub here in Panorama.

In one of the local newspapers today it appears that the firefighters who were called out are now under the cosh for the manner in which they fought the fire.

The fire started upstairs in the kitchen of the pub and after being called out firefighters are accused of arriving with the incorrect equipment to fight the blaze.

Owners of the pub and the hair salon were highly critical that there was no attempt to save the pub or the salon.

According to reports the last vehicle to arrive on the scene was the fire engine with the long ladder which could reach the upstairs fire.

Firefighters were apparently not ready for action on arrival and took their time putting on their jackets and helmets while the building burnt down.

Having visited the pub on a number of occasions over the years I have always wondered what would happen should a fire break out.

All of the tables, nooks and crannies in the restaurant and bar were built of painted plywood.

Good for the creating of an ambiance but a fire hazard should a fire occur.

In the light of the above what could the firefighters have saved had they immediately pumped water onto the fire.

A wood fire burns quickly and once underway you might as well let it burn itself out as all the wood would eventually have to be replaced if the pub were to be rebuilt.

That appears to have been the attitude of the firefighters as well.

There plan was to protect surrounding buildings and once the fire was contained to put the fire out and this they carried through.

I suppose, being the owner of the pub or the hair salon, one has the right to panic and pass comment when things don't pan out the way you want them to.

In any event, a fire started in the pub and the owner must take responsibility for what happened.

What do you think?

Geoff Fairman
ps

Turtle Essays is an ezine about Cape Town and its surrounding areas.

Each week we have fresh articles and comments about things happening in Cape Town.

Why not get your copy and find out what makes Cape Town tick!

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**

Cape Town Happenings.

2005-02-19T16:00:00.000+02:00

The remains of the Lions Head Pub

Today will be a sad day for patrons of the Lion's Head Pub in Panorama.

This quaint pub with its British character, dark wooden bar counters and nooks and crannies normally filled with happy clients is no longer there.

At around 9.00 am this morning we heard sirens screaming through our streets and as this is quite a normal occurrence no one took too much notice.

A chance drive up Hendrik Verwoerd Drive brought me face to face with the reason for the sirens.

This quaint little pub which I frequent from time to time with my retired workmates had burnt down.

Nobody is sure what happened or where the fire started but the damage is plain to see.

The pub and a hairdressing salon next door are no more.

Our three hour lunches with half a dozen bottles of van Loveren red wine will long be remembered.

The food produced in this pub was excellent.

Portuguese steaks with two sunny side up eggs on top were to die for, as were the “Eisbeins”.

While photographing the fire scene another strange occurrence was taking place above me.

The aircraft that caused my anxiety

We live on the final approach to Cape Town International airport so most planes landing there pass over or close to our home.

This green and white aircraft came flying past in completely the wrong direction normally taken by planes going into land.

It had its flaps partially down and its wheels partially out.

"Was this plane in distress?" were my immediate thoughts.

To the naked eye everything looked normal except the direction it was travelling in.

I kept a close lookout for the plane and about ten minutes later it passed overhead once more on its way to the airport.

A while later it was overhead again and going in to land again.

Strange behaviour especially for an aircraft that I had not seen pass overhead before.

Then it dawned on me that Kalula.com had introduced some new planes and flights into Cape Town and that they were most probably doing some practice landings at the airport before taking on passengers.

Whew! another possible disaster averted.

Geoff Fairman
ps

Turtle Essays is an ezine about Cape Town and its surrounding areas.

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What's happening in Cape Town

2005-02-13T23:55:00.000+02:00

Friday saw the opening of Parliament for the new year.

Cabinet ministers and their wives arrived in their fancy outfits for the opening and to listen to President Mbeki give his opening address.

It looks as if service to the public is going to be one of his main aims for the new year.

A number of Municipalities have over the past few weeks had visits from the president in an effort to improve their service.

Improved service is not all that we need here.

Cape Town is getting deeper and deeper into the drought with even stricter water restrictions being applied.

Everybody blames the lack of water on weather conditions and El Nino and while they may have some effect they are not the main cause.

The Cape Peninsula has always had enough water due to the fact that we have always had many trees.

They have all but disappeared as projects to rid the country of alien plants have included forests of pine trees on the slopes of Table Mountain and elsewhere.

Trees take in carbon dioxide at night and so lesson the effect of global warming.

Over the past 20 years or so we have had a major influx of people from the Eastern Cape.

Cape Town appears to be a beacon of hope for many as the people think that they will find jobs here.

There is however another reason for the influx.

Over the years the Cape was always a National Party stronghold and with the advent of the new government in 1994 it remained a stronghold.

In fact it was the only province in South Africa that was not controlled by the ANC.

The best way to win an election is to garner votes and what better way than to ship in your people to increase the odds.

I don't know what promises were made to the people but over the past 10 years, millions have moved to Cape Town.

Most of them are poor and have taken up residence in the Cape Flats.

This area was once farmland and was covered with trees and bush.

Today where once was bush are squatter camps and with the loss of the trees the area has turned into a desert.

Many trees that grew on the Cape Flats have been cut down and either used as firewood or to build shacks.

Most of the wetland areas that were there have long since disappeared and those which have happened to survive are so badly polluted that the water is unfit for human consumption.

The main problem however is that the government since taking control of the country have not sought to ensure proper water supplies for Cape Town.

There is one project in the pipeline where a new dam will be built on the Berg River but by the time it is complete we will need more dams to ensure a steady supply of water for Cape Town.

A number of ideas and proposals have been put forward including desalination of sea water, piping water from the Orange river to Cape Town, and even using sea water in swimming pools.
Who knows if they can even be implemented.

In my opinion we need to reintroduce trees into Cape Town.

As many of them as soon as possible.

It will not only beautify the Cape but will cool it down making it more conducive to rain.

With rain the dams will fill up and we might be able to beat the water problems given time.

Geoff Fairman
ps

Turtle Essays is an ezine about Cape Town and its surrounding areas.

To find out more about this beautiful part of the world get your copy of the ezine emailed to you weekly.

Yes please! Send me the ezine

South Africa's Cricket Circus.

2005-02-06T22:33:00.000+02:00

The English cricket team has been touring South Africa for more than two months now.

Watching the team on TV, first in the test matches, and now in the one day games I am wondering just how this team will do against the Australians in the Ashes series in a few months time.

It always seems strange to me that when visiting teams arrive in South Africa they either get so badly beaten by the Proteas that it is embarrassing to watch or the local side gets a hiding from the overseas visitors making locals turn off their TV's in disgust.

This tour by the British has been different.

The test matches were exciting affairs with both teams getting the upper hand at times in the games.

South Africa eventually losing the Test series by 2-1 to the English.

The One Day series has also been quite exciting with some contentious selections by both teams.

The English fast bowler Harmison is one of the leading wicket takers of 2004 but here in South Africa he has not been able to get the ball in the right places and to add to is woes has injured himself as well.

Harmison however keeps his place in the side while some of their other bowlers have been far more effective when given games.

South Africa have done the same thing causing much comment by the media with their selections.

The Proteas test opening batsman A B de Villiers was dropped after scoring nearly 200 runs in the fifth test.

It appears that in both teams if you are a newby and are selected and do well in a game you will not play in the next game.

The old stalwarts in the team can go out for ducks for five games in a row and keep their places.

Herschel Gibbs is one of those players.

He normally scores a big 100 once in a series and then is good enough to keep his place for the rest of the series.

With the start of the one day series he has been dropped down the order from the opening role and has scored runs in all four games he has played.

Herschel is NOT an opening batsman anymore and plays better against the older ball.

Keep him there!

Today the circus arrived in Cape Town for the 4th game of the series.

The Proteas lost the first game in the series, and then proceeded to chase a large total batting second in the second game to end in a tie.

Going into the 3rd game 1-0 down in the series they finally got their act together and won the game.

Today at Newlands on a brillaint batting wicket the English captain Vaughn lost his marbles and put South Africa into bat.

De Villiers opened the way for the SA batsmen by hitting a six off the second ball of the day.

Suffice to say that the English chased leather for the rest of the S A innings and ended up having to chase 291 runs to win.

Their batting on the day was dismal and they ended up losing by 108 runs.

S A has done this to them on many occasions during the tour and yet somehow the Englsih managed to fight their way back and win the test series.

After today they are 2-1 down in the one day series with three games to go.

If the truth be known SA's best batsmen will be dropped for the next game and Pollock will be left out to be replaced by someone who cannot bowl.

Why do our selectors always have to make changes that are not necesary, and when we eventually get into a winning mode some politician will force a change to weaken the team.

As an avid supporter of the SA team for the last 40 odd years I think I have seen it all.

Yet with the selectors we have these days I am not so sure anymore.

Geoff Fairman

It's raining in Cape Town

2005-01-28T13:12:00.000+02:00

It's raining in Cape Town

Cape Town has been experiencing drought conditions for months.

Water restrictions have been stringently applied and gardeners are limited to watering their gardens for half an hour once per week.

To make the restrictions even stiffer the authorities have upped the price of our water to make up for the losses they will incur due to consumers using less water.

That can only happen here!

More for less!

Over the past months Cape Town has been praying for rain.

The clouds build up and everybody thinks “ Here comes some relief” and lo and behold the wind changes to the south east and the clouds blow away.

A few hours later we hear on the news that its raining along the Mossel bay coastline and they are having floods.

Last week we had a smidgen of rain over our suburb.

It was just enough to turn the dust on our cars to mud.

The ground is dry and dusty and many people who do not have their own pumps have no gardens left.

Filling swimming pools is also a problem as the heat and the strong south east winds take two inches of water off the top each day.

Its just a vicious circle with the situation getting no better.

What has caused the drought?

Experts say its “ El Nino “ which is a warm current in the Pacific which has an effect on the world's weather patterns.

I just wish it would return to normal so that we can get our normal rainfall.

Hooray! it's good news at last!

Last night a cold front moved in over Cape Town and a reasonably heavy shower fell at about 9.00pm.

Have you experienced the smell of rain on a dry hot earth.

It's GLORIUS!

It makes you feel happy and good inside!

When the rain started to fall that smell permeated the air and anybody who had been longing for rain was over the moon.

Unfortunately we only had a short shower and then the clouds parted and the full moon came out in its full glory.

This morning anybody who had grieved that the clouds had parted would have been more than happy.

They were back and it was raining.

Not hard rain that would cause floods but a steady drizzle that soaks into the ground and enlivens the earth.

When this type of weather sets in in Cape Town it rains for days on end.

Weather forecasters have been saying that its going to clear up but its already lunch time and its still raining.

Lets hope it stays for a whole week and fills our empty dams and rivers and enables our farmers in the drought stricken areas north of Cape Town to plant their crops.

I'm sure there are many happy people today even if many of them got wet going to work this morning.

To find out more about Cape Town read

Turtle Essays edition no 119

online now!

See you all soon!

Geoff Fairman

The South African Test Series against England

2005-01-24T21:33:00.000+02:00

Since shortly before Christmas the South African team has ben doing battle against the English.

The test matches have ebbed and flowed over every test played so far making the cricket very interesting to watch.

There however have been a number of decisions made by the umpires that have had a marked effect on which side has won or lost the test.

Of course when the cricketers have anything to say about them they find themselves in trouble with the cricket authorities and end up losing their match fees.

The match referees have become quite ridiculous with some of their decisions with regards to players actions when being given out.

Bowlers work extremely hard in the hot sun to take wickets and often get the opposition batsmen plum in front or caught off a thick edge and the umpires give the batsmen NOT OUT.

When the bowler shows his disappointment he ends up on the red carpet in front of the match referee.

Often the opposite happens with the batsmen.

They get nowhere near the ball with their bats and get given out caught.

Any gesture towards the umpire intimating that they never touched the ball ends up with a fine.

Cricket in my opinion is a game of emotions and working on the nerves of opposition players is very much part of the game.

Why do players get punished for what they have been trained to do.

It's so funny that bowlers can bowl at and hit the opposition batsmen on the head or body with a very hard ball which can do serious injury but cannot pull faces and make comments to upset the opposition.

There is a moral problem that has crept into the game over the last few years and that is the dishonesty of players and officials.

Batsmen who hit the ball and get caught do not walk and sometimes get away with their dishonesty.

Slip catchers often pick up catches that have bounced and then appeal for a catch.

Even umpires sometimes do not give players out when in fact they are.

Commentators belabour the fact that we have technology so why can it not be used for most of the decisions especially those where there is a bit of doubt.

In circumstances where a player is given out and has left the field and it is found that the umpire has erred in his decision, the player should be reinstated and returned to the field at the fall of the next wicket.

Of course the fielding captain and the umpires should be immediately advised that the decision is under scrutiny and advised of whatever decision is made as soon as possible thereafter.

This will have a marked effect on the game as no captain will want a player to come back once given out.

The captain himself will then have the option of requesting the player given out to remain on the field until the decision has been checked.

The batsmen will also have the chance of walking if he feels he is out even if given NOT OUT by the umpire.

A bonus system can be introduced for players who display honesty and fines can be introduced for players who go against the spirit of the game.

Cricket is a mans game and should not be regulated to produce a bunch of sissies who cannot stand up for themselves!

In the old days bowlers bowled beamers at batsmen without helmets and how many of them were hit on the head.

Today most batsmen hide behind the one bouncer per over rule and I suspect this causes much frustration for the bowler who has part of his armoury removed.

Lets get back to the old type of cricket and monitor the decisions with technology if need be.

Geoff Fairman

Turtle Essays Ezine on Cape Town road users is now online.
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Cape Town Road users

Turtle Essay's New Year Ramblings

2005-01-10T22:40:00.000+02:00

Hi there folks!

I thought that I would remind you that I still exist.

As its 2005 I would like to wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year and may all your hopes and dreams come true.

My wife and I after spending Christmas at home just had to get away for a couple of days so went off to Yzerfontein on the West Coast for a break.

We had a lovely relaxing week and have come back refreshed and raring to go.

Unfortunately the fishing down at Yzerfontien was not too good.

Tides were high due to the new moon and the spring tide and the water was cold which seems to stop the fish from biting.

Sitting on the rocks and watching the big waves roll in and hammer the coastline took my thoughts to Indonesia and the terrible tragedy that has occurred there.

My heart goes out to all the people who have experienced losses of family, friends and possessions.

May a tsunami never hit Cape Town!

The power of water is amazing but so is that of the internet.

My daughter in her own small way contributed to the reuniting of a small boy who was a victim of the tsunami with his family.

She received an email with a photo of a child who had lost his parents. and decided to place the photo on a SA Teen website that she regularly visits.

Someone in the UK saw the photo and happened to know the boy and contacted his parents.

The end of this story was a happy one and the family has been reunited.

It is so amazing that such a small action can have such a profound result.

Recently a similar event happened when my step brother was killed in a motor bike accident.

Although he died on the scene doctors kept him alive for two more days and in doing that his organs were able to be utilised for tranplanting into seriously ill recipients.

A tragedy in one family can bring so much joy to others.

Over the past month there have been numerous road accidents here in Cape Town and a large number of fatalities.

If organs could have been rescued from some of the many victims of the accidents imagine what joy there could have been for many people.

Sadly, at this time of the year everybody takes time off to be with their families so I imagine that not many transplants take place as doctors are away on holiday and only attend to emergencies.

Driving along our roads is hazardous to say the least. Why there are not more accidents is a mystery to me.

Some drivers just have no control over themselves or consideration for other road users.

On the way to Yzerfontein a bakkie came tearing up from behind at well over the speed limit and overtook me forcing me into the yellow lines.

The truck ahead of me would not move over to allow him to pass so he took matters into his own hands and overtook the truck on a blind corner.

Oncoming cars were forced into the yellow lines on the other side of the road while our hero went on his merry way.

Where were our traffic cops?

Of course nowhere to be seen or maybe hiding behind a bush with a speed camera.

Soft targets is what they are after and to hell with road safety.

South Africa has brought in a new regulation that if a driver knocks over a pedestrian whether or not it was the drivers fault he will be charged with culpable homicide.

This could so easily have happened to me this week.

Driving into a short cul de sac in Edgemead I noticed a small boy kneeling on a skate board about to launch himself down a sloping driveway into the street.

I stopped the car and lo and behold without looking the kid came screaming across the road just metres in front of me ending up against a garage door on the opposite side of the road.

When the boy saw me waving my finger at him he just picked up his skateboard and walked back across the road as if nothing had happened.

I continued down the road and on my way back was very wary of the driveway which was now hidden by a car which was parked next to it.

As I neared the car I stopped and as I did so the kid did his number again, missing me by a few metres.

This time I saw red and demanded to see his parents who must have wondered what I had eaten as I climbed into them over their child's actions.

It's absolutely mind boggling to think that a small boy can be allowed to play in a street where cars are moving up and down without having any road sense.

This is one very lucky kid!

That's enough from me for this week.

Look out for my regular ezine next week.

Geoff Fairman

Visit Turtlesa for more articles about Cape Town

Tygerberg

2004-12-18T22:31:00.000+02:00

;

One of the helicopters fighting the fire

This weekend we have had a large bushfire raging on the Tygerberg.

It was spotted on Friday afternoon when it broke out in two spots at more or less the same time.

Temperatures in Cape Town soared into the 30's on Friday and the combination of the heat and strong wind soon fanned the small fire into an inferno.

The Tygerberg Nature Reserve is well known for its Fynbos and as it has been very dry this year and the bush on the mountain slopes was very dry it was inevitable that if a fire broke out it would soon spread.

After the fires that devastated Cape Town back in 2000 a special fire watch has been set up and a number of fire fighting helicopters have been stationed near Kirstenbosch to fight the fires.

Once the alarm had been raised it only took minutes for the two fire fighting helicopters to go into action.

A number of fire fighters and vehicles were also deployed on the ground to assist the helicopters as well.

Fire fighting helicopters have to find their own water to be able to fight the fires.

Luckily on the Tygerberg there are a number of dams and the helicopters were soon dropping their water bags into them to obtain water for fighting the fires.

It took the helicopters a number of hours to get the fires under control and as it got dark they flew back to their base.

From afar one could still see flames licking at the bushes.

Unfortunately for the firefighters and helicopters the fire started up again fanned by the strong wind.

They were forced to return to the fire and continued fighting it during the course of Saturday.

It appears tonight (Saturday) that the fire is finally out.

I am sure that anybody who walks through the fire ravaged area in the next few days will be most surprised to find fish in the middle of the burnt out area.

The dam that the helicopters were using to scoop water from is full of fish and it is inevitable that some of them must have landed up in the water scoops.

Hopefully it was only fish that got caught.

Apparently there was a fire in a forest in the USA and helicopters fighting the fire scooped water out of the sea to fight the fire with.

After the fire was out firefightrs inspecting the damage came across a diver in full diving suit including flippers lying on the mountain slopes.

When they worked it out they found that he had been diving in the area where the helicopters were collecting their water and had ended up in the water scoop and been dumped on the fire.

What a way to go.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a fantastic Christmas and a prosperous 2005.

May all your New Year's resolutions come true.

Geoff Fairman

ps.
Turtle Essays latest ezine is online now.
You can find it at Http://www.turtlesa.com/ezine116.html

Yzerfontein

2004-12-06T17:56:00.000+02:00

Ysterfontein Bay full of a red tide

I've just returned from a visit to Yzerfontein on the West coast of the Western Cape.

This lovely little village has its own fishing harbour and today seems to have been a good day for landing snoek, the favourite fish of many Capetonians.

Not only does the village have its own harbour but a lovely beach which is safe for swimming and also a favourite haunt for anglers.

This beach has its own white muscle beds which are a couple of metres offshore in the surf.

To get some muscles which are an excellent bait one has to wade out into the surf, twist your foot down into the sand until you feel the edge of its oval shell.

Once you have located the mollusc you bend down and pull it out of the sand.

Often however while twisting your foot into the sand you end up standing on a crab and get a big fright as it scuttles away over your bare foot.

The red tide looks like oil boiling in the surf

Today however the beach is being threatened by what looks like a nasty oil slick but most probably is a red tide.

Either way its problems for the muscle beds as oil will kill them and a red tide which may be toxic will cause them to become poisonous and not suitable for fishing.

When this happens many sea birds die as they eat the poisonous muscles.

This will be a shame as the authorities are busy preparing the beach for the summer season.

Geoff Fairman.

The Hell Run between Laingsburg and Beaufort West

2004-11-26T18:41:00.000+02:00

Cape Town traffic authorities are gearing up for the holiday season with their arrive alive campaign.

Certain sections of road are particularly dangerous and the authorities are monitoring them over the course of the Christmas holiday season.

The stretch of road between Beaufort West and Laingsburg on the N1 has become known as the road of death as there are always fatal accidents taking place along it.

The problem is that this stretch of road is reached after about eight hours of driving from Johannesburg and four from Cape Town.

By the time motorists reach this point they are starting to get tired.

The distance between the two towns further exacerbates the problem as it is about 220 kilometres long and is dead straight for most of the time.

There is absolutely nothing to keep the driver alert and many times especially at night drivers nod off.

Of course when drivers fall asleep anything can happen and usually does with fatal consequences.

A visit to the hospital at Laingsburg brought home to me how bad the reputation of that stretch of road really is.

Smaller hospitals normally have one or two stretcher trolleys waiting in casualty.

Here there were four or five and a casualty ward with five beds all set up and ready for emergency work.

Very scary for a hospital in the middle of nowhere.

Having visited a casualty ward where there were accident victims being treated I could just imagine what the ward would be like in an emergency.

The N1 being the main highway between Cape Town and Johannesburg carries many large vehicles.

Sitting in a restaurant near the entrance to Laingsburg I counted the trucks entering and leaving Laingsburg.

The numbers were astronomical. Ten or twelve in as many minutes.

That means that the road up ahead has a convoy of trucks on it.

Most of them travelling at speeds much lower than the average car can travel.

Which driver on a long distance trip is going to slow down and sit behind a truck for any length of time without taking a chance to overtake.

It's when there is a buildup of cars behind a truck that the real problems begin.

Some driver, a couple of cars back will lose his patience, and then attempt to pass a number of cars and a truck in one go, sometimes on a blind rise or over a solid white line.

This is when the accidents happen as suddenly there is an oncoming vehicle bearing down on the overtaking vehicle and nowhere for it to go.

It either forces the oncoming car off the road or there is a head on collision which involves many more than just the one vehicle.

What a waste of lives when this happens.

Is there a solution to this traffic problem?

Our authorities seem to think that it's the speed that kills.

Yes! maybe it does.

Speed in itself however is not dangerous but when there are slower vehicles on the road forcing motorists to slow down then accidents happen.

Authorities are trying to rectify the problem by setting up speed traps and permanent cameras in remote areas.

In my opinion this is a money making exercise and not a road safety exercise.

The real solution is to take slower vehicles off the roads during peak periods and then to monitor the speeds of the other vehicles using the roads by use of the cameras.

That way they will be looking after road safety and also preventing build ups behind slower vehicles causing frustration to the already tired driver.

Your comments will be appreciated.

Geoff Fairman

ps. Turtle Essays ezine no 113 featuring many of Cape Town's attractions will be online shortly. Here is the link.

Cape Town Attractions

Grabouw Open Day

2004-11-19T13:53:00.000+02:00

Another display of colour at Duncan's Roses in Grabouw

Some more of the beautiful roses that are cultivated on the farms in the Grabouw area

Tunnel of roses

Read the articles on the Grabouw Open day here

Geoff Fairman

Shark Attack

2004-11-16T22:21:00.000+02:00

The normally tranquil Fish Hoek Beach

It was always Durban that one read about in the newspapers when it came to shark attacks.

Durban took action and put down shark nets and solved the problem.

There has not been a fatal shark attack there for years.

What is going on in Cape Town?

We have had a number of attacks over the past few months.

A surf ski rider had his ski bitten in two by a large shark off Fish Hoek beach.

He managed to escape the shark after being thrown into the water and keeping the length of the ski between him and the shark.

Then a young surfer was attacked near Muizenberg and lost his leg in the attack.

He was declared dead on the beach after the attack but somehow was revived and has lived to tell the tale.

Then it was the turn of another surfer who was badly mauled near Scarborough on the Atlantic coastline.

Sitings of large sharks have occurred near Noordhoek on the Atlantic coastline.

The worst attack so far occurred yesterday when an elderly lady going for an early morning swim landed in the path of a six metre shark a couple of hundred metres off Fish Hoek beach.

The shark and the swimmer were both spotted by an observer from the hill above Fish Hoek Bay.

Unfortunately there was nothing the observer could do to warn the swimmer or scare off the shark.

To his horror the shark grabbed the lady in its mouth and the sea boiled and turned red as it went about its dirty work.

The only thing left behind by the shark was the lady's red bathing cap.

Tyna Webb a lady of 77 years of age has lived in Fish Hoek for years and had developed a ritual of going for an early morning swim every day be it winter or summer.

She is not alone as there are many other residents of Fish Hoek who do the same.

Unfortunately for her she crossed paths with this large shark and paid with her life.

Fish Hoek beach is normally one of the nicest, safest swimming beaches along the False Bay coastline but has now lost its reputation and will always be remembered as the beach where Tyna Webb lost her life.

Our condolences and prayers go out to the family during this extremely traumatic time in their lives.

The question on everyone's lips is!

What are the authorities going to do about this rogue shark which has been terrorising the beaches along the False Bay coastline?

Should it live or should it die?

Your comments will be appreciated.

Geoff Fairman

Turtle Essays brings people together.

2004-11-11T13:17:00.000+02:00

I have been writing articles about Cape Town for more than two years now and every now and again I get an email from someone who has read one of my articles.

Just this week I have been contacted by someone who walked the streets of Kommetjie where I grew up before I was born.

It appears that he was part of a contingent of Royal navy people who were stationed at Kommetjie's Slangkop Radio during the war years , 1946 -1950.

It's great hearing from these people especially as my Mom who is still alive is trying to contact some of the friends that she made then.

If you know anyone who was stationed in Kommetjie around that time please contact me at

Contact Geoff

Read the article about Cape Town radio

Cape Town Radio

Thanks

Geoff Fairman

ps. Turtle Essays Travel Bazaar is online now. Check it out for all your Cape Town travel needs.
Here's the link: Travel bazaar

A thief caught in the act

2004-11-08T14:46:00.000+02:00

This week I took a trip down to the southern suburbs of Cape Town.

While taking some pictures of Camel Rock I decided to take some of the houses built along the hillside.

The first picture shows the thief climbing over the wall
(bottom right hand corner) with his loot in his hand.

This next picture shows the thief eating his loot.

This baboon is one of the many Chacma baboons that descend on the villages in the southern Peninsula.

They break into houses, open fridges and help themselves and generally make an unholy mess.

I lived in the Kommetjie area for years and in that time never saw a baboon in the village.

Urban spread and fires have caused the baboons to move down off the mountains and into the villages where easy pickings of food are to be had.

Every now and again somebody corners one and either injures it or kills it.

There is always a hue and cry when this happens.

What should one do about these nuisance animals.

If they want something, they walk up and take it and should you refuse to give it to them they get aggressive.

Whatever it is is soon discarded when the baboon finds it is not food.

Turtle Essays ezine no 110 has been published.

To get it
Click here

Geoff Fairman

**

Huguenot Tunnel

2004-11-02T11:07:00.000+02:00

Cape Town is surrounded by mountains and the only way out was over or around them.

That of course was the problem until in 1984 work began on the Huguenot Tunnel.

The tunnel was completed in 1986 and was taken into use.

At the time two tunnels were built, with only the southern one being used for traffic.

Some interesting things are happening in the northern tunnel.

Read all about it in the new Turtle Essays Ezine which can be found at
Ezine109

There appears to be a row brewing over the name of the tunnel.

The tunnel was named after the Huguenots who escaped from persecution in France and came to to the Cape and established the wine industry in the Stellenbosch, Franschhoek areas of the Cape.

These days politics in South Africa dictate that everything that was named by the previous government has to be changed and given a new name.

In this instance they want to change the name of the tunnel to the Dullah Omar tunnel in honour of the transport minister who died recently.

Why change names if it is not necessary. Build new things and honour people that way.

What do you think?

Geoff Fairman

http://www.turtlesa.com

Turtletravel Advertising

2004-10-26T13:40:00.000+02:00

Dear Marketer

If you're like me and many other
frustrated marketers trying to promote
a great product with an even better sales
page, you are probably getting tired of
all the false promises from traffic
exchanges and "How To" books.

Here is one that works!!

Click here to find out more about Youradblaster

You have heard countless times about:
"The List" - "The List" - "The List" !!

Its true. The money is in the list. But
how in the world can you go about getting
a list when you don't even have a list!!

You can't even get people to your website.
It's enough to make you want to pull your
hair out.

But you know if you could just get "Targeted
Prospects" to you website, your product and
Salespage will have you "Making Money Like A
Printing Press!"

The "Temp" fix to your problem: You could go
to one of those email marketing warehouses
and pay $1500 for a ONE-TIME Email Campaign
to only 20,000 people.

Are you kidding me!! Yes, I am sure those
services do work for some people selling
items for $2995.00, and sure, some do have
success. But can you really afford to take
a gamble like that?

Heck no! - You are not a multi-million dollar
company with an unlimited advertising budget.

Check out this site. It seems to help us out!

Click here to find out more about Youradblaster

Thanks,

Geoff

P.S.

They give away a great tool worth $47 just
for viewing the site!

Turtle Essays edition 108 has been published

2004-10-24T14:19:00.000+02:00

It has some brand new articles about the Storms River and the Tsitsikamma Otter trail as well as the Beacon Island at Plettenberg Bay.

To read the ezine online click the link below.

Turtle Essays Ezine

Here are some photos which I could not load onto my website.

This unique tortoise shaped mountain at Nature's Valley guards the entrance to the western entrance to the Otters trail.

The lagoon at the mouth of the Groot river near Natures Valley

Turtle Essays has opened its Online shop .
Click the link to visit us.

Turtle Essays shop

Thanks for visiting us

Geoff Fairman

Poseidon Adventure Camps Bay beach

2004-10-19T21:48:00.000+02:00

Camps bay Beach where the shoot took place

Today I spent day 34 of the Poseidon Adventure with the crew and cast
shooting a beach scene at Camps Bay Beach near Cape Town.

Call time was 5.30 am and that meant that most people had to get up at around 4.00am to get to Camps Bay by 5.30am.

I've never been on any beach at 7.00am in the morning in my life, yet there I was sitting shivering on the beach waiting for the sun to rise along with 50 other extras, crew and stars of the movie.

A number of scenes were shot today and boy were the producers lucky.

Camps Bay has a reputation for wind, and when it comes up it blows a gale.

Today it stayed away and gave us a perfect day for shooting.

Wardrobe and hairdressing staff had their work cut out keeping everybody covered with blockout as once the sun came out it shone down on us as only an African sun can.

People with white skins were turning pink within an hour and I am sure
that tonight there are many sore bodies out there.

Not only did the sun shine but a school of dolphins arrived and proceeded to swim up and down the beach in front of the cameras as beach shots were being filmed.

The highlight of my day however was meeting one of the well known film stars Adam Baldwin who came on set.

I managed to corner him during a break and introduced myself.

We spent about 15 minutes chatting about Cape Town and the beaches in the area and he was most surprised when I told him that the lovely beach we were sitting on could be quite a nightmare when the wind came up.

By the sounds of things he has been relatively busy on set during his stay in Cape Town and has only managed one short tour of the Cape Peninsula, visiting Cape Point and the penguin colony at the Boulders
near Simonstown.

The locations where shooting has been taking place are however quite breathtakingly beautiful so I am sure he has seen more than he admitted to me.

While in Cape Town he has been staying in the V & A Waterfront which has a number of 5 star hotels. I did not ask him which one and he did not volunteer the info either.

The fact is even if he had told me I would not have revealed his exact location.

Shooting on this movie will continue for another month so fans you have another four weeks before your hero returns home.

For morearticles on the Poseidon Adventure and Cape Town film industry visit Http://www.turtlesa.com/ezine105.html

Geoff Fairman

Sea Point on a Sunday Afternoon

2004-10-17T22:17:00.000+02:00

Sunday afternoons in South Africa mean different things to different people.

We took a drive to Sea Point and this is what we discovered.

Instead of doing drugs and drinking there was this group of young people practising their juggling skills.

New juggler honing his skills

That's me trying my hand

This is a skill which is easy to learn with a little practice.

Apparently there is a juggling club in Johannesburg and this appears
to be a start of one in Cape Town.

Here is the Cape Town expert

The expert

Different people have different ways of spending their Sunday afternoons.

Here is the local bird man doing his thing with some
wild pigeons he has been feeding.

Birdman dancing

CT is fast becoming one of the film capitals of the world.

Another street corner another crew!

Film crew doing their thing

Cape Town has it all!

When will we see you here.

To read more articles on Cape Town why not subscribe to Turtle Esssays

Here is the link.

http://www.zinester.com/mpb/ml_fs.cgi?topic=50058

Subscribe today it's free!

Geoff Fairman
http://www.turtlesa.com

Plettenberg Bay's Secret Police

2004-10-16T13:21:00.000+02:00

Plett police on guard on the beach

Have you ever had the feeling you are being watched?

Well if you are a fisherman and are intending to do some fishing along the golden beaches of Plettenberg Bay being watched is a reality.

In these days of fishing quotas, bag limits and even the amount of bait you are allowed to take per day one knows that you will surely at some time or another be approached by a fisheries inspector to inspect your catch.

It is however not these legal people that I am discussing here but the self appointed policemen and women that patrol the beaches of Plettenberg Bay.

Walking onto the beach with a fishing rod in your hand you are immediately spotted by one of them and your every movement will be followed until such time as you leave.

Not only will you be watched but the moment you move from your fishing equipment an inspection will be undertaken.

These guys are very well equipped, they can do air reconnaiscance, or they can sneak up and do a ground inspection as well.

Whatever you do, do not be untidy and leave your bait lying around.

These beach policemen will confiscate it without question no matter what time of day it is.

I have seen them confiscate the bait of a fisherman 5 minutes after his arrival on the beach which means that the fisherman has to pack up and go home as his day of fishing has been spoilt.

There also seems to be no shortage of reinforcements as a single cry brings them in by air in seconds.

On enquiry at the local police offices you will find that this police force is not authorised by any government department nor do they even know of their existence.

Yet! fishermen are left to the mercy of these beach policeman.

These guys have their good side as well.

They don't mind if you catch more than your quota, have more bait than you are allowed or even catch fish out of season.

Your only crime as far as they are concerned is being careless with your bait.

I suppose you have guessed by now who these self appointed officials are.

Yes they are the local sea gulls that patrol the beaches of Plettenberg Bay.

After watching their antics for a couple of days and having fallen foul to their confiscation methods on one occasion I am always careful with my bait when fishing along these beautiful beaches.

Next time you visit one of the beaches note how the gulls spread out along the beach.

You are sure to see at least one of them sitting watching you every 100 metres or so.

Sometimes they pair off and two will sit together watching opposite sides of the beach.

In Plettenberg Bay other than the golden beaches there are also a number of rocky outcrops where fishermen go to fish.

Just look up at the outcrops and you are sure to find a number of these birds either gliding along the edge of them or sitting eyeing your every movement.

It's no wonder that the beaches are so clean, not a piece of fish or bait anywhere.

While visiting Plettenberg Bay recently I sat watching a fisherman dispose of his unwanted bait by throwing it into the surf where the waves were about two feet high.

The gulls were there in a flash and when they spotted a fish floating in the waves they immediately dived for it.

It was amazing how they dived into the curl of a breaking wave and once the wave had passed over them surfaced with the fish in their beaks.

I would have imagined that the waves would have broken a wing or something as they dived in with their wings open but this was not the case.

The unwanted bait was soon disposed of and the birds made their way back to their vantage points along the beaches.

A word of warning, when fishing along these beaches DO NOT leave your bait lying about, it WILL be gone in a flash and your day's fishing will be spoilt.

Next time you spend some time on the beaches of Plettenberg Bay take someone with you to watch your back and protect your bait.

See you there soon!

Geoff
http://www.turtlesa.com