An old steam engine at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg that has been restored (at least to look nice and bright, I doubt that it still goes). I still like the bright colours.
Tag: <span>johannesburg</span>
This lovely yet somewhat strange statue was in the garden of the conference venue where we had our recent Toastmasters conference, in Vanderbijlpark just South of Johannesburg. While this type of status is very typical of African art, I still find such large and lifelike statues somewhat intimidating, almost as if they are watching your every move. Having said that, the detail is amazing, and it is a true craftsman that can carve this face out of a solid piece of wood.
Bu the way, no HDR here in case you were wondering.
About 2 months ago, I posted a picture of a white Rabbit. I was slightly startled yesterday to receive an email from Jesusdragon737, telling me that he had used the photo as a basis for some serious photoshopping. And the picture placed 3rd in a photo manipulation contest.
Above is Eagabbit, and below my original picture.
Amazing what you can do with digital manipulation.
Bingo the Dragon
My niece Cameron has a rather strange pet (well I think it is). It is a bearded dragon, probably about 15″ long, including the tail. His name is Bingo. Yes, Bingo! It reminds me of the horse that death rides, who we all know is called Binky.
Bingo does not live in Cape Town, he has a heated little house in Cameron’s room in Johannesburg, and his favourite food is silkworms.
Here are a few more pics.
(Cape Town away)
Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting! -White Rabbit (Alice in Wonderland)
Our guest house is not called the Rabbit Hole for nothing, here is one of the Rabbits that kept appearing on the lawn at unexpected moments.
Doesn’t he look like a little stuffed toy rabbit?
My regular blogs are going to take a small detour to Klerksdorp, just outside of Johannesburg, since I spent a few days at a Toastmasters conference in the area. We stayed at a wonderful (and eclectic) guest house called the Rabbit Hole, and I got some interesting shots there.
Today’s pic is of a wooden crocodile with a frog in its mouth, found outside one of the rooms.
We spent the weekend at Gold Reef City for annual Toastmasters conference. We arrived in a beautifully warn Thursday afternoon, and we had a couple of hours to spare before the formalities started. So what better way to spend it than wondering around the theme park.
The theme park is made to look like and old mining town, complete with mine trucks full of ore, old houses, and mining equipment strewn all over the place. It is a little cheesy, but not too over the top. The theme park is home to the (real) Crown Mines #14 shaft, which stretches over 3500m deep, and it its time was the deepest shaft in the world.
Today, you can travel down the shaft to a depth of about 250m and get a taste of what it is like working in a gold mine. being a theme park, there are the usual set of rides such as roller coasters and ferris wheels.
Ferris wheel, note the soccer balls.
One of the many roller coasters.
Sign for town square. The whole park is laid out to look like Johannesburg around 1900.
There are peacocks wondering around all over the place, in particular around the Protea Hotel where we stayed. The rooms have just been redone, and it is very nice.
Old steam engine.
Gold Reef City is a great place to spend a day, but in honesty, a day is probably long enough, you could probably even get away with 1/2 a day if you were pressed for time.
The ferris wheel at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg, taken late at night. I didn’t have my tripod with me, so a table and cell phone became my extra camera gear :-)
Leave a Comment