Homeleigh Halt Guest House

Posts Tagged ‘port elizabeth’

12 June 2010 – 10 July 2010

Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB)”Port Elizabeth” is proud to host 8 games during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

12 June – 13:30  Korea Republic vs Greece
15 June – 16:00  Côte d’Ivoire vs Portugal
18 June – 13:30 Germany vs Serbia
21 June – 16:00 Chile vs Switzerland
23 June – 16:00 Slovenia vs England
26 June – 16:00 Round of 16: Team 1A vs Team 2B
02 July – 16:00 Quarter-finals    
10 July – 20:30 Play-off for third place     

Accommodation: Nelson Mandela Bay “Port Elizabeth” at Homeleigh Halt Guest House/Bed & Breakfast.

We are pleased to announce the opening of two backpacker units which can accommodate a maximum of  6 people each.

These comfortable, spacious open plan accommodation units will delight any backpacker, irrespective of age.

Each unit has its own seperate entrance, satellite TV, basic self catering facilities and own bathroom.

Each has  braai facilities, so buy some wood and relax around the fire at the end of an interesting, wonderful day spent exploring all that Port Elizabeth and surrounding area has to offer.

With the aroma of sizzling steaks or boerewors permeating the air, what better way to round off an otherwise perfect day?

Come and experience the friendly city of Port Elizabeth.

Visit the second oldest suburb in South Africa, view architectural masterpieces, take a day trip “surf and turf” to spot the big 7!

Visit local artists.

Take short day trips to experience the highest bungee jump in the world – 216m of pure adrenalin or a 200m foofie slide.

Backpackers at Homeleigh Halt Guest House, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Province, South Africa

South Africans can now finally offer this simple and easy to use payment option.

Currently our currency ( South African ZAR) is not one of the listed currencies, however, payments required will be quoted in USD.

PayPal offers online users a secure service through which to engage in online transactions, allowing users to send and receive funds from other users in any participant PayPal country.

According to PayPal the platform offers a “safer, easier way to pay and get paid online. The service allows anyone to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, bank accounts, buyer credit or account balances, without sharing financial information.”

Homeleigh Halt Guest House has a PayPal account so our international visitors can safely and securely pay for their accommodation.

Bed & Breakfast at Homeleigh Halt Guest House in Port Elizabeth.

South Africans are proud of their banknotes: not only are they politically neutral, but they also give fair representation to all 11 official languages.  The design of the banknotes, issued by the South African Reserve Bank, drew inspiration from the wildlife of southern Africa, the main motifs across the series being the Big Five – a distinctly South African theme.  Highly regarded internationally as both beautiful and secure, the banknotes carry some of the world’s most advanced security features.

• Main Motif: As a design feature, each note contains one of the Big Five, with a smaller grouping of the same animal to the left.  (Spotting the Big Five : Rhinoceros, elephant, lion, buffalo and leopard)
• Watermark: A security feature, when held up to the light, the banknote reveals a shadow picture of the main motif and the denomination numeral.
• Geometric Shape: An aid for the partially blind, each banknote contains a different geometric shape.
• Diamond Shapes: A feature for the blind, each banknote contains diamond shapes in raised printing. 1 diamond equals R10; 2 diamonds equal R20; 3 diamonds equal R50; 4 diamonds equal R100; and 5 diamonds equal R200.
• Intaglio Printing (raised printing): A security feature, the ink in the main and secondary motifs, the diamond shapes and the words “South African Reserve Bank” stand proud of the paper, giving the banknote a rough feel.

Accommodation: Bed & Breakfast, Port Elizabeth, South Africa: Homeleigh Halt Guest House

Bain Street Grill platter

Proud new owners Clive and Megan

Homeleigh Halt Guest House, offering you good quality accommodation in Port Elizabeth, owners were there to try out the food.

Deep within the shadows of the dense valley bushveld of the Sundays River region of the Eastern Cape lies the Addo Elephant National Park. Here, the evenings are punctuated by the strident howl of the black-backed jackal, and the francolin’s call heralds each new dawn. Safe from relentless persecution in the past, the grey leviathans of the bush now roam in peace.

The original Elephant section of the park was proclaimed in 1931, when only eleven elephants remained in the area – today this finely tuned ecosystem is sanctuary to over 450 elephants, Cape buffalo, black rhino, a variety of antelope species, as well as the unique flightless dung beetle, found almost exclusively in Addo. And their Addo has only just begun. with plans to expand the  164 000 ha Addo National Elephant Park into a 360 000 ha mega-park. In addition, plans include the proposed proclamation of a 120 000 ha (296 500 acre) marine reserve that includes islands that are home to the world’s largest breeding populations of Cape gannets and second largest breeding population of African penguins.
FACTS:
•The park conserves no less than five of South Africa’s seven biomes?
•Is also home to one of the densest African elephant populations on earth?
•It is home to the unique flightless dung beetle?
•Addo incorporates the largest coastal dune field in the southern hemisphere?
•The park boasts the Big Seven, (elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, southern right whale and great white shark)?
•It also protects the world’s largest Cape gannet breeding population on Bird Island.

Homeleigh Halt Guest House is a mere 50km from the park and if you do not feel like a self drive outing, we can arrange a tour with a highly qualified field guide for you.

Accommodation: South Africa: Port Elizabeth

Click Here to Follow Live Coverage of the Redhouse River Mile on 27 February 2010.

The 2010 SPAR Redhouse River Mile, Africa’s oldest open water swimming event, which is taking place over the weekend of 27/28 February is being moved to Cannonville on the Sundays River due to dangerously high levels of pollution in the Swartkops River.

Started in 1924, the event is celebrating its 86th anniversary and organisers, Zports, have indicated that the change in venue will not affect their ability to host another world class event, with the 2010 event carrying the highest prize money ever for the River Mile.

Over R26,000 in cash will be up for grabs over the weekend as well as medals, free hydration drinks and lucky draw prizes which include 4 Vuka Scuta motor bikes.

South African Olympian Chad Ho has confirmed that he will be coming to defend the title he won last year but is expecting strong local competition from Axxess DSL Ocean Racing Series leaders Frank Greeff and Chris van de Sande. Ladies defending champion, Dominique Dryding, from the Western Cape has also confirmed that she will be at the River Mile at the end of Febuary.

The program of events scheduled for Sunday’s River will kick offon Saturday morning with the Discovery off-roader, an off-road triathlon style event which has been established to raise funds for various projects run by the Rotary Club of Port Elizabeth Sunrise. Visitors to the event will be entertained in the Castle Lite Beer Garden and many vendors will be at the event to supply eats.

Sunday’s program kicks off at 12 noon with the Nando’s kids preliminary 10 and under and 12 and under swim races across the river. This will be followed by a celebrity Swim Challenge where the winner will get R1000 cash to donate to a charity of their choice, the Ladies Mile will be at 13h30 and the finale, the Men’s Mile starts at 14h30.

Entry forms can be obtained from all Eastern Cape SPAR outlets and all leading sports stores. Completed entry forms can be handed in at Zports House, News Cafe (Boardwalk), Triangle Sports, Brian Band Sports (PE) or Brockett Sports (Uitenhage). All participants entering online will qualify for a free Redhouse River Mile t-shirt when entering and paying before the 3rd February. See http://www.redhouserivermile.co.za/ for further information or to register. Late entries will be accepted at race registration on Saturday 27th, with a late entry fee being charged. A double late entry fee will apply for entries taken on race day.

Live coverage on the day is provided by MyPE. (MyPE.co.za)

(MyPE coverage of the Redhouse River Mile)

Accommodation is available at Homeleigh Halt Guest House in Walmer, Port Elizabeth.

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.

A typical South African favourite – the famous ‘bunny chow’. This simple meal consists of a hollowed-out loaf of bread (1/2 loaf per person) filled with delicious curry.

An absolute must on any visit to South Africa.

Now my guests from countries afar get spoilt when visiting us – with genuine South African food, and every now and then, yearn for a taste of “South Africa” back home.

So I have promised to post some truly unique South African dishes/recipes  on my site – for those who enjoyed these simple yet tasty meals  around an “African” fire.

The first in the series is of course this one, ideal for weary travellers who have spent the day exploring and do not really have the energy left for eating……..get your hands around this!

1 loaf of bread, halved and hollowed

Be careful to leave enough crust, about 2cm , along the edges and at the base when you hollow the halves out. Compress the dough from the insides of the bread just enough to form a nice “cap” to absorb curry gravy.

INGREDIENTS
250 g mince, pre-fried until just no longer pink
1 cup each kidney beans and sugar beans
1 clove garlic and similar sized piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tablespoon curry (to taste – mild,medium or hot)
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 potatoes, cubed
2 chopped onions
1 carrot grated
1 litre beef stock made with a cube
1 pinch dry thyme
a bay leaf or two
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons oil
METHOD
Boil kidney beans in stock and add sugar beans and carrot to this afterabout half an hour. Continue boiling for another hour (alternatively you can soak the beans in water the night before).
Gently fry onions in about 4 tablespoons of oil until transparent.
Add garlic, ginger and thyme. Keep frying for another minure or so. Add thecurry and turmeric. Keep stirring this mixture to prevent any cathing foranother three minutes.
 Add the mince, potatoes and bay leaf and keep stirring until everything iscovered in curry.
Add the beans and the stock and boil gently until the stock has reduced andthe potatoes and beans are soft.
 Adjust seasoning and thicken gravy a bit if required. 
Scoop curry into the bread, cover with the “cap”. and leave a minue or sofor the cap to draw up some moisture.

Then seek seclusion and go primitive.

Accommodation South Africa/Port Elizabeth:  Homeleigh Halt Guest House

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