I’m in the Eastern Cape at the moment. The Eastern Cape is one of my favorite South African provinces; the people are friendly, the pace is slow, and the scenery is beautiful in a non-dramatic kind of way. It’s seriously cold though, especially in the evening. There’s frost on my car windshield in the morning, and the mountains are capped with snow. (By the way, ice-scrapers don’t exist here so forget about scraping the windshield. You just turn your car on and wait for the frost to melt.)
I spent most of the last two days visiting rural villages in the Queenstown area, about two hours inland from East London. I’ll probably have more say about what I’m doing later, but for now here are a few photos that I shot along the way.
A man and his pipe.
The Eastern Cape is known for its colorfully painted rondavels. Check out the snow on the hills above.
Kids going home from school in a village called Hackney.
Two guys and another colorful house.
Dog in a doorway.
Cooking up some traditional African beer.
This puppy’s name is Madam.
Presbyterian Church of Africa.
Can you tell I like the colorful houses?
I thought I’d include one colorless photo, of the cutest kitten in the Eastern Cape.
That’s all for now. Time to turn up the electric blanket and burrow in for the night at my cute Queenstown B&B.
There’s definitely African wild cat in that kitten and talent in the photographer
Thank you
Reblogged this on Anyanka's blog and commented:
Love this post
Thanks so much for reblogging me!
The dog has claimed a place for itself in history on many fronts and has even become a recognized breed Canis Africanus… or as in Herman Charles Bosman’s tale ‘The yellow kaffir dog’. Before anybody in or outside SA get onto their high horses, the tale and its name is still part of the new SA’s school curriculum, at least in Gauteng as far as I know.
Thanks Chuck. I don’t take offense. Madam is definitely a uniquely African dog.
Wow! No wonder it’s called East London. I visited my friend last year in London, England and she lived in the Hackney neighborhood (in East London, wouldn’t you know)! Mystery solved as to where it gets its name!
Well, the village of Hackney where I was this week is a couple of hours away from East London. Not sure the two names are related. But yes, there are many towns in SA that are named for places in England.
What wonderful photos, Heather. I especially love the dog in the doorway. Enjoy the rest of your visit.
Hugs,
Kathy
Thanks Kathy. That was a lucky shot!
Hi Heather, thanks for all the latest posts, I have been really buxy lately so haven’t written many comments but am as serious a reader of the posts as ever! you look great in a kilt and the Easter Cape is one of the places we also want to explore…especially the Wild Coast …but we are off to Joburg on Friday for a 3 week trip in the Limpopo. Tuli Block . Kruger and Mozambique.wish you all the best and a speedy recovery for The Melville cat’s tail.I hope` I have many posts to read and wonderful photographs to admire when we get back,Have a great visit .
warm regards and keep well, Catherine
Thanks so much Catherine. Have a great trip.
Heather – the first photo, of the man and his pipe, together with the colors of the rondavel, is the best. It captures so many things about Africa in that one shot. I hope these will make it into a story you’re writing about rural Africa. Good work, and I’m looking forward to hearing more!
Thanks Sine. That photo is my favorite too.
Hi Heather I always read your blog,and find your picture making skills are improving in each post,really like this one.As always entertaining words with just the right amount of human interest and information and of course lovely images to accompany them,keep up the great work,regards rossG
Thanks very much, Ross. I really appreciate that. I had a lot of good subject matter to work with on this trip
Enjoy your time down there. My favourite part of SA, love the EC, and can’t wait to get back down there again soon.
Thanks Wilson, hope you make it back soon.
I love the old man and his pipe and the kitten too.
I’m forever losing ice scrapers and find that a bit of stiff card or a plastic ruler are pretty effective substitutes if time isn’t on your side
Haha. I will remember that for next time. Luckily SA frost isn’t very thick – Washington DC frost would take too long to melt with the defroster.
I’ve even used my driving licence to scrape off the ice from my windscreen!
That’s a good option to remember if I ever get into a jam
The Eastern Cape is my favourite part of SA. I lived there for a short while. Thanks for the stunning pics, they really take me back there. Need to go back soon, its been too long.
Reblogged this on sharing the Mzansi love and commented:
The Eastern Cape is my favourite part of South Africa. Love these pics from one of my favourite bloggers…
Pingback: Scenes From the Eastern Cape : Mzansi Girl
Great photos Heather – I really like the first one of the man with his pipe. Also, I’ve never seen such brightly colors huts before, looks great!
Thanks Mark. Funny thing…I commented to a couple of the people that I met in these villages that I love coming to the Eastern Cape because they have the most colorful houses in South Africa. Many of them seemed surprised to learn that houses don’t look like that in other places! I need to do some research on how that practice developed.
Nice!
beautiful pictures, i get the colorful houses
Thank you!
Love this post and photos!!! Can’t wait to get back to South Africa one day and explore!
Thanks!
beautiful pictures! did you try the beer?
Thanks for stopping by my page!
Nope, I didn’t try the beer. I don’t think it was ready yet.
@Summer I am really excited to see our village hear, ive been tryn for years to google for relevant pics but cddnt get even 1 the internet referd me to Hackney in the UK whc was irrelevant coz i wanted the RSA(EC) my Kuvuki land…..Am soo happy to see my former Church Africa and houses I am familiar wif… Keep uploadn em pics i like wat u doin
**God Bless**
Yolanda, I’m so glad you were able to find photos of Hackney through my blog. It’s such a beautiful village — I feel privileged to have visited it. Thanks for the comment.
aaaaaaaaaah **teary**