This bell-tower is located right over the entrance portal of the Castle (see yesterday's post), and the first thing you see when you walk through the gate underneath is a little sign on the wall saying "Do not ring the bell" - posted, temptingly, next to a rope that disappears upwards through a small hole. I never understand why officials post notes like that - why not rather post one that says "PULL ME, PULL ME, PULL ME!!!" in enormous flashing red letters? With great difficulty I prised my own hand away from the rope, and bravely fought off temptation.

The tower was built in 1684, and the bell itself was cast in Amsterdam in 1697 - weighing in at just over 300 kilograms, the ringing bell could be heard from 10km away. It was used for all the usual bell-type things: warning of impending danger, calling citizens and soldiers for important announcements, and marking the hours.

Construction began on the Castle of Good Hope on 2 January 1666, and the majority of the complex was completed by 1679, making it the oldest building in South Africa (and I was interested to find that the Castle's postal address is PO Box 1 - I think that's rather fitting). It was built to replace the older clay and timber fort, built by Jan van Riebeeck in 1652.

The Castle has 5 points, or bastions - Leerdam (pictured here), Buuren, Katzenellenbogen, Nassau and Oranje. Leerdam was the first bastion to be built, and the flags on top of the outer wall each represent a different period in the history and government of the Castle and the Cape.

Beautiful view, isn't it? What a lucky lion, getting to look out over the city 365 days a year. We're back at Rhodes Memorial today, and this is one of 8 bronze lions that line the steps of the memorial. They're pretty large - I would estimate them to each be around 2m in length. Looking at this view, I'm sure you can understand why this was Cecil John Rhodes's favourite thinking spot.

When I was a little girl, my family used to go to the Easter Sunday sunrise service held at the memorial each year - you can only imagine what a wonderful experience it was to watch the sun rise over the city from this vantage point, whilst munching on a warm hot-cross bun.

Today South Africa celebrates Freedom Day, commemorating our first fully democratic general election, held 13 years ago. I found the photograph displayed in this picture about four months ago, discarded amongst some rubbish bags that I walked past in the upmarket suburb of Camps Bay.

We believe that the photo must have been taken on or around 27 April 1994 and shows ANC supporters celebrating their right to vote, their release into freedom, and the imminent victory of their political party.

The ANC is today still South Africa's ruling party, with Thabo Mbeki, successor to Nelson Mandela, at the country's helm.

If anybody knows who may have taken this photograph, please post a comment so that we can credit them.

It rained almost the entire day today. There were more than 60 road accidents during the evening rush-hour. One of the streets near our house was flooded. A tree fell over and blocked a road in the southern suburbs. Rush-hour lasted two hours longer than usual. I went out wearing two long-sleeved tops and a leather jacket, and was still icy-cold.

Winter has announced its arrival in Cape Town.

After tonight's big cricketing defeat, I feel a little like this stadium - empty...

For those of you that don't follow cricket, South Africa is out of the World Cup, after being beaten in tonight's semi-final in resounding fashion by our arch-rivals, Australia. You can get the dismal details of our innings here.

Fortunately we spent the evening watching the game on a big-screen at Newlands Cricket Club (pictured here), courtesy of one of my clients; the food was awesome and the company entertaining, so it wasn't all bad.

Better luck next time, boys.

The area where Rhodes Memorial is located was apparently Rhodes's favourite spot for quiet contemplation - hence this pensive pose. The inscription above the statue reads:

TO THE SPIRIT AND LIFE WORK OF CECIL
JOHN RHODES WHO LOVED AND SERVED SOUTH AFRICA
1853 - 1902
The inscription below it reads:
THE IMMENSE AND
BROODING
SPIRIT STILL
SHALL QUICKEN
AND CONTROL
LIVING HE WAS THE
LAND AND DEAD
HIS SOUL SHALL BE
HER SOUL.

Rhodes Memorial was built in 1912, in honour of mining magnate Cecil John Rhodes. An odd thing really - by all accounts, he was a ruthless colonialist, and was rather keen on making the British Empire as large and far-reaching as possible. He left a large area of land on the slopes of Table Mountain to the nation of South Africa, and Rhodes Memorial now stands on a section of that. It's an absolutely beautiful spot to spend an autumnal Sunday afternoon, and we'll show you a little more of it over the next few days.

P.S. Eamon, well done for getting it right, and thanks for stopping by!

P.P.S. Paul took this photo, and I'm in it somewhere. Let's see how good your magnifying glasses are...

Can you guess where we spent the afternoon? I'll give you a couple of clues:
1. It's a popular Cape Town tourist attraction and photo spot
2. It was built in honour of someone
3. The view from the top is spectacular

More about it tomorrow...

Three Anchor Bay lies between Green Point and Sea Point, 5 to 10 minutes from the city centre. It's a popular launching spot for sea kayakers; and the Sea Point promenade, which runs along the beachfront, is always full of city-dwellers getting their exercise - either walking, jogging, or rollerblading.
That's Lion's Head in the background, behind the apartment blocks; to the left of it is Signal Hill.

It's 22h46 and we've just come back from the movies (went to see Mr Bean's Holiday).

Judging by the comments we received on yesterday's post, it seems as though you folks love butterflies - so, at this late hour and in the absence of something more exciting, here is another butterbug (courtesy of Grant again), this time sitting on its dinner, a lovely juicy-looking banana.

This post is for all of you in the northern hemisphere as you celebrate the arrival of spring. It was taken a few days ago by Grant (a friend from work) while on a family trip to Butterfly World.

Butterfly World's attraction is the warm butterfly enclosure housing hundreds of free-flying butterflies. As a visitor you can walk among the butterflies and, reportedly, have them flock to sit on you if you wear the right perfume.

Isn't this one just beautiful?

Once they have rounded the breakwater, vessels wanting to enter the V&A Waterfront have to call V&A Bridge Control to request the opening of this Swing Bridge. For pedestrians in a hurry it can be a little disheartening to see the bridge being closed just before you reach it - kind of like a bad episode of The Amazing Race... Fortunately we're not often in a hurry when we visit the Waterfront, and besides, watching a ship gracefully entering the harbour quickly alleviates any irritation one may have been feeling over the imposed wait.

With apologies to Vanessa Carlton... it was just an ordinary day today, and this is an ordinary shot, taken in an ordinary suburb. If I'd moved my camera just a little to the left, you'd be looking at the Brackenfell Boulevard offramp, as it leaves the N1 - South Africa's main national road, which goes all the way from Cape Town to Johannesburg. But I thought this tree was much prettier, with its leaves reaching up to the perfect-blue sky to join those little fluffy white clouds.

It was a rather gloomy day today - autumn is here, for sure. This is one of the many entrances to the Canal Walk shopping centre, which is definitely my favourite Cape Town mall. It feels very spacious inside, and features all the big South African chains, as well as quite a few boutique stores. More than that, the mall is set in beautiful surroundings, with the canal giving it a rather special atmosphere.

In the foreground you can see the old wooden bridge (dating from 1901) that used to connect Woodbridge Island to the suburb of Milnerton - in fact it still does, but is no longer in use. You can see the newer bridge and the island itself in the background. The residential section of the island is protected by a security gate, and only residents and their visitors are allowed into this section; other visitors (like us) can eat at one of the three restaurants or access the canoeing club on the island, though. We saw a few people paddle past in kayaks while we walked over the bridge - and it seemed a rather tranquil way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

It's been one of those days today (too many errands this morning, a headache for Paul this afternoon, bad takeaways for dinner this evening, and now a tough cricket game on television...), so I thought this would be a good time to dig out another one of our shots taken at the Green Point flea market last month. I like the zebra stripes and giraffe spots - which design do you like?

I had lunch at the Blowfish Restaurant in Blouberg today, and this is what I saw as I enjoyed my sushi (and the company of some really super people ;-) ). The weather is certainly changing now; whilst the northern hemisphere is seeing the first signs of spring, with blossoming cherry trees and blue skies, we're feeling the stirrings of autumn - there's a chill in the air, and the trees are changing from green to gold. The sea and mountain looked very moody today - I'm not sure that this shot really conveys the atmosphere adequately.

Singapore has its trishaws, Bordeaux has the tram, London has big black cabs, Sydney has the monorail, and Cape Town has... Rikkis! By all accounts, this is the way to get around the city - far safer than minibus taxis, much cheaper than standard taxis, and way more fun than walking, the Rikkis operate all around the city, and will even take you to some of the big tourist attractions around greater Cape Town, like Kirstenbosch and Cape Point.

I have to admit that I've never actually been on one (since we're always in our car), but I think I'm going to have to try it out some day soon. If you've travelled on a Rikki, please leave a comment and let us know how it was...

It's our wedding anniversary today, so we thought that a photo taken from Lover's Lane might be appropriate... :)

Paul took this shot on Monday evening just before sunset. It was a beautiful evening, and plenty of people turned out to watch the sun going down - Lover's Lane is always a popular spot, especially with young couples keen to have a bit of time on their own, away from parents and friends... It's certainly one of the best spots to go to get an idea of the size of greater Cape Town, and of course, to take in yet another beautiful view of the mountain.

This shot is especially for Abraham Lincoln, who inspires me every day with his exquisite wildlife shots and entertaining tales. This is one of the Egyptian Geese I mentioned in a previous post - they're rather precocious animals, and I managed to get this shot without too much zoom while my father was feeding him bread - or should I say, while he was snatching bread from my father's hand. Fortunately he didn't try snatching my camera... :)

In the words of Bono, “It’s a beautiful day.” Today’s weather was warm and the skies were blue with streaks of (what I believe to be) cirrus uncinus clouds painted across the sky (unfortunately not seen in this photo).

Sonstraal Dam is substantially larger than what can be seen here - but is, as you can see, home to many ducks and geese. If you look carefully, you'll see our family sitting way back under one of the trees, enjoying a picnic lunch!

We were on our way to the movies this afternoon, when we decided to stop off at the Arderne Gardens in Claremont to eat our lunch (just sausage and bread - nothing elaborate!). This garden must be one of Cape Town's best-kept secrets. It's a really tranquil spot, with lovely lawns and huge old trees, as well as a few sections of pond, which are home to a variety of waterfowl. We sat on a bench just like this one (there are plenty of them all around the garden), under the shade of an enormous old pine tree, and enjoyed a bit of time out.

The leaves in the vineyards are beginning to turn all kinds of autumn shades, and yet we're still sweating through temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius - cooler days must surely be just around the corner?

Paul took this shot from the Bloemendal Wine Estate, which is hosting a Champagne and Oyster Festival this weekend. The farm is set on the slopes of a tall hill, and from where we were standing we had the most exquisite 360-degree views of vineyards, vineyards and more vineyards... it was breathtaking.

$1000 to the first person who guesses what this is. Ok, no, seriously, these must be as common as rain - so no prize. Kerry-Anne was shopping for new clothes, I was bored and thought that the rest of the world may, perhaps, want to see what paid-parking meters look like in South Africa. This one is in a popular shopping centre in Cape Town's northern suburbs. (Oh, Centre Security marched me off to the back-office with "You need permission to take photos sir!" - it was fun).

Well done to Earle A Bowen and GMG for getting the answer to yesterday's quiz. The invention in question is the dolos (pronounced almost like "door-laws" but with very short vowel sounds); these huge concrete blocks, shaped like the letter "H" with one arm rotated by 90 degrees, are used to protect beaches and breakwaters all around the world today. They were invented by one of two men (there is some dispute as to which one) in East London, South Africa in the 1960s. The name is derived from the Afrikaans word for an animal's knuckle-bone, to which these concrete blocks bear some resemblance.

Today's picture shows a large section of the breakwater in Table Bay Harbour, protected by thousands of dolosse.

Earle & GMG: please email your postal addresses to info@redballoon.co.za, so that I can send off your postcards.

A snail-mail postcard to the first person to give us the correct name of the South African invention in this shot... no locals though, this one's too easy for you! We'll tell you a little about the history of this clever invention tomorrow.

Today is CTDP's one-month anniversary. Yay, virtual cake and tea for everyone! Thanks to everyone who's joined us here so far - this is turning out to be a really fun adventure.

Here's another view of yesterday's rose garden... this shot reminds me of The Secret Garden, which is one of my favourite books even though it's meant for children! I love the idea that something very special could be waiting around a corner, or on the other side of a gate, or behind a hedge, or in this case, through the archway.

On Sunday afternoons in summer, various charity groups take turns to serve cake and tea at the Durbanville Rose Garden, to raise funds for their organisations. Paul had lemon meringue and coffee, and I chose baked cheesecake and tea; we then took a leisurely stroll around the garden to admire the abundance of colourful and wonderfully-scented roses growing there. The Garden was established in 1979 and boasts around 4,500 rose bushes!

Today is a Daily Photo theme day, and the theme this month is "A Public Mail Box". I spotted this one in Kloofnek Street on Friday, and believe it may well be the oldest postbox in the city. It's located outside the Kloofnek Grocer; the shopkeeper wasn't sure why it had never been replaced, but she did mention that we're not the only ones who've stopped to take photos...
Does anyone know what the letters "GR" stand for? I know it has something to do with the British Royalty, but I'm not sure exactly what, and can't seem to find any info on the Web.

66 Daily Photo sites are participating in the 1st April theme, "A Public Mail Box"; please use the links to below to visit them. Due to time zone differences and other factors, the theme photo may not be displayed until later if you are viewing early in the day.

1 (London (UK) ) -2 (Grenoble (France) ) -3 (Rotterdam (Netherlands) ) -4 (Greenville SC (USA) ) -5 (Hyde (UK) ) -6 (Villigen (Switzerland) ) -7 (Albuquerque NM (USA) ) -8 (Mazatlan (Mexico) ) -9 (Montréal (Canada) ) -10 (Stayton OR (USA) ) -11 (Shanghai (China) -Jing ) -12 (Arradon (France) ) -13 (Sequim WA (USA) ) -14 (Newcastle upon Tyne (England) ) -15 (Seattle WA (USA) -Kim ) -16 (Bastia (Corse) ) -17 (Minneapolis MN (USA) ) -18 (Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) ) -19 (Joplin MO (USA) ) -20 (Sharon, CT (USA) ) -21 (Cottage Grove MN [USA] ) -22 (Houston, TX (USA) -Candice & Megan ) -23 (Singapore - by Keropokman. ) -24 (Guelph, ON (Canada) ) -25 (Menton (France) ) -26 (Monte Carlo, Monaco ) -27 (Naples, FL (USA) ) -28 (Kyoto (Japan) ) -29 (Tokyo (Japan) ) -30 (Aliso Viejo, CA (USA) ) -31 (Cape Town (South Africa) ) -32 ( Jakarta (Indonesia) ) -33 (Kitakami (Japan) ) -34 (Tel Aviv (Israel) ) -35 (Vantaa(Finland) ) -36 (Guadalajara (Mexico) ) -37 (Auckland (New Zealand) ) -38 (Nelson (New Zealand) ) -39 (Tuzla (B&H) ) -40 (Brussels (Belgium) ) -41 (Anderson, SC (USA) ) -42 (Lubbock, TX (USA) ) -43 (John, Melbourne, (Australia) ) -44 (Stavanger (Norway) ) -45 (Tenerife (Spain) ) -46 (Stockholm (Sweden) ) -47 (Boston, MA (USA) ) -48 (Not Strictly Seattle, Susan ) -49 (New York City, (USA), Ming the Merciless ) -50 (Paris [Eric], (France) ) -51 (Ampang (Selangor) ) -52 (Sydney (Nathalie) Australia ) -53 (ailea , HI (USA) ) -54 (Manila (Philippines) ) -55 (Sydney (Sally) Australia ) -56 (Cork (Ireland) ) -57 (Saarbrücken (Germany) ) -58 (Saint Paul MN (USA) by Carol ) -59 (San Diego, CA (USA) ) -60 (Mexico [POLY], (Mexico) ) -61 (Budapest (Hungary) ) -62 (Singapore (Singapore by Zannnie) ) -63 (Madrid [Dsole] (Spain) ) -64 (Nottingham (England) ) -65 (Bandung (Indonesia) ) -66 (London - Jonemo (UK))