Homeleigh Halt Guest House

Posts Tagged ‘port elizabeth’

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

Group B

June 12: Korea Republic v Greece, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Group C

June 23: England v Slovenia, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Group D

June 18: Germany v Serbia, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Group G

June 15: Ivory Coast v Portugal, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Group H

June 21: Spain v Honduras, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

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.

 Talk Radio 702, East Coast Radio, Algoa FM and 94.5 Kfm proudly present the return of Elton John to South Africa in March 2010 on his exciting solo tour ‘Under African Skies”. The legendary superstar will be joined in four relaxed, picnic style concerts by long-time collaborator and renowned percussionist, Ray Cooper.

Be sure not to miss this iconic performance live at the NMMU Sportsfields, South Campus, Port Elizabeth, Friday 26th March.

Elton John’s musical career spans over four decades. He was the biggest pop superstar of the early 70’s and forty years later remains one of the most entertaining, charismatic and energetic musicians and performers on the planet. Be sure not to miss this incredible showman in a relaxed, picnic-style setting – “LIVE, Under African Skies”.

Please note this is an outdoor ‘picnic style’ concert.
Port Elizabeth
Friday 26th March
NMMU Sportsfields South Campus
Tickets R399

To date he has sold over 200 million records worldwide and had a multitude of hits including ‘Rocket Man’, ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ and ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’. He has also had success in film when he composed ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ for Disney’s The Lion King, which won him both a Grammy and an Academy Award. Elton has gone onto compose various musical scores including Aida, Lestat and the award winning musical Billy Elliot, which has played to well over 2.5 million people in London, Sydney and in New York where it recently won 10 Tony awards including Best Musical.

In 1997 Elton John released ‘Candle In the Wind’ in tribute to his friend Princess Diana. It is still the biggest single of all time selling over 33,000,000 copies and helped to raise millions of pounds for Diana’s charities. After in 1998 Elton received a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for “services to music and charitable services.” He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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”.