Airshow time again

Fly by at the Port Elizabeth airshow. A Mango Airlines Boeing 737 800 and the Silver Falcons team in their Pilatus PC-7 Turbo-Trainers 

Skywatch Friday - Climax on a mountain

If you are not South African the title may have mislead you.................... 

Climax is the brand name of  a windmill, which is a common feature on the South African landscape and the name is often used as a synonym for windmill. It was also the inspiration for the name of the book my wife and I have just published, which has been promoted quite extensively in some of the earlier posts. 

This battered windmill, perched near the top of the Zuurberg Pass, in the Eastern Cape has the most spectacular panoramic views of the rolling countryside from Paterson to Port Elizabeth and beyond, with Algoa Bay as a backdrop. 

If you have never been to the top of the Zuurberg Pass, put it on your bucket list. The road is not the best, to put it mildly, but in Koos it was not a problem. The views in and from the mountains are breathtaking and worth the trip. On a misty day you may not see too much, but then just enjoy the atmosphere.

Visit the Skywatch site for more wonderful pictures from all over the world.

Skywatch Friday - A gloomy day at Addo

Who in their right mind goes to a game reserve on a wet and gloomy morning, when the rain is falling?

Me for one, plus a whole lot of other wildlife enthusiasts - some even in an open game viewing vehicle. In an interaction with the field guide afterwards, I was told it was quite miserable being in an open vehicle in the rain and wind, but I am sure they all rewarded themselves with a hot shower afterwards.

One thing about a gloomy day though, is that it does give you atmospheric shots.

For more Skywatch pictures from around the world please visit the Skywatch site.

The Climax Collection: Give-away

The climax of a dream come true.

Well the books arrived from the printers on Monday and I suppose we will not be eating at the dining room table until we have managed to sell a few. This is what a 1,000 books look like, when all neatly packaged.

The Climax Collection is a book of windmill photos, with captions reflecting our own wacky brand of humour. The pictures were gathered while travelling over thousands of miles around South Africa and there was much hilarity as Sue and I hit upon many of the captions, when we saw the opportunities.

According the Africa, this is why I live here Facebook page, it is "The most 'naughty but nice' truly South African keepsake book you could ever wish to find."

To promote the book we are giving away two copies this week, in two separate competitions:

Competition 1 on Africa, this is why I live here, ends tomorrow but if you are quick, there is still time to enter. All it requires is for you to 1. LIKE The Climax Collection's Facebook page.

2. LIKE the post on the Africa page and 3. SHARE the post.

Competition 2 on the The Climax Collection's Facebook page gives you the opportunity to join in the fun by adding your caption to the featured windmill photo. Pop over our site to enter.

Red-necked Spurfowl

Since the birding specialists decided to harmonize the names of birds around the world, I along with many other mortals, have had to adapt to the new names. It's not that I resist change, but let's face it, the new names very often do not have a good ring to them.

Take this Red-necked Spurfowl for example - it used to be called the Red-necked Francolin and I still think of them as Francolin. My grandfather called them pheasants and so did I for many years, until I adapted to Francolin.

I suppose those massive spurs on its legs give credence to its new name and so I will just have to adapt.

The Climax Collection: The secret life of windmills

What started off as a fun idea, while Sue and I were travelling and indulging in our passion for photography, has now become a fun book on windmills.  

The Climax Collection: The secret life of windmills is a unique book, part coffee-table photography, part colloquial South African humour and part travel. Once you have gone through it you will never look a windmill again without smiling.

The book is hot off the press and we are expecting it to arrive by Wednesday next week. We will  have updates on where and when copies can be bought on our Facebook page The Climax Collection: The secret life of windmills. 

The book can be ordered on line from our distributors Porcupine Press.

Eating dirt

Zebra looking for minerals in the road as a boost to its diet.