Author Archives: Paul

Underground parking garage

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Underground parking garage
I heard once that shopping malls charge parking fees to encourage people to get their shopping done and leave, instead of hanging around for hours on end window shopping. The rational is that even if they charge a small hourly fee that it triggers a part of our brain that's wired to be frugal.

What's interesting is that we spend about 40 minutes at Cavendish Square mall and that cost us R10 in parking. We then spent about two or three hours at the V&A Waterfront for the same amount of parking money.

I'd guess then that the cost of parking is relative to the mall's floor space and number of available parking bays. The V&A Waterfront has a huge amount of space, and comparatively far more parking than what Cavendish does - but still, for some reason a felt a little robbed at Cavendish, expecting the cost for an hour's worth of parking to be around R5 - similar to that charged by large malls in the northern suburbs.

Legend of the Kaaiman

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Legend of the Kaaiman
I'm sure when you think of a mermaid you picture what we've been indoctrinated to imagine - a beautiful blonde woman with long flowing hair, much like the one in this photo.

Cape Town, well, rather Swellendam (a small town 225Km outside of Cape Town) has it's own mermaid legend - that of the Kaaiman. From what I can tell sightings are extermely infrequent, with the last reported one being in 2008. The Kaaiman is apparantly a white woman with long black hair, red eyes, and a fish-like lower half. Read this story on Monstropedia for details on the 2008 sighting.

A schooner called Spirit of Victoria

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A schooner called Spirit of Victoria
Call me ignorant, but until now I had no idea that a vessel with this sail configuration is called a schooner and used the word "yacht" to generically refer to boats with sails.

Now, I'm not sure when a boat is a yacht - if perhaps it has more to do with the vessels purpose in life, or something else, but it's unlikely that it has anything to do with sails as modern luxury yachts often don't even have sails. If you do know, then don't hesitate - leave a comment please. :)

Impressionist Sunset at the Sea Point Promenade

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Impressionist Sunset at Mouille Point
I do so love summer, but the clear-sky summer sunsets just don't compare with the pastel colours in winter. Click on the image to see the larger version - notice the reflection on the stormy water. Beautiful hey?

Here's the photo I uploaded to Instagram at the time.

Cars at Cavendish

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Cars at Cavendish
It was much like a magnet. There really was no stopping me from descending to the ground floor in the busy Cavendish Square mall to take a look at the bright red Audi R8 on display. It sure is beautiful.

While we have our fair share of Maseratis, Ferraris, Porches and Lamborginis racing around our fair city, they're really not as common as they are in European or American cities - so you may say that I'm just a smidgen deprived. ;)

Rushing over rocks

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Rushing over rocks
For the record, I was watching the water very carefully when this wave broke. The section of rock that I was standing on was on the same level as the rock in the photo, and for a moment I wasn't completely sure that the foaming-frothing sea water wasn't going to reach me. :)

Hermanus beaches

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Hermanus beaches
This is one of the many little beaches tucked away along the Cliff Path walking trail in Hermanus. I've never actually been here in summer - so I wonder how busy these beaches get. I suspect they're not overrun, but probably not quite as deserted as in this photo. :)

The Hermanus Cliff Path

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The Harmanus Cliff Path
The Cliff Path in Hermanus isn't quite as scary as it sounds - there are cliff's, shear drops down to the rocks below, but the pathway is well kept and as long as you don't walk with your nose high-up in the air, you're unlikely to fall off the edge. :)

The only annoying thing is that we came across people who were walking their two unstable-looking Alsatians along the path... at times without leashes!

Man with a heavy hand

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Man with a heavy hand
Kerry-Anne first made the heavy-hand comment on the photo she took. She was kidding of course. :)

This sculpture is a work by Dylan Lewis (see more of his work here). The inscription below the work is a poem by Ian McCallum. It reads:

"Whose permission are we waiting for to enter that 'uncertain ground'
where the voice of our wild history can be heard?
How long is it going to take to acknowledge that there is indeed a menagerie
within each of us... a wolf, a hyena, a lion... a wild man and a wild woman?"
Ian McCallum

The beautiful Hermanus coastline

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The beautiful Hermanus coastline
Isn't it just magnificent? This is the Hermanus coastline, in the direction of Voelklip, an affluent suburb of the popular seaside town.

Hermanus, as you possibly know, is very well known for whale-watching in South Africa. Locals, and tourists, gather in large numbers, during whale season - turning the otherwise comfortable and easy-paced seaside town into a bustling and somewhat congested mangling of cars and people.

Sunny weekends between September and the end of October is certainly not the time to get stuck trying to get into or out of this little town; except if you're either prepared to endure the hours of stop-start traffic, or if you're happy to take the drive to and from Cape Town while everyone else is sleeping. :)

That said, if you're looking for a vibey seaside town, book some weekend time at a hotel or guest house in late September or early October.

Military memorial in Hermanus

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Military memorial in Hermanus
You'll find this war memorial, commemorating fallen heroes of the first and second world wars, in the small coastal town of Hermanus. Kerry-Anne and I spent the weekend in Hermanus, so over the next couple of days I'll share a few photos that will hopefully encourage you to visit the town, if only for a day. :)

A boney’s skull

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A boney's skull
If you don't catch the reference in this post's title, it's probably because you never saw the amusing and somewhat-different zombie movie, Warm Bodies.

I know, I know, Kerry-Anne at first rolled her eyes at "zombie movie" too. Nevertheless, just as she was, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. The movie deserved it's IMDB 7.0 rating, you should watch it. :)

Taking hands

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Taking hands
I suppose you've heard that at the age of 94, our former president Nelson Mandela is very ill in hospital. Over the past few days it's felt like the nation's been holding it's breath, hoping for the best, fearing the worst.

For a somewhat obvious reason, this photo reminded me of him and what he's done for South Africa throughout is life. He's a great man.

A differential creature

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A differential creature
As mentioned before, Kerry-Anne and I are away in Hermanus for the weekend, and so I'm writing this from our comfy room at Les Baleines guest house.

While I doubt this piece of art (made from a car's differential) would fit with most people's decor, still it is pretty cool, don't you think?

Metalhead

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Metalhead
Kerry-Anne and I are away in the coastal town of Hermanus for the weekend - I'll share a few photos from our little get-away in days to come, but for now here's another photo from the art exhibition at The Woodstock Foundry. :)