more views of Cape Town Stadium

Just cant seem to get enough of this breath taking view!!

2010 Soccer World Cup Stadium, Cape Town

Wow, this is truly a spectacular setting for a stadium!!

Cape Town Stadium

Did you know that Cape Town Stadium has an exterior that is covered with noise-reducing cladding and has a capacity of 70,000??

The Green Point Common, on which the new 2010 stadium has being built, was originally much larger than what now remains, and included most of the land between the sea and Signal Hill, stretching from the city centre towards Sea Point.

World Cup Stadium in South Africa

(Green Point Stadium)= Cape Town Stadium, South Africa

Green Point Stadium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town_Stadium)

Wow, isn't this simply one of the most artistic football venues in South Africa??

The newly-built Green Point Stadium is situated in one of the much sought-after areas in the city of Cape Town, and is one of the two semi-final venues for the FIFA World Cup™.

This multi-purpose venue is also going to be used to stage major events and concerts.

Can you just imagine.....soccer crazy fans will be a stone's throw from the ocean AND the UNESCO world heritage site of the mountains of Cape Town will also provide the backdrop for matches.

The new stadium has been partly built on land that was previously used as a golf course.

You simply have to check this out:

GreenPoint Stadium.

http://virtualafrica.co.za/google-earth/green-point-stadium/

2010 Soccer World Cup stadiums in South Africa.

Here is a quick update of what the inside of the stadiums look like .......

Soccer City near Soweto, Johannesburg

Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban

Green Point Stadium in Cape Town

http://virtualafrica.co.za/google-earth/green-point-stadium

Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane

Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Port Elizabeth

and the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit-

The Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa

.

Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban


Key Matches and Dates:

• Monday, 28 June 2010 - Round of 16
• Wednesday, 7 July 2010 - Semi Final

First Round Matches at Moses Mabhida Stadium:

• Saturday 13 June 2010 - Germany vs Australia
• Wednesday 16 June 2010 - Spain vs Switzerland
• Saturday 19 June 2010 - Netherlands vs Japan
• Tuesday 22 June 2010 - Nigeria vs Uraguay
• Friday 25 June 2010 - Portugal vs Brazil

Vuvuzela: SA football's beautiful noise

What's plastic, a metre long, brightly coloured and sounds like an elephant?

It's the vuvuzela, the noise-making trumpet of South African football fans, and it's come to symbolise the sport in my country.

It's an instrument, but not always a musical one!!
Describing the atmosphere in a stadium packed with thousands of fans blowing their vuvuzelas is
difficult.
Up close it's an elephant, sure, but en masse the sound is more like a massive swarm of very angry bees.....lol!

And when there's action near the goal mouth, those bees go really crazy.

I must say that to get that sound out requires lip flexibility and lung strength - in short, a fair amount of technique.

Be sure to get in some practice before attending a South African football match, or the sound you produce may cause some amusement in the seats around you!!!

I was told "Put your lips inside the mouthpiece and almost make a 'farting' sound.
Relax your cheeks and let your lips vibrate inside the mouthpiece. As soon as you get that trumpeting sound, blow harder until you reach a ridiculously loud 'boogying blast'."

What should it sound like? Try this .wav file from www.boogieblast.co.za

The ancestor of the vuvuzela is said to be the kudu horn - ixilongo in isiXhosa, mhalamhala in Tshivenda - blown to summon African villagers to meetings. Later versions were made of tin.

The trumpet became so popular at football matches in the late 1990s that a company, Masincedane Sport, was formed in 2001 to mass-produce it. Made of plastic, they come in a variety of colours - black or white for fans of Orlando Pirates, yellow for Kaizer Chiefs, and so on - with little drawings on the side warning against blowing in the ear!

There's uncertainty on the origin of the word "vuvuzela".
Some say it comes from the isiZulu for - wait for it - "making noise".
Others say it's from township slang related to the word "shower", because it "showers people with music" - or, more prosaically, looks a little like a shower head.

The announcement, on 15 May 2004, that South Africa would host the 2010 Fifa World Cup gave the vuvuzela a huge boost, to say the least - some 20 000 were sold on the day by enterprising street vendors.

It's a noisy thing, so there's no surprise some don't like it...someone even described it as "an instrument of hell".

Vuvezalas are bound to play an integral part in South Africa's 2010 celebrations, and World Cup visitors are sure to go home with a vuvuzela or two tucked in their luggage - and a little ringing in their ears ...

Meenakshi Amman Temple, India

Sita says that no text can do justice to the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai down south....

 You simply have to witness it for yourself

http://www.view360.in/virtualtour/madurai/

http://www.religiousportal.com/MeenakshiTemple.html

wow, Sita was right!

Durban Soccer Stadium, South Africa

http://redhouse.co.za/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=163

The Cango Caves, South Africa

Now what would a visit to South Africa be without a stop at the world famous Cango Caves??

The Cango Caves are located in Precambrian limestones at the foothills of the Swartberg range near the town of Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

The principal cave is one of the country's finest, best known and most popular tourist caves and attracts many visitors from overseas.

Although the extensive system of tunnels and chambers go on for over four kilometers, only about a quarter of this is open to visitors.

Since we have been to several caves around the world, we will make this stop over a quick one....

We are taking the "Adventure Tour" which consists of crawling through narrow passages, climbing up steep rock formations guided by small lights...and then WOW, spectacular halls!!

The cave is 1,5km wide and almost 16km long and has magnificent dripstone formations.

The dimensions of the cave are impressive too. Being more than 5km long, it contains the largest underground chamber in the country, measuring 220 x 35 x 35 m.

Hey Marti, did you know that the limestones were formed by chemical processes about 750 Million years ago?

The Khoisan used the entrance area of the cave as shelter. They never went deeper into the cave, as no human remains were found inside.

The entrance to the caves was originally rich in bushman paintings, but with time these have been damaged.

The San left this area and their cave approximately 500 years ago.

Cango Cave is the most visited show cave in South Africa.

http://www.places.co.za/html/cango.html

Pretty awesome huh?

Sita has been nagging me all day...she wants to see some birds.......no Ramzi, not "chicks"....birds of the feathered variety!!

Okay Sita......we will go to the OSTRICH capital of the world.......do you know where that is??

Yes, Marti, you are right.....its the Oudtshoorn district of South Arica.

These ostriches (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrich) have been bred hereabouts since the 1870s, and at the turn of the 20th century fortunes were made from the fashion for ostrich feathers.

Oudtshoorn boomed, and the so-called 'feather barons' built the grand houses that lend the town its distinct atmosphere today.

The town still turns a pretty penny from breeding the birds for meat and leather

Did you know that during the first decade of the previous century, ostrich feathers gained record prices on foreign markets, ranking 4th on the list of South African exports, after gold, diamonds and wool??

Oh, Marti is really excited because we are at an Ostrich Show Farm, an operating farm where we see large flocks of ostriches at different stages of development in the surrounding fields.

A guide has explained every aspect of ostrich farming, from breeding to rearing.

The eggs, incubators and chicks ..... really interesting.....

Did you know that an OSTRICH EGG is equivalent TO 24 CHICKEN EGGS?? Marti got to test the strength of the eggs by standing on them!! Well, they are the world's largest eggs!!

Ramzi is gazing into their eyes....he says that they have eyes that make you want to fall in love and hug them...so Sita is brave enough to hug and kiss one whilst Nopi hand feeds a few!!

Feroz decided to ride an ostrich ---the weight limit being 75kg...so its a good thing Feroz is in shape!

He challenged us to a race...so our tour ended with an "Ostrich Derby" and Marti won! This was too cool!

We then visited the curio shop. The ostrich egg shell has become a very popular curio because of the endless uses thereof.

Their shells are ideal for artwork, engraving and decoupage. Shells can also be mounted in different ways and make attractive lampshades.

Hahaha, Nopi bought a handmade ostrich feather boa for her Grandma and an ostrich egg shell bra! One size fits all!!

Of course the rest of us bought ostrich leather bags and biltong......

Marti really enjoyed her short visit to the ostrich farm and even bought an ostrich egg.....she figured that ONE would be enough to make an omelette that would feed all of us.....bon appetit!

iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Wow, we truly enjoyed hiking the different trails of the Drakensberg, and now it is time to visit the other world heritage site in my province, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/914).

It was listed as South Africa's first World Heritage Site in December 1999 in recognition of its superlative natural beauty and unique global values.

It is undoubtedly one of the jewels of South Africa's coastline, with a unique mosaic of ecosystems - swamps, lakes, beaches, coral reefs, wetlands, woodlands, coastal forests and grasslands.

The park incorporates the whole of Lake St Lucia, the St Lucia and Maputaland Marine Reserves, the Coastal Forest Reserve and the Kosi Bay Natural Reserve

The 332 000 hectare Park contains three major lake systems, eight interlinking ecosystems, 700 year old fishing traditions, most of South Africa's remaining swamp forests, Africa's largest estuarine system, 526 bird species and 25 000 year-old coastal dunes – among the highest in the world.

Hey Sita, did you know that these waters also are graced by 20 000 greater flamingos, 40 000 lesser flamingoes, as well as thousands of ducks?

With 36 species, this area has the highest diversity of amphibians in South Africa.

The park consists of five individual ecosystems. These ecosystems function totally independent yet fully integrated with each other.

The five ecosystems in the park are:

Marine System

Characterised by the warm Indian Ocean, containing the southernmost coral reefs in Africa, as well as sub-marine canyons and long sandy beaches.

Eastern Shores

A coastal dune system consisting of high linear dunes and sub-tropical forests, grassy plains and wetlands.

Lake System

Two estuary-linked lakes of St Lucia and Kosi Bay, plus the four large freshwater lakes of Lake Sibhayi, Ngobezeleni, Bhangazi north and Bhangazi south.

Mkhuze and Umfolozi Swamps

Swamp forests and extensive reeds and papyrus marshes.

Western Shores

Ancient shoreline terraces and dry savanna woodlands.

Marti wants to know what the name iSimangaliso means??

It means miracle and wonder, which aptly describes this unique place, dont you think?

Wow, there is so much to do from fishing, boating and scuba diving to hiking, horseriding, game viewing, whale and bird watching......and we find ourselves in the august company of Leatherback turtles, Nile crocodiles, Pink-backed pelicans; Humpback whales; hippos, – all gracing this South African World Heritage Site with their rare and esteemed presence.


You won't find it anywhere else in the world!!

'iSimangaliso must be the only place on the globe where the oldest land mammal (the rhinoceros) and the world's biggest terrestrial mammal (the elephant) share an ecosystem with the world's oldest fish (coelacanth) and the world's biggest marine mammal (the whale)' – Nelson Mandela

Hiking in the Drakensberg, a World Heritage Site

My friends....are you ready to feast your eyes on the exceptional beauty of my province, Kwa Zulu Natal??

The tabletop peaks of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg range, which form the boundary between South Africa and the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, offer some of my country's most awe-inspiring landscapes.

The Drakensberg (or the 'Berg', as it's often called) is usually divided into three sections, although the distinctions aren't strict.

The central Drakensberg...

Champagne Castle (3376m) is a mountain in the central Drakensberg range, and is the second highest peak in South Africa. It contains a series of subsidiary peaks, amongst them, Cathkin Peak (3149m), Sterkhorn, Mount Memory, Monk's Cowl and Dragon's Back.

The southern Drakensberg runs down to the Transkei.

www.cdic.co.za;
www.drakensberg.org.za;
www.drakensberg.org;
www.kznwildlife.com;

and the northern Drakensberg which runs from the Golden Gate Highlands National Park

to the Royal Natal National Park.

We are at the Royal Natal National Park

which has a presence that far outstrips its relatively meagre size, with many of the surrounding peaks rising as high into the air as the park stretches across.

We have our permits and have been warned that about the sudden storms that occur in the area...

we signed the hiker's register so that they can send out a search party if we don't return!!

With some of the Drakensberg's most dramatic and accessible scenery, the park is crowned by the sublime Amphitheatre,

an 8km wall of cliff and canyon equally spectacular from below or from up on high.

Looming up behind is Mont-aux-Sources (3282m), so called because the Tugela, Elands and Western Khubedu Rivers rise here; the last eventually becomes the Orange River and flows all the way to the Atlantic.

Except for the Amphitheatre-to-Cathedral (62km, four to five days) and the Mont-aux-Sources (20km, 10 hours) hikes, most of the 25-odd walks in Royal Natal are day walks.

The peaks range in height from 3,482 metres (11,420 ft) to 3,001 m.

Nopi has decided to be brave and take a helicopter ride.....we have to see the Thukela Falls..

Btw, Marti, did you know that the Tugela Falls is the world's second highest waterfall

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tugela_Falls ) with a total drop of 947 metres??

Wow, isnt this UNESCO site absolutely amazing??

Green pastures, clean , fresh air, exceptional natural beauty,

soaring basaltic buttresses, incisive dramatic cutbacks, golden sandstone ramparts, rolling high altitude grasslands,

the pristine steep-sided river valleys and rocky gorges all contribute to the beauty of the site, don't you agree??

uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park , UNESCO site in South Africa

Today we are going to conquer The Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa or uKhahlamba (the Barrier of Spears), a 200-kilometre-long mountainous wonderland and a UNESCO world heritage site.

The largest proportion of the Drakensberg area falls in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, my province....

Welcome! Welkom! Rea Amohela! Siyakwemukela! Kamohelo!

The Zulu people named it 'Ukhahlamba' and the Dutch Voortrekkers 'The Dragon Mountain'.

The Drakensberg Mountains, with their awe-inspiring basalt cliffs, snowcapped in winter, tower over riverine bush, lush yellowwood forests and cascading waterfalls, form a massive barrier separating KwaZulu-Natal from the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Combining sheer natural beauty with a wealth of biological diversity, this 243 000 hectare mountainous region known the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park has been preserved and venerated for eons since the San people or bushmen roamed these slopes.

Tens of thousands of paintings depicting their daily life can be found on the rock faces..

And of course, there are the mountains, which must be conquered but we have

decided not to go sheer rock climbing or abseiling or white water rafting but instead we are going to take a more leisurely pace of walking the many hiking routes on both lower and upper slopes of the Drakensberg so that we can watch out for the 290 species of birds, 48 species of mammals, or the rare varieties of plantlife found in the park.

The Drakensberg ... is the soul of the Zulu Kingdom......so lets go on a hike .....

Sudwala Caves, Mpumalanga

Hasn't Mpumalanga Province been absolutely breathtaking?

Looming above the beautifully wooded valley of the bustling mountain torrent known as the "Houtbosloop", there is a majestic massif known as Mankelexele (Crag on crag / Rock upon rock). In the great massif dolomite rock there is one of the most astonishing caves in Southern Africa, and as yet unplumbed complex of passages and giant chambers extending into the mysterious heart of the mountain........

Sounds cool huh?

Can you believe that the Sudwala Caves, set in Precambrian dolomite rock, was first laid down about 2500 million years ago, when Africa was still part of Gondwanaland??

We are taking a cave tour....let's see what out tour guide has to say......

Hmmm, the caves have a natural air-conditioning system, the temperature being maintained at a constant 18°C throughout the year. Even at a distance of about 457m from the entrance, cool fresh air from an unknown source permeates the subterranean passages.

The caves were used for shelter in prehistoric times, probably due in part to a constant supply of fresh air from an unknown source in the caves.

In more modern times, the caves were discovered by Somquba,one of the son

s of the Swazi king Sobhuza I, who was fleeing from his brother Mswati II. Somquba and his followers used the caves as refuge, until Somquba was killed in an unexpected attack. Survivors stayed on under the leadership of an inDuna (headman or leader) named Sudwala, thus the name.

During the Second Boer War, in 1900, the caves were used by the Boers to store ammunition for their 94-pounder Long Tom guns.

It was thought that the caves may have been used by President Paul Kruger to store the legendary "Kruger Millions", gold bullion which reputedly disappeared somewhere between Waterval Onder and Nelspruit during Paul Kruger's flight from Pretoria to Lourenco Marques (now Maputo).

In 1914 a company was formed to excavate huge amounts of bat guano; this was sold as fertilizer to farmers

The Sudwalaskraal farm that is home to the caves was purchased in 1965 by Philippus Rudolf Owen, and he opened the caves as a tourist attraction.

After crawling through some really narrow passages we have reached the Amphitheatre, the major chamber in the Sudwala Caves.

Wow, the P. R. Owen Hall is 70 metres in diameter and 37 metres high, with a constant temperature of 17°C!

In July 1970 the famous Russian singer, Ivan Rebroff, tested the suitability of the big hall for concert purposes. His remarkable voice, with a range of four octaves, resounded gloriously through the caverns in a series of songs.

Afterward he gave his considered opinion that the acoustics were "at least equal, if not positively superior to those of any concert hall or opera house in Europe!". For concert purposes more than 500 people could be seated in this dolomite chamber.

There are a number of calcium structures in the cave.

Curtains and walls of stalactites and stalagmites can develop if the water drips along the length of a crack in the ceiling.

The growth rate for a stalactite at the Sudwala Caves is approximately 2,5cm in a hundred years!!

Wow, there is the "The screaming monster" which is approximately 160 mill ion years old!!

The age of these formations are geologically determined by the "Rhebedium Stronptium" test, which measures the radio active decay of formations.

One can clearly see in the different layers and textures in the rock a reflection of the result of the different weather patterns taking place in the building of an ancient seabed.

There are also microbial fossils of a cyanobacterium (first oxygen producing plants on the earth) known as collenia in the rock; these formed 2000 million years ago!!

In the Pre-cambrian, all the early animals were soft bodied and thus did not fossilize well at all. However there are primitive plant fossils called "collenia" to be viewed in the Sudwala caves. They were a type of blue-green algae that used to float on the ocean.They were tubular shaped and approximately 2 m in length. It got compacted in the rock, because at high tide sand and silt would get washed over it and get caught up in it, another layer would grow and the same process would occur.

The Caves have been illuminated and spotlights placed in strategic positions, bringing into proper relief the strange shapes of the Speleothems (the name given to these cave formations) created by nature through the centuries......oh, wow, isnt "Fairyland" just so beautiful?

Hey Nopi, did you know that these caves are even believed to have inspired world famous author Rider Haggard to write his classic, King Solomon's Mines??

Wow, the Dinosaur Park next to Sudwala Caves is really cool!!



btw, guys South Africa is home to several other caves ......

Baboti Caves

Blombos Cave

Boesmansgat

Cango Caves

Coopers Cave

Echo Cave

Gladysvale Cave

Gondolin Cave, North west Province, South Africa

Klasies River Caves

Kromdraai Fossil Site

Makapan's Cave (Makapansgat)

Motsetsi Cave

Onmeetbarediepgat

Pinnacle Point Caves

Plovers Lake

Sterkfontein

Sibudu Cave

Sudwala Caves

Wonder Cave Kromdraai

Wonderwerk Cave

Mpumalanga - South Africa's Waterfall Wonderland

Mpumalanga means 'place of the rising sun' but you know it could so easily have been called 'place of many waterfalls'.

The Panorama Route that we have been on includes an unofficial Waterfall Route.

This area of eastern Mpumalanga has more waterfalls than any other area of South Africa - some small cascades and others dramatic curtains of water.

It is rather unusual to find a "Berlin Falls" and "Lisbon Falls" in the heart of Africa isnt it?

Wow! The 92m high Lisbon Falls is the highest waterfall in the area - and is a magnificent twin fall plunging over a semicircular rockface.

Next stop Forest Falls Nature Walk......the walk is easy going through pine plantation and indigenous forest and wow, another amazing waterfall....Forest Falls

Not too far down the road is Mac Mac Falls, named after Mac Mac village, the site of the 1873 gold rush.

Interestingly, the waterfall was originally a single stream, but intrepid gold miners changed that when they blasted the falls in an attempt to reach the rich gold-bearing reef over which the falls flow.
The 65m high Mac Mac Falls have been declared a National Monument.

The Bridal Veil Falls are aptly named and long and narrow, tumbling from a great height to appear as a misty veil.

Lone Creek Falls is another national monument.

Last but not least.....the Horseshoe Falls.

They have a circular appearance, and although not very high, are very unusual in appearance. They have also been declared a National Monument.

We all love waterfalls and we have certainly been treated to a watery feast of a cool cascades today!