Lu-Gerda's Travels

In October 2008 we were in Graaff-Reinet for my cousins wedding.   Before returning home on Sunday we decided to drive to the Valley of Desolation ( Vallei van Verlatenheid) . We went to a viewpoint and saw the amazing columns and beautiful Camdeboo plains.   The Valley of Desolation was declared a National Heritage Site in 1939.   It is about 14km outside of Graaff-Reinet in the Camdeboo National Park.   The piled dolerite columns are the product of volcanic and erosive forces of nature over 100 million years.      The Camdeboo National Park  also has other activities but we did not have enough time.   We will return one day to view game and birds and walk some more trails with views of the Valley.

I still have 2 posts left about my 2008 trip to Europe but I just cannot seem to find the right words.   So I will finish that trip later.   While thinking about what to write I discovered that I never posted my last post about our day in Heidelberg and Riversdale in December last year. We spend the morning in Heidelberg exploring the town , the Dutch Reformed Church and the Anglican Church . We then drove the 30 kilometers to Riversdale and walked around in the town. One of the highlights of the day was visiting St Matthew’s Church.   Bishop Gray visited Riversdale in 1848 and in 1850 he was offered a site for the building of a church.   The church was designed by Sophy Gray and building started in about 1854.   The cornerstone was laid on 22 November 1854.   Bishop Gray consecrated the church on 25 September 1856. We entered the church grounds through an old gate for a closer look.  ...

On our last full day in London we decided to visit the Tower of London.   A few months before the trip to London I read Philippa Gregory’s books about the Tudors .   With the stories and history in my head we headed to the Tower. We walked to Holborn station but there are a lot of delays and we decide to take another route.   We went from Holborn to Leicester Square to Embankment and finally Tower Hill.   We arrive before the gates open and had to wait in the row until opening at 10:00.  Byward Tower  Bell Tower  We entered the Tower of London and wanted to start exploring. The Yeoman Wardens gives free tours of the tower. The first tour started at 10:25 and we decide to wait to learn more about the buildings and the history of the Tower.   Our guide was Chris and he told us some interesting stories about history, prisoners and executions. We learned where Anne Boyleyn was held, where the her and other executio...

Every year an Old Car Show is held in George at the P W Botha College.   But it seems that I always had something else to do on the show weekend.   2013 was the 16 th time the show was held. The show was on 9 and 10 February 2013.   H had to help out at the show.   He sold tickets at the gate. My dad and I took him some lunch and decided to go take a look at the cars. There were a lot of stalls selling different things for vehicles but also other items like different kinds of food.   We looked around for a while and then walked to the arena.   We found 2 chairs to sit and look at the cars.   The cars drive around the arena while a commentator gives a bit of information about is.   Then he also talks to the owner of the car.   This was very interesting.   We saw the cars that were manufactured between 1900’s and 1930’s.   I cannot remember the detail of the cars but here are some photos.     ...

In the first part of our walk we ended at the Post Office on the corner of Marsh and Mitchell Streets.   In today’s post we continue towards the Point.  Green Door Guest House  The Green Door Guest House was built in 1900 was private house.   It became a boarding house and later a guest house.   The original wrought iron railings was removed and sold but the current owner had replicas made according to old photos.  St Blaize Lodge  The St. Blaize Lodge was founded in 1875 and the current building in was built in 1884.   Two beautiful stained glass windows were removed from the outside because of vandalism and are now kept inside the lodge.   The building now has no outside windows.  St Thomas Catholic Church  St Thomas Catholic Church was built as a school in 1885 and was enlarged and converted to a church in 1905.   The towers were added in 1935.  St Thomas Old Hall  St Thomas Old Hall was built in ...

After a great time at Madame Tussauds  we were not sure what to do next.   It was still too early to return to the hotel for the evening but we did have anything planned.   I took out my “Eyewitness Top 10 London Guide” and searched for something close.   That is how we decided to visit Regent Park. The park was beautiful and green with lots of people enjoying the sunshine.   The Queen Mary's Rose Garden inside Regent Park was listed as one of the top 10 gardens to visit and we made our way there. And what a great surprise when we arrived.   There were roses in every colour we could think of.   They smelled delicious and looked beautiful.   We walked around for a while but then decided to find a spot to sit and just enjoy.    It was about 19:20 in the evening and the garden was quite busy.   We sat for a while and then walked around some more.   We saw ...