into the South: November 2007

Friday, November 23, 2007

Camera

Just a though that came up in my own mind is to let everyone know what camera was used for taking the photos displayed on this blog. I used a Canon EOS 350D with its original EF-S 18-55mm lens for most of the shots. Some of the shots were taken with a Canon EF 55-200mm Ultrasonic lens. Although there are a few shots that I struggle to fit in, most of the time these two lenses cover my entire range of requirements.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The cape fold mountain

The photo shows the Cape fold mountains in the background with orchards and vineyards in the forefront.

Yellow Disa

Here is the yellow variety of Disa.

Different colors of Disa

Red Disa

Here is a red variety of Disa.

Disa

Disa's come in a variety of colors. Here is a orange variety.

A look inside the house reveals warm wooden old style furniture dating back to the 1800's.

Cape Dutch Style Houses

Vinyards

Disa

One of South Africa's indigenous orchids is the Disa. It grows naturally in the Cape Fynbos but are grown here for the indoor plant market.

Range of wine bottles

The wine estate we visited have got arange of bottle sized from the normal 750ml up to 10l. You can actually buy the complete set for just over R10 000.

Barrels full of wine

Wines are left to age in wooden barrels for some time to introduce a strong woody character.

Wild fig tree

The photo is of a wild fig tree growing in the Cape region. South Africa is actually rich in the number of figs that grow in the country.

Lavender farm

We visited a farm growing lavender for essential oils. Fields of lavender surround this tiny house standing underneath some oak trees with the sight of mountains in the distance. It is very tranquil.

The road to Stellenbosh

This sign points us to our destination: Stellenbosh. Stellenbosh is one of the best wine regions in the world.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Pink Flower

This pink flower is from the Watsonia genus but I don't know the species. You see these flowers growing from the Drakensberg mountains to the Cape.

The emotional effect of water

The emotional effect of water. I seems that we a far higher number of emotions than we think. If you have ever stood next to a pristine lake or river you will know what I mean.

It reminds me of the introduction in the documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth' by Al Gore. Strange to think that some of these wetlands may actually disappear in the future due to climate change.

I will be attending a renewable energy and climate change conference next week. I sometimes wonder if we are making any difference, but we have to try.

Winelands!

The following photos were taken during a wine tasting trip through the Cape Winelands. We travelled from Somerset West to the Stellenbosh area and from there to the Franchoek area and ended out trip at a apple farm in the Grabouw area. So follow the route we took and take in some of the sights, sounds, smell, tastes and feelings we experienced.

A water lily (I believe also called a lotus flower although I don't know if it is a different species) growing in one of the ponds in the area. Some water birds were also playing in the reeds but were unfortunately out of sight.