Stock Car Racing in East London

In December 2010 I finally got to the East London stock car racing track.  I had not been to the oval racing stock car track in over 20 years!  I remembered a great atmosphere, watching stock car racing as a kid, and I wanted to take my boys to the track before they got too old.  In December they were just turned 13, and almost 12. Tony enjoyed visiting the East London stock car racing track too.

As a kid I would mostly play beneath the grandstands, while my parents sat above me, cheering for my brother who used to do a bit of stock car racing.  Basil Bosch.  I remember once that my brother crashed his little yellow datsun no.36 stock car right in front of the grandstands, and my mother freaked out, but he was fine.

I also remember the tinny music playing from the loudspeakers.  It's you it's you it's you was one song I often heard and remembered.  As well as Islands in the Stream, Hey Micky, and Barbara's Daughter.

I did not feel like a kid again when we watched the stock cars racing around the track, but I still enjoyed myself, and I get a feeling my boys did too, including Tony.  I think we'll be going back a few more times.

I cannot remember who took the stock car photo below.  Obviously it was either me,
or Tony
or Basti
or Zooty

© copyright Teresa Schultz

Jumping for joy on sand dunes at Igoda near East London

These two photos show Basti and Zooty jumping off (down?) sand dunes at Igoda beach, yesterday 23 June 2010. When their homemade sandboard didn't work, the boys took to running down sand dunes and jumping down sand dunes instead.  Even mom (me) and Tony had a turn.

Basti's Igoda story and photos

Zooty's Igoda story and photos

Basti flies up in the air down a sand dune at Igoda, near East London

Zooty flies up in the air down a sand dune at Igoda, near East London

Igoda beach near East London

Tony, the boys and I took a drive out to Igoda beach yesterday afternoon, just for fun. It was quite late in the afternoon already and we could not stay long, but we took our cameras, romped around on the sand dunes a bit, tried out a homemade sandboard that didn't work, and generally just had a "winter outing to the beach." I haven't been to Igoda in years, but used to go to Igoda with my parents often when I was a kid. My parents used to like fishing there, and I would run around on the sand dunes, or try catch a few fish in the rock pools - further along the beach, as the first bit of beach is just beautiful sand and ocean. My mother used to put red ribbons in my hair in case I wandered off a little too far, she would be able to spot me easily (and reel me back in) :)

The route seems to have changed somewhat, from what I remember. Obviously it's still leave East London and travel past the East London airport, but now it's straight down into Winterstrand, then turn right at the bottom, drive along the coast through the little Winterstrand residential village, then as you start to head away from the ocean again, turn left onto a little dirt road, that ends in a small parking area at Igoda beach.

Basti's Igoda story and photos

Zooty's Igoda story and photos

Igoda beach, near East London, and not far from Winterstrand

As you walk down onto the sand at Igoda beach,

this little village and lagoon is off to the right, a bit magical, like Brigadoon.

Zooty (11) and Basti (12) stand on rocks at Igoda Beach.  The beach itself is long and beautiful,

without any  rocks unless you walk pretty far along the beach, but these rocks (and ideal fishing area)

are immediately off to the left as one walks down from the little Igoda beach parking area.

East London's beautful Nahoon River

This short little video (about 13 seconds) of the Nahoon River in East London, was taken a little upstream from the Nahoon River mouth.

A little further upstream, one finds tranquil little picnic spots - pretty much in the middle of East London (if incorporating Gonubie too.)

Litter in East London, near the Nahoon River

We took this short little video sometime back already, near a beautiful view of the Nahoon River in East London.  It really was not a lot of litter we found there, but what we particularly didn't find appropriate was that the litter was right next to a sign reminding people to please not litter.

Related Article about litter on Tony's blog

Photos of sunrise and a train in Cambridge East London

Tony and I haven't really been rambling lately, so when we popped in at OK Foods in Cambridge on the way back from dropping the boys at school this morning, we decided to pop over the road and see if we could take some photos of the railway line - we didn't have much time, so doubted we'd be lucky enough to have a train come along, but we thought wrong. We had hardly gotten there, next to the railway line, when a train came trundling along the tracks.

Here are the photo efforts of this morning's mini East London ramble:

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

Broken concrete gutter and wet road from a burst water pipe

We didn't have to ramble far in East London for these photos - these photos of the wet road and the broken concrete gutter were taken in Garcia Street, Cambridge, East London, not far from where we live.

The water pipe burst on Saturday morning 29 May 2010, and the road, driveways, and gutter were flooded.  Cars wheels whoosed through the water, causing water to spray up everywhere.

The East London municipality did not take long to arrive and repair the damaged water pipe, and luckily water supply to the nearby houses in Garcia Street was soon flowing once more.

More on the Garcia Street water pipe burst:

Daily Dispatch DispatchNow blog - Well done BCM!

Car wheels splashing in water from a burst water pipe in East London

I wanted dad to let go of my leash

View from The Edge at Hogsback in the Eastern Cape

Beautiful view from the edge at The Edge in Hogsback, or not, Tony was not going beyond that gate.  Although I'm not as scared of heights as Tony is, I wasn't all that keen to go beyond this gate either - although a super zoom lens on my camera would have been great.

But, here's the view, as I took it, so hope you like!

I took this photo during a day trip to Hogsback in early 2009.

The Gonubie beachfront Boardwalk at night

This very short video shows what the Gonubie boardwalk looks like at night. Lots of little miggies flying around the light drew our attention too. Put your speakers on. Gonubie is an awesome Eastern Cape coastal holiday destination - and the locals of East London love it too. The Gonubie boardwalk stretches along the ocean's edge from the carpark near the Gonubie Hotel all the way to the beach near the Gonubie River mouth.

Tranquil picnic spot along the Nahoon River in the middle of East London

This tranquil and beautiful Nahoon River picnic spot is quite a hidden little gem in East London, near the bridge separating the suburbs of Nahoon and Beacon Bay.  Bonnie Doon, Vincent, Abortsford, Nahoon Valley, and Stirling are not too far away either.

What an ideal little riverside spot to take a break at in the middle of the day from shopping, or to relax at with the family on weekends, or late weekday afternoons.

Also see The bridge over the Nahoon River in East London

The bridge over the Nahoon River in East London

This Nahoon River bridge seperates Nahoon from Beacon Bay in East London.  The Nahoon River runs into the ocean at the mouth, at Nahoon Beach.  One of the longer swims that Amakhosi Masters Swimming Club had when they hosted the South African Masters National Swimming Championships in East London in 2009, was held near this spot.  There are another three bridges that cross the Nahoon River further up the river too.  See the video below:

Anyone in SA remember the mid 80's SABC series The Volunteers?

It was on the far bank of this river in the photo, near Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, that the SABC series The Volunteers was filmed in the mid 1980's.  A group of "volunteers" lived like the 1820 settlers - I remember how they ended up arguing and moaning so much.  Took this photo in 1985 on a standard 9 (grade 11) school English trip to Grahamstown and surrounding areas.  We walked down a long road off to the right of where this photo was taken from, and jumped across rocks and used a little canoe (I think, was some time back now!) to get to the other side of the river and go look at the area where The Volunteers had lived, during the SABC filming of the series.  Everything had basically been removed already, but, having had enjoyed the South African tv series, it was kinda cool to be standing exactly where The Volunteers had lived, and had been filmed.

(post by Terry)

The East London beachfront in 1994

This photo of the East London beachfront, and looking towards the dunes of Eastern Beach, was taken from an 8th floor apartment above the Kennaway Hotel where I was living at the time.  This was in 1994, 16 years ago, now, when I was 25 (I'm now 41.)  Numbers nightclub and disco was just across the way from the East London aquarium that you can see in the photo (the aquarium has a pale blue wall).  (Numbers was next to where Virgin Active Gym is now.)

(post by Terry)

Looking at yachts on the Buffalo River in East London

Tony's hair was still short!  If you have an old nickname like Yottie, and you used to do sailing on dinghies and catamarans, and also had an interest in 1m radio controlled model racing yachts, then you'll also want to pop down to the East London harbour, to be reminded of what you love and miss, and, who knows, perhaps be motivated to make a plan about getting back into it, and onto the water again.

Spot the bus car train and boat

Yes, there is a boat there - click to enlarge this photo taken at the Buffalo River in East London.  Clue:  the boat is not on the river (that's a jetty just on the other side of the man fishing).  The other three modes of transport are all clear to see, one above the other, like in a triple story house.  Hm, pity there wasn't a helicopter or something in the air too.

Yacht mooring ropes and metal bollard

Into boating?  Pop down to the East London harbour on the Buffalo River (a river port) to check out ropes, bollards, boats, a yacht or three or four, ships, or just relax nearby and have a snack or drink, while enjoying the salty air and smells, and maybe catch a glimpse of fishermen coming back from a day's fishing, who, if you're lucky might be holding their catches up and you can go home and say "It was thiiiiiiis big..."

Shell and rocks looks like a chameleon's head and eye

And here below is a close up of the "eye" of the chameleon - the interesting swirling pattern in the middle of this shell reminds me of a little water nymph, or something.  Something magical anyway.  This section of rocks and the pretty little shell was found along the Gonubie coastline, East London.

The sun rises and slips behind clouds

These two photos were taken in the East Coast Resorts area of East London early one morning.  As the sun rose, it slipped behind some clouds, but the edges of the clouds were still lit up.  I love the cooler colours of the sky and clouds in the top of the photos, then the warm glow near the bottom, coming all the way down to the bottom, now, to the dark foreground of silhouetted thorn trees to offset it all.  This  is a sunrise that is typical in the countryside of South Africa - but this one was in East London, my lovely little hometown, and so it's extra special.

Geese taking a walk near Seagulls Beach Hotel, Wild Coast

These geese looked so happy and relaxed just taking an afternoon stroll, near Seagulls Beach Hotel, on the Wild Coast, not far from Kei Mouth.  We spent one night at Seagulls Beach Hotel in early 2009 and thoroughly enjoyed our stay, and of course their divine Saturday night seafood, as well as meandering through the countryside - and all sorts of animals, not just geese - on the way there and back.

The beach between Glen Gariff and Glen Eden

Spending some time on the beaches in and near East London is a great idea for both visitors and locals alike.  East London beaches are stunning, the ocean waters are not too cold, and some of the quieter beaches allow dogs too.  Explore and discover the East Coast Resorts area beaches, like the people in this photo are doing.  This is a stretch of beach between Glen Gariff and Glen Eden.  Go hiking along the coast, but don't forget you sun protection!