Wood, Uni-Cycles, and Children

At my regular Knysna haunt, Jesters; I met a man named Raoul Potgieter. He is a carpenter, rides a unicycle, teaches people the art of lucid dreaming, is very apt at juggling and rhythm sticks -- to name a few of his talents. He also make wooden toys and medieval weaponry. He often goes to the Sedgefield Farmers Market, as well as Port Elizabeth's Medieval Fayre. He also remembers the time when my brother and I raised R100 to dunk the king at the very first Fayre; though his eyes really shone when he spoke of his love for children, and his desire to broaden their minds.

If you are in the area and what to learn about lucid dreaming, or even just buy a sword for the fun of childish endeavours; get hold of him. If I was still running around with pieces of wood pretending they were swords I would give part of a limb to have a weapon and shield made by this man. So Mothers and Fathers of the of our dear, humble, suburban South Africa: Stop buying your, kids ages five to ten, electronic games. For their next birthday give them three shields, five play-swords and four play-axes; hell even five wooden suits of armour. Trust me, that kid will be more popular than any child with a 52" plasma screen and a PlayStation 3.  Sure one or two of them might get hurt but they are kids; they are meant to fall down, pick themselves up, snivel over a scraped knee, not talk to the child who pushed them for a week then up and be best friends all over again. That's childhood. By the time they are fifteen they will be too embarrassed to run around in fake weapons and have fake wars -- until they go to varsity and start to cos-play that is.

Tel: 083 5744 551
E-mail: raoultheowl@gmail.com

Dave De Beer - Southern Right Whale

At the Hermanus Whale Festival - the only enviro arts festival in South Africa - I was quite impressed by the Marine Endangered Species Expo. I sadly found out about it later than I would have liked to, resulting in me missing a few interesting lectures. I thought my readers might like some of the information I gained at these lectures.

The first one I saw was given by Dave De Beer, and it was about the yearly migration of the Southern Right Whale. As a wild life photographer, he has passion for the whales here in Hermanus and has spent many years observing, and photographing them.

Mother and Calf 

During summer, the Southern Right Whale spends about six months in the seas near Antarctica  because of its abundance of food. It is during that time that they bulk up and prepare for the slow journey down to Hermanus and the Overberg area to give birth and take care of their young. During that time they do not eat at all. I would love to tell you what happens when a Southern Right Whale gives birth, but it has never been observed, so I can't. This is done with such secrecy; probably to protect the vulnerable calves. When the calf is born, it stays very close to its mother. Even if it swims away, the mother has certain call that reminds the calf that it is misbehaving and had better come back now. They suckle from their mother immediately. The mother does not lactate a milk like the land-loving mammals, but rather a thick paste, which does not dissolve in the water.

Southern Right Whale Breaching

The story of the Southern Right Whale reads like a Hollywood tearjerker. They got their name because they were the "right" whales to hunt. They stayed close to the shores while their calves were growing up; they had a high blubber content which made them float when you killed them, and they were inquisitive and would often swim to the boats. As you know, the mother never leaves her calf, which is very active on the surface during its infancy. So a whaler need only capture the much smaller calf, and then at their leisure, dispose of the mother. This went on with such proficiency that soon their numbers were recorded as low as three hundred. Due to conservation efforts, and by making South African waters safe for them, they are now estimated at sixteen thousand, with a population growth at about 7% a year. If they continue along this path, the seas might once again be teeming with these majestic creatures.

Told you they come close

Scientist have not come to a conclusion as to why the whales in Hermanus breach, and so often. They can breach as often as four times in a row. It makes sense then why Hermanus is renowned as a place to do some whale-watching. Dave De Beer has his theories about this. He believes that the mother first shows the young calf how to breach, then helps it do the same. The calf's breaching not only gives it exercises to strengthen its muscles, but provides the mother with a gauge with which to decide whether or not the calf is strong enough to make the journey back to Antarctica.

Bloody show off.

Just because the Southern Right Whale is doing so well, it does not mean we can rest on our laurels. I urge every one to do their part, no matter how small the effort or donation, to help protect our oceans. We no almost nothing about them, and hence can do irreparable harm in complete ignorance. Besides, we need the ocean a lot more than we think. Most of our oxygen comes from the ocean. Screw the rain forest (nor really I am just saying in a humorous fashion) and save our oceans 

My New Camera

Greetings to you all.

I have had some complaints on the quality of my photographs. Although I completely understand, sadly I have been bound by poor technology. My tablet is is a Vodafone which does not have the epic picture quality of the iPad (which I am not a big fan of), or the Samsung range. Now my father has given me his old SLR. It was my birthday on Monday so getting it does not grate my guilt. Its a Pentax K100 D super, with a Pentax AF-540FGZ flash and a custom dampener.

So to say I am a little bit excited is putting it lightly. I am busy preparing for the next leg of my journey, which will take me up the West Coast and down the R62, through some of the prettiest places in our country. Now that I have the means to take amazing images I hope to share them with you. Originally I intended this to be a purely linguistic expression of a journey, but you guys have been asking so nicely for images. So I suppose this will also become a visual journal.

I hope you guys enjoy the future of great images. Okay, not all the new ones will be great, as I still have some bad ones from the past few days. So thank you dad, and if anyone has some constructive criticisms of my pictures, I welcome them.

Thanks to all those who have followed my journey thus far and I am looking forward to sharing the next leg of the journey. Sorry again about the hiatus, but this is called "surviving" a road trip.

My new baby. Yay!

And his friend.

Oom Stiens

Last week I was politely dragged on a bit of an adventure. Wait -- that makes it sound a bit too epic. I went with someone I had just met to Stanford. Yes, that's more of a reasonable explanation. While there I was shown some of the local colour. Again I think that may be a bit misleading. It gives the impression of something artistic or even culturally relevant. In fact we simply went to the local pub.

Now I have been one to find the curiously quaint to the happy little hovels, so it makes sense I tell you where to the locals wet their whiskers in dear old Stanford. Now I would tell you where Oom Stiens is; but I was not driving, and as a result I was not paying any attention at all to the road. Sorry.

Oom Stiens has been open for one and a half years. Its not a franchise, and tries to cater for those who want to sit down and have a hearty feast with friends and family, as well as those that just got paid who need to drown the torrents of sorrow that lap at their hearts. Of course the marketing term for that is a Restro-Bar, but I prefer my description.

The décor is actually quite nice, and they also have a spacious garden area, not to mention a great fireplace. The also tell me they source only the freshest fish, which with Hermanus only a few kilometres down the road should not be too hard. 

I was there on a quiet night so I can't really give you an in depth analysis of the clientèle but at first glance they seem friendly -- or they were smiling at the girl sitting next to me.

At least now if you are in Stanford and you don't know what to do, at least you know of a place to drink that worry away.

Yeah, I know, Not the best photo. 

Oh my, a garden area, mom, come quick you have to see this!

Trust me, if I had a flash, it would look a lot more inviting 

Romantiques

I am a big fan of second-hand stores. It's almost like time travelling. Not only do you have access to the past, but you can own it. Many second-hand stores are places to buy stuff that people don't want any more, for less than it would cost you to buy it new. Those places are great. It is fun to rummage through mostly worthless stuff and find real gems. Then there are antique stores that look like museums that you can shop in. Of all the second-hand stores, bargain bins, and antique stores; Romantiques is by far the greatest of them all.

It started six years ago in Hermanus, when a woman wanted to open a second-hand book store. This was mostly because she needed work, and seasonal town can often provide slim pickings. When a box of antiques were found, and added to the collection; well ... things just went on from there.The store grew and grew until they had to move to their new premises. You may be asking,what sets this store aside from any other one. Well, I am so glad you asked, because I was just about to tell you.

The shop is in a house in which each room is sectioned off into genres. The outdoor shed is filled with smoking and drink memorabilia, including other manly things. Inside the house the rooms lead into different part of our past, from glassware to toys, to books, to Coca-Cola memorabilia and the sixties, Gentlemen's garments, weapons, military clothing, and a vintage clothing section (which sports a genuine leopard-skin jacket). They also sport a wide array of Nazi and World War 2 artefacts  including a German Third Reich Officer's Dove's Head sword. To summarize: it's filled with cool, and seeps winning from every pore. I know I am missing something ... oh that's right, they even have a movie theatre, and it's free. They play old classics, such as My Fair Lady. Just having the opportunity to watch the old movies in a real film cinema (no they don't just have a projector with a DVD player but the original film) is absolutely astounding.

The interesting thing is that they don't even go out of their way to get this stuff. Almost all of it they get around the Western Cape. They really only have two buyers; but many people find things, buy them, and sell them to Romantiques. One of the partners even does restorations. So you can pick up a working vintage fridge for four grand, whereas a remake would cost around twenty. They are also rather sneaky, but in a good way. Let's say someone wants to sell something awesome, but is asking a bit too much for it. If -- as they say in Pawn Stars -- "I really want this in my shop," they take it on consignment. That way they get to fill their shelves with interesting things, and not risk losing money on the piece. 

With shows like American Pickers, American Restoration, Pawn Stars and Storage Wars turning the History Channel's focus more to Reality TV; it's great to actually see some of these things in person. For that, there is no better place than Romantiques. If you come to Hermanus, or even just driving through from Cape Town to some where along the Garden Route; go there, you will absolutely love it. If you are disappointed I promise to give you a free foot rub. So either way you win, right?

You can find them at 14 Aberdeen Street, in the Hermanus CBD. If you get lost, then call them on 028 312 4226.

Military paraphernalia!

Collectables and memorabilia!

Vintage toys!

Old-fashioned cinema!

Retro clothing!

Everything you could possibly need or want!

It's Been A While

Sorry for those of you who have been following my blog and found no new pretty things. The reason is that I have been bedridden for about a week. I got bitten by a spider three times; or the arachnid version of the Three Musketeers. I am just glad that I did not end up in hospital. Yes, I did have a doctor look at it, who told me to look out for it going black, or filling with pus, or growing roots in my leg-meats. It didn't but I am still a bit fragile.

Well I am off to go and take a gander at the Hermanus Whale Festival. I have been checking out some interesting places around Hermanus the last two days and cannot wait to tell you all about it.

Hermanus At Night

I have watch the old fishing village of Hermanus grow for over a decade. From climbing the rocks between the old and new harbour, to to walking from bar to bar; this town has co-written a part of my history. As the whale-watching season in October brings tourists from all over the world to watch the Humpback and other whales with their young, the town has shaped itself to better aid the viewing of it. There are guest houses aplenty and over five bars in a three-block radius. Shopping mall after shopping mall is constructed, with land carefully laid out for future developments. Though out of season the heart of Hermanus, thick with people during the day, is peaceful. The architecture spans a certify, one that was in flux between aesthetic and practicality.

At night subtle colours play with the tarmac. With the only accompanying sound your footsteps, and occasionally your off-key humming, the mind has ample space to wander. These streets have never felt lonely to me. I have walked them in joys, in sadness and in regret. Even though large sections have changed so drastically, an essence of the town still remains. For all that has been added or removed; the lives that have passed through it, somehow it is still Hermanus. Maybe towns have their own spirit, or Kami. They call to you when you leave them, or even push you out if you have stayed too long. How much is a place reflected by its people -- or do the people start to reflect the place? I will have to think about that. When I have been to more places and walked their streets at night I will tell you. For now, I will simply wonder