Skip to main content

Sea change in the new year to PE...


Pete has recently been given a promotion to Procurement Lead for a job in Port Elizabeth (PE), so we will be moving there from 1 March 2009.

We will be sad to leave all of our friends and the city lifestyle of Joburg behind, however we are also embracing the sea change! With a baby on the way soon, combined with living by the coast and the promotion for Pete it was too good an opportunity to refuse. Pete was previously working as a Contract Administrator for a different job in PE (the Port of Ngqura), so luckily he has already made good friends with some work colleagues who live there.

PE, also known as the 'friendly city' or 'windy city', is located on the south-eastern coast in the Eastern Cape Province. With a latitude almost identical to Sydney, it boosts a sub tropical climate year-round. PE is primarily an industrial city housing the South African motor vehicle industry and one of the largest sea ports in Southern Africa. Having said that, just south of the CBD is a beautiful stretch of coastline with a walking track that hugs the coast for kilometres.

It is also the gateway to exploring the Garden Route and surrounding hinterland. We are excited about the new weekend exploring that we can do (well... at least until the baby arrives in June!).

Stay tuned!

Popular posts from this blog

Harrison James Chandler - born 9 June 2009

Harrison James Chandler arrived at 14:30, Tuesday, 9th June 2009. Weighing in at 3.86kg and 55cm long, he was delivered via c-section surgery. Both Mum and boy are in great health. Dad is besotted with them both even after changing the 1st nappie!! Amazing, Amazing, Amazing! Tipping the scales at 3.86kg (8,5lbs)

Luxury 'camping' at Toorfontein

The Little Karoo is a broad valley stretching east to west hemmed in by the Swartberg mountain range to the north and the Outeniqua mountains to the south. Whilst the environment appears very vast and arid, the windswept plains are broken by mountains with deep ravines and breathtaking passes. Jen put on her 'travel agent' hat and found stunning accommodation at Toorfontein tented camp which would offer a completely different African experience for Jackie & Stu. To break the drive we stayed at The Fernery on Friday night- the only hotel at the base of the Tsitsikamma Mountains which has views of the rugged coastline, deep gorges and surrounding forests. Our lodge was nestled against a small waterfall of the gorge which made for pleasant background noise as we braaied on our patio. On Saturday we meandered along the Garden Route, breaking for coffee at a French cafe in Plettenberg Bay and a picnic lunch in Knysna. We continued over the spectactular Outeniqua Pass from George...

Camping at Monks Cowl, hiking the 'Berg

Due to this weekend being a long weekend in SA (and also to celebrate our birthdays), Pete & I along with British expats Gareth & Sophie decided a weekend getaway trip was required and the Central Drakensberg Ranges was chosen as the destination. We camped at Monks Cowl which is nestled in the picturesque Champagne Valley at the base of the Central Drakensberg Ranges in Kwazulu-Natal. In training for the Mt Kilimanjaro hike that we all hope to hike whilst we are based in Africa, we ventured off on Sunday for a long and hilly hike. We first headed to Blindman's Corner, an 11km return route from the camp. This route takes you steeply up a berg to The Sphinx and then along a flat and meandering grassy plateau to the base of the summits. However, upon arriving there we felt like a further challenge so subsequently climbed 1/3 of the way up Sterkhorn Mt. And up we climbed... at times the hill we were climbing had a gradient of >55 degrees! We rested for lunch perched precari...