Homeleigh Halt Guest House

Archive for the ‘Surrounding areas’ Category

The annual Blue Crane Route Invites all to the 2009 Biltong Festival:

17-th – 18th July 2009 in Somerset East.

It is a mere 2 hour drive from us.

You will be entertained non stop for two days by some of S.A’s top artists such as:

MANGO GROOVE
JASON (IDOLS)
JUANITA DU PLESSIS
THEUNS JORDAAN
CHRISTO & COBUS
MALAIKA
LIANIE MAY
NIC STEVENS
MARIUS DE BRUYN
ZANDRE
EMO ADAMS
ANDRIES VERMEULEN
STU DAVIDSON
KAAPSE KLOPSE
DR VICTOR & THE RASTA REBELS
DOZI.

There are a wide variety of stalls, an aerobatics display, helicopter flips….and much much more.

Of course the most important attraction is the biltong. Now for those of you who did not know this, good ”biltong” must surely rate as the most sought after snack, meal, rugby accompaniment, gift…………..well the list goes on and on.

So I have sent my son off to Somerset East to source the most divine biltong and wors ( For my international friends…biltong is meat which is spiced and allowed to dry, made from beef or venison (local buck like kudu, springbok, nyala etc.), then of course there is ostrich, chicken and meat  from other big game animals.

Droe wors (Dry Sausage) is divinely spiced minced meat – piped into a sausage skin- allowed to dry. mmmmm an absolute must have!

If you are not near enough to us this time round, be sure to diarise the not to be missed festivals that take place in June and July annually: Billabong Pro Surfing (Jeffreys Bay), Grahamstown National Arts Festival, Kirkwood Wildlife Festival, Biltong Festival (Somerset East).

Stay at Homeleigh Halt and take a drive along for the day to any one of these not to be missed festivals.

 Entrance Fees to the showgrounds for the day cost ZAR 45.00 for and adult and ZAR 20.00 for a child of school going age.

Use our convenient currency convertor to see what this would cost you if you a visitor from outside of South Africa.

The annual surfing highlight of the year in our area takes place from the 9 – 19 July 2009 when the Billabong Pro 2009 Jeffreys Bay is on.  This year the world’s top 45 ranked surfers can be seen in action at the iconic South African pointbreak.

It is needless to say that it attracts visitors from far and near. My son and his friends will be camped out there to enjoy this “festival.”

If you cannot be there in person you can catch all the action with the live webcast!

Billabong Pro Live webcast:
via www.billabongpro.com each day of the event utilizing live coverage in English and Portuguese, with the event websites in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French. Various camera angles, highlights and replays, weather and scoring information, direct viewer interaction, celebrity guests, interviews and more are apart of the daily webcast program.

Legendary South African surfer and 1977 world champion Shaun Tomson will join the commentary team that includes Contest Director Mike Parsons and the affable G.T.

The annual Grahamstown National Arts Festival is a must for every lover of the performing arts.

The annual event is a 10 day explosion of theatre, music, dance, art exhibitions, street performances and much more.

The huge flea market with unique crafts from all over the country provides the opportunity to purchase interesting items.

For more information, visit the National Arts Festival Website.

A mere 2 hours drive from Port Elizabeth makes it an ideal outing whilst spending some time in the friendly city.

We at Homeleigh Halt Guest House can strongly recommend an outing to the annual Bedford Garden and Flower Festival, and can recommend a good 5 day tour at a reasonable price.

Join Deon Spies from Aloe-Drift Safaris on a magnificent well organised and well informed tour, guaranteed to scintillate the senses.

This magnificent tour is being offered at a very special price…..per person sharing. Please contact us for more details.

Combine this with a Homeleigh Halt special and you have yourself a dream holiday at an affordable price.

Spend a few days in Port Elizabeth with us at Homeleigh Halt, taking in the sights, and sounds of surf and turf. Go on an ocean safari or a Wednesday evening sail with the ABYC. We know someone who can arrange a social Wednesday sail for you! Weather permitting.

Take a day trip to the Addo Elephant  National Park .

BEDFORD – Eastern Cape Province

The charming, picturesque Settler village of Bedford, cradled at the foot of the Kagaberg and regarded as the “jewel” of the Eastern Cape will again be opening its beautiful gardens to the public during its annual Garden Festival.
The Country Fair with the various stall of Deli items, biltong, gardenalia, bath & body and culinary products, hand-crafted gifts, jewellery, fresh produce, potted lavenders and other herbs as well as loads of interesting and delicious goodies are just some of the items that will be on sale.
Mix with the locals over a traditional braai and a cold beer or glass of wine. Teas & Coffees with a range of cakes will also be available.

View fine art of wild-life artist Frans Mulder in the stables at De Kleine Maastrom and local artist David Khoury at the Art & Craft Gallery in town.

Bedford is renowned for its beautiful heritage roses. For the avid gardener, there will a wide variety of Heritage Rose cultivars available for purchas such as Mutabalis – with its multi-coloured pink to apricot flowers and the dark pink Zepherine Drouhin.

For historical buffs, there’s a wealth of history to explore in the area. The churches and many of the buildings and houses are wonderful examples of early architecture.

Spring comes early to this area of the Eastern Cape and October is the prime month for viewing the unique landscaping and the wonderfully-picturesque settings of the extensive farm and town gardens. Visitors can stroll through masses of roses, daylilies, hydrangeas and hellebores and other plant varieties or wander across emerald green lawns to discover some hidden garden treasure – a water feature or a fascinating plant. There are more than 24 splendid town and farm gardens to choose from.