Traveling towards Simons Town you go through Muizenberg, Kalk Bay, Fishoek and many smaller places. Muizenberg used to be quite a bustling seaside resort with its pavillion that stage a lot of shows for the holiday crowd. It was pulled down and rebuilt, the childrens play ground is now a parking lot. It boasted a cinema and many cafe`s and hotels most of these have gone. Moving on to Kalk Bay which used to be predominently Coloured fishermen and boats has also changed as fishing decreased. This whole main road still has its shops and hotels and you can have a drink at the “Brass Bell ” which is right on the beach, just don`t go when the sea is high and rough.

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Fishoek has no alcohol outlets and only recently was allowed a fish and chip shop. At one time this whole area was owned by one person and he was very religious, and insisted that when developed these outlets would not be allowed. As with Muizenberg they boast a police station, hotels and resturants and several cafe`s. They also have a hospital and many churches. Alsoclose by are ” Peers Caves “.

This cave which is in the Silvermine Reserve is usually called the ” Elephants Eye “. Looking at the mountian from the main road between Cape Town and Simons Town , it looks like an Elephant. The Silvermine Cave is where the eye would be. This cave became famous when someone fired a shotgun full of silver pellets into its walls and then sold it as a silver mine. In the summer it was quite cold in the cave as there was a constant trickle of water down the walls. It is not a difficult climb but advisable to take water and a snack with you. On the way you pass the fire lookout post. It has a very good veiw of the surrounding area.

Click on photo`s to go to Cape Heritage Website.

This is a veiw from a helicopter showing where the two Oceans meet. There are two lighthouses there now but the old one is just for visitors. The new one is fully automatic so there is no keeper resident.

before we went to Cape Point Nature Reserve we went to Slangkop lighthouse which is the tallest in Southern Africa. There is a stone lined maze there for amusement.

That was a late afternoon shot on another day.

This is the lighthouse with it`s outbuildings.

These show the entrance to the Cape Point Nature reserve and a few shots of the Slangkop Lighthouse.

For the Cape Heritage site click here.

Have you ever seen this on the beach? It looks as though the Periwinkles are eating the dead jelly fish. Every time the wave comes it washes them off but as soon as the tide goes out they climb back on the jelly fish.

We get quite a few of these jelly fish and periwinkles on this beach but never usually together.

After drinking a few of these the night before, I awoke with a bit of a hang over. They have quite a high alcohol content like most English beers. Not counting the legless lager in the gold can that you see being drunk in most shop doorways.

I went to the Chemist for some Panado for the headache and he suggested a pill for my left over feeling. Panado`s

I know what to do with, but these were something else. So I asked what doI do with them, and he laughed. Then he said if you don`t want to swallow them you`ll have to put them where the sun don`t shine.

Then I went to pay him for the medication and he said, you can put that there too, where do you come from? South Africa.

Click on the pics for enlagements.

Some of the shots I took today at the Wolf Sanctuary. We have the wolf/dog or whitewolf, the Timber Wolves and the Wild Dogs. The other animation is a small collection of the petting animals for the children when they have their birthday parties here. There are a lot of swings , slides and a trampoline, with chairs and tables under cover.

Traveling along the coastline from the main beach at Plettenburg Bay, past the river mouth and along the Keurbooms beach proved to be a good trip. The surf in this area is full of Dolphins of all types, there were 5 of the endangered humpback dolphins.  They like the noisy surf becuase it hides their sonar from preditors.

A little further down the beach we came across a Southern Right Whale Blowing. They are easy to spot as they have a double spout of air and water vapour.

Click on Link for more on all subjects.

Kirlian Photography

This picture of hands was taken with a standard colour film but was not taken by me. Below is a collection of thumbnails of other items photogaphed by this method.

There are several ways to take these photo`s either straight onto a film emulsion which needs developing or through a clear electrode with a digital camera. I prefer the latter now as getting the film and developing it is too expensive. The reason for this is that a lot of this work is done by trial and error. Years ago when I was interested in this form of investigation film was cheap and easy to obtain. I always did my own developing, printing and enlarging. With the advance it technology its now possible to do the same work at a very small cost and much quicker. Also much fun can be had when they are put on the computer.

For instructions on how to make the equipment use this hyperlink:-

http://www.imagesco.com/articles/kirlian/kirlian-photography.html

To find how this was used for seeing an Aura use this hyperlink:-

http://vivekzblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/kurilan-photography-russian-experiments.html

Some of the mushrooms collected for breakfast in the forest and Arboretum. The Pine Rings are from the Forest and are a pinkish colour, when you cut through the stem you will see the light and dark orange rings from which they got this nickname. The Porsine and the smaller Penny Bun Boletus  were got in the Arboritum up the far end going into the mountian tracks. Although you dont have to pay to go in you can make a donation in the box provided. On leaving your mushrooms are weighed and you pay per Kilo.

I was out on the boat again today and there were hundreds of Dolphins off the Keurbooms beach.