Homeleigh Halt Guest House

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SA Open: History

 The year 1903 is recognised as the official birth of the South African Open Championship. It was first played for in 1893 but was really only a series of exhibition matches between very few professionals. But in 1903 the championship was contested over 36 holes in Port Elizabeth.

On 5 June 2008 Humewood Golf Club was dealt a bitter blow  when it was announced that SA Airways had pulled the plug on their sponsorship of the country‘s biggest golf tournament, the SA Open.

Following the huge success of the South African Open at Humewood in 2006, which saw record crowds line the fairways of the links, SAA announced that it would bring the championship back to Humewood in 2010.

We look forward to seeing Golf enthusiasts from all over the country line the Humewood links course once again in 2010.

After an exciting days golf viewing, relax beside the pool or recap the days events in “the boma” around a glowing fire, at Homeleigh Halt.

Accommodation in Port Elizabeth, South Africa at Homeleigh Halt Guest House which is a pleasant 14 km drive from the Humewood Golf Course.

Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Accommodation Hunter is a premier accommodation, travel and holiday directory which showcases the beauty of South Africa to the world. The site also connects travellers to experiences best suited to their aspirations.

Accommodation in South Africa: Port Elizabeth: Nelson Mandela Bay: Sunshine Coast :  

           Homeleigh Halt Guest House ”be our Guest….!”

Port Elizabeth’s architectural heritage can be traced by taking a walk around the central city Market Square, which features several historic buildings.

The centrepiece of the square is the aesthetically pleasing City Hall, dating from 1858, topped with an attractive clock tower. Also in the square is a replica of the Diaz Cross that commemorates the first European to set foot in Algoa Bay in 1488, when Dutch explorer Bartholomew Diaz stopped over on his way east.

Alongside the city hall is the Prester John Memorial, dedicated to the Portuguese explorers who landed in South Africa.

On the northwest flank of the square is the city’s public library, built in 1835 and originally used as a courthouse. The beautiful building is regarded as an excellent example of Victorian Gothic architecture and is interesting in that its façade was manufactured in England and shipped to Port Elizabeth to be recreated piece by piece.

In front of the library stands a marble statue of Queen Victoria, which was unveiled in 1903.

Slightly downhill from the square, at the entrance to the harbour, stands the Campanile, containing the biggest carillon of bells in the country. Visitors can climb 204 steps to enjoy the view from the top of this monument, which commemorates the landing of the 1820 settlers

Where:  Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay)
 
 When:  25 April 2010 - 07:00 am to 12:00 am 

Accommodation: Homeleigh Halt – Walmer, Port Elizbeth

Adrenaline, testosterone, steely willpower and entertainment merge for a gutsy duo of show and sport. The Sunshine Coast is getting amped for the IRONMAN South Africa April 2010!

The gruelling challenge involves a 3,8km swim, 180km cycle race and a 42.2km run.

 Athletes from around the globe and South Africa will be descending on Port Elizabeth to find out if they have what it takes.

The swim will be a rectangular 1.9 km route in the sea, which will be repeated twice. Sea conditions are excellent as the course is situated in a bay. Sea temperatures range between 17 to 25 degrees Celsius for this time of the year. The route will be a double lap off Hobie Beach in an anti-clockwise direction. The cut-off time for the swim is 09:20am

From Hobie Beach, you cycle along the coast for 3km towards the city. You will climb for 10km to reach the highest point of 183 meters above sea level, this is a gentle continuous climb. From here it is downhill to the 20km mark. Gentle rolling hills occur to the turn around point at 34km mark. It is then rolling hills all the way to the 40km mark where it is downhill to the coast. The route is then relatively flat along the coast back to transition at 60km. You need to complete the three loops on race day.

The run will be a three loop course of 14.07km along Marine Drive. The run route is a very fast flat route with no hills through the top gate of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and out through the bottom gate of the University and back towards transition.

The total cut-off time is 12:00am (midnight) – 17 hours after race start. Eish!

Have you entered the 2010 Ironman South Africa? Entries will remain open until the 31 January 2010 at midnight (SA Time).
 
Event website:  www.ironmansouthafrica.com  
 
Homeleigh Halt Guest House welcomes Ironman competitors.

Brace yourselves Port Elizabeth men (and some women!), time to hit the gym, go for that shave and brush up on the foreign language of your choice. I have already been offered huge amounts of cash (and other stuff) from the red blooded men in the media room at the Chevrolet Warriors vs Nashua Titans (keep up with all the action by following the live blog this afternoon: Thursday 12 November 2009- click on the higlighted link)currently underway at Axxess DSL St Georges in Port Elizabeth.

But, armed with my chastity belt, courtesy of the Longhair, this is one assignment that just screams out, “Your country needs you!”. I shall answer the call and once more dear friends; “Unto the breach I go!”

The Miss World contestants will grace fair Port Elizabeth with their presence from 16th to 19th November 2009. They will be participating in the “Miss World Sport” leg of the competition at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 18 November. Guys, sorry for you, but this event is closed to the public.

The hosting of the Miss World contestants is a coup for hosts, East Cape Tourism Board, as ECTB CEO, Zola Tshefu said this afternoon at the Shamwari Townhouse (Sorry Babe they DID have Sushi for snacks and I made a pig of myself, just for you!); “This is an exciting event for us, as a province, as the girls will become ambassadors for the Eastern Cape Province and Port  Elizabeth” adding that the Eastern Cape was inviting the Miss World contestants to “…come and have the adventure of your life in the Eastern Cape.”

Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism CEO, Fezikile Tshiwula added that this event contributed to an; “..unexpected double bonanza for Nelson Mandela Bay,” as it occurs straight after the Japan Bafana Bafana friendly being played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday 14 November.

The Miss World Contestants will compete in various sports on the 18th; a gladiator course, an adventure zone, a relay race and archery. The points earned at this event accumulate towards their final points for the competition.

Ticket sales from a gala event on the 17th will be used to benefit the Vistarus Haven in Sidwell.

Charity is a major component for Miss World with it’s “Beauty for a Purpose” tagline. In Africa Miss World has donated millions of rands to charities such as Operation Hunger and the Nelson Mandela Trust.

With four different television crews and hordes of print, web and other media following the Miss World contestants, Port Elizabeth is sure to get a major boost for their tourism industry in the lead up to the Soccer World Cup in 2010.

The Miss World final takes place on 12 December at Gallagher Estate on Gauteng and with more than a billion television viewers, the Eastern Cape and Port Elizabeth can expect massive exposure from this coup.

Eastern Cape – Came to the Adventure Province.

South Africa’s entrant in the Miss World Contest is Tatum Lucy Keshwar, 25 and 181 centimetres tall

Information: courtesy of MyPE  – with permission from the “editor”. 

http://www.mype.co.za/: The birth of a humpback whale was filmed this weekend by a German TV crew which travelled to Port Elizabeth at the invitation of Rainer Schimpf from Dive Expert-Tours. The crew is in Port Elizabeth to see and film the marine diversity of Algoa Bay.

Rainer says; “Traveling around Cape Receife, we saw a breaching Humpback whale, as we came closer with the boat we realized that there were five Humpback whales displaying great activity in this area. They were diving up and down and behaving very excited for quite some time and then, suddenly, a sixth Humpback whale – a newborn baby, grey in colour and a with a bent hump, broke the surface to take its first breath!”

With this historic event caught on camera by the TV crew and still photographers, we have conclusive photographic proof of Algoa Bay being the birth place of a Humpback whale. Shortly after the baby Humpback surfaced for it’s first breath, the afterbirth also surfaced and drifted away.

To read more on this historic event and to view the images captured please visit the article posted on MyPE

Port Elizabeth’s rich cultural heritage guarantees history lovers a unique insight into the Eastern Cape’s and the Metro’s diverse and remarkable past.
The nomadic San were the earliest group of indigenous people known to live in the Eastern Cape. The Khoi displaced the San into the mountains and semi-desert, early in the second millennium AD. The forefathers of the Xhosa speaking people arrived on the banks of the Kei River in about 800AD.
While on his epic voyage of discovery searching for a sea route to the East, the Portuguese, Bartolomeu Dias, rounded the “Cabo da Roca” in February 1488 and entered “Baia da Roca” – Cape and Bay of the Rock (now Cape Recife and Algoa Bay). Dias also gave the name “Ilheus Chaos” (Flat Islands) to the Bird Islands. In 1497, Vasco da Gama, successor to Dias, entered Algoa Bay and noted the Bird Islands on his voyage to India. His charts gave Cape Recife it’s name – “Cabo do Arricife” – Cape of the Reef. The “Bay” was later named “Baia de Lagoa”, by navigator and cartographer Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo in 1576, which referred to the lagoon situated at the mouth of the Baakens River.

By the middle of the 18th century, the number of ships passing the “Bay” had increased and occasionally survivors of the shipwrecks were given hospitality by Dutch Trekboers (farmers) who had trekked from the Cape in search of good farmland.

 At the end of 1799 the English, fearing that the French would render military assistance to the Graaff Reinet rebels, decided to construct Fort Frederick, overlooking the mouth of the Baakens River as a permanent military post.
4 000 British Settlers arrived by sea in 1820, to become the first permanent British residents in the Albany District. On 6 June 1820, Sir Rufane Donkin, Acting Governor of the Cape Colony at the time, named the new sea port in memory of his late wife, Elizabeth.
Before the up-country gold and diamond booms, PE developed as one of the major commercial cities in SA, trading in wool, mohair and ostrich feathers. As a result, the harbour became a bustling port. People traveled to the city in search of trade and labour opportunities.

Early Port Elizabeth was characterized by the settlement of European, Cape Malay and immigrant communities. The diverse community lived together according to economic and social status, rather than on an ethnic basis. Some folk were already residing in New Brighton since 1903. However, when the Group Areas Act was legislated in 1960, this resulted in forced relocation under the “apartheid law” among the non-white population and the so-called townships came into being.
Port Elizabeth was the first city in SA to establish a fully integrated, democratic local authority and has long been a leader in the political transformation of the country.

 Presently, Port Elizabeth is fondly referred to as “Ibhayi” by Xhosa speakers, “Die Baai” by Afrikaners and “The Bay” by English speakers.

Homeleigh Halt Guest House is offering a magical special offer of a 4 night, 5 day getaway for R3500.00 for 2 sharing, in the friendly city of Port Elizabeth

 You get 4 nights luxury accommodation and a full English breakfast daily.

This offer also includes a trip to the world renowned Addo Elephant National Park, with a qualified field guide. The trip includes a light lunch. 

Other meals and refreshments are for your own account.

This incredible offer is also to be found on the official South African Tourism site under the exciting “Sho’t Left – Affordable Mzansi Holidays.”

Due to popular demand this offer is being extended to 31 August 2009.

See you soon!

Algoa Bay also offers a huge diversity of marine life that can be viewed all year round.

Each year the “gentle giants of the ocean”, are familiar sights along the coastline (and can easily be sighted from the shore in season.) these “not be missed” sightings include the Southern Right whale, which mates and calves between July and October each year in the large, sheltered Algoa Bay.

 The Bay’s calm conditions make it an ideal nursery for calving and feeding of the young.

Humpback whales pass by during June and July and again in November and December.

 The sardine-eating Bryde’s whale is present throughout the year while Bottlenose dolphins, Cape Fur seals, gannets and cormorants are also common sights througout the year.

Port Elizabeth is often overlooked as a destination on “The Whale Trail” but it in fact offers visitors the most unique viewing opportunies because they calve in our sheltered Algoa Bay. All too often the fact that these magnificent mammals are our regular visitors do not even receive a mention in the various articles on whale watching which tend to concentrate on areas further down the Garden Route and closer to Cape Town.

One of the most import bits of information that I can share with you is the fact that Port Elizabeth is the only place in the world where you can experience the “Big 7″ side by side!

We are more than happy to assist in making the necessary arrangements for you to view these magnificent animals up close.  Book your accommodation now.

Start your day by enjoying a scrumptious breakfast at Homeleigh Halt before heading off on an adventure filled day.

There are many wonderful charters which will take you out to view them from the permitted viewing distance.

This is just such a phenomenal event, the fact that Port Elizabeth’s stadium is the first one to be completed and ranks up there with the best in the world. It is indeed newsworthy. It is the most amazing and interesting phase that we are entering into with teams qualifying for the tournament. All South Africans should be swept up into the FIFA World Cup “Fever”.

With just over one year to the kickoff of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, this past weekend saw four major teams qualifying for the tournament, as well as the opening of South Africa’s first newly-built stadium for the event.

From the Asian zone Japan, Korea Republic and Australia became the first teams to qualify for Africa’s first World Cup next year, while the Netherlands became the first European team to qualify.

The Organising Committee’s CEO Dr Danny Jordaan was delighted at the calibre of the teams that qualified for the tournament this weekend.

The Netherlands, Japan, Korea Republic and Australia are big teams  on and off the field. Their qualification will begin to shape the great atmosphere we envisage for the event. The Dutch, clearly from a football point of view, have some of the most exciting players in the world. And off the field, Dutch fans “ dressed in their sea of orange ” are synonymous with bringing their special energy to any major event in the world. We’re looking forward to welcoming these exciting teams and their supporters, said Jordaan.

To cap a landmark weekend for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the country’s Eastern Cape Province became the first newly-built stadium to be officially opened for the tournament -  a year ahead of the tournament.

For us the newly-built 2010 FIFA World Cup stadium is a huge boost. With the four stadiums about to host the FIFA Confederations Cup ready, this brings to five the number of 2010 FIFA World Cup stadiums now complete a year to go to the event. And all the other five new arenas are also shaping up nicely to be ready well ahead of  the event”, said Dr Jordaan, who attended the stadium’s opening which was  attended by 25 000 residents of the city.