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Laaiplek
Velddrif (the name of the town) or Velddrift (the name of the farm on which the town was established), is a coastal fishing town in the Bergrivier Local Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa. The town had a population 7800 in 2007 and is located on the estuary at which the Berg River flows into St. Helena Bay. Geography and environment Velddrif is located approximately north of Cape Town to which it is connected by the R27 road (South Africa), R27 road. The R27 joins the R399 at Velddrif, which is near the point at which that the meandering Berg River flows into the sea at St. Helena Bay. The estuary is an importanbirdhabitat and is home to around 30,000 birds, including up to 80 species which are endemic to the Cape coast. Well over 350 different species of birds can be seen here, as it is a habitat for sea, river and land birds. Flowers grow in this area, including the ''Euclea racemosa'' (Kersbos), ''Babiana ringens'' (Rotstert), ''Willdenowia incurvata'' (Sonkwas Riet), '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Port Owen
''Port Owen'' is a man-made marina in the town of Velddrif, 145 km from Cape Town, on the west coast of Western Cape Province, South Africa. Velddrif, which has incorporated the village of Laaiplek has the lowest crime statistics in South Africa according to the local police station. It comprises 100 hectares and has 3.5 km of waterways which were produced over 15 years of dredging to remove roughly a million tons of dredge. The marina is surrounded on three sides by the Great Berg River and is 1km from the harbour mouth, where the river meets St. Helena Bay. This bay, the largest on the west coast of Africa, offers the finest sailing conditions on the South African coastline because of its sheltered nature and its orientation to the prevailing summer wind (The South-East Trade, which blows off-shore here). That has been confirmed by Bertie Reed, John Martin, Dave Hudson and many other leading South African sailors. In 1497, Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bokkoms
Bokkoms (or Bokkems) is whole, salted and dried Mullet (fish), mullet (more specifically the Southern mullet, ''Chelon richardsonii'', a type of fish commonly known in the Western Cape of South Africa as "harders"),HAT – Verklarende Handwoordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal, 5de Uitgawe, FF Odendal & RH Gouws (redakteurs), Pearson Education South Africa, Maskew Miller Longman, 2005, p 112 and is a well-known delicacy from the West Coast District Municipality, West Coast region of South Africa. This salted fish is dried in the sun and wind and is eaten after peeling off the skin. In some cases it is also Smoking (cooking), smoked. It is sometimes referred to as "fish biltong". Origins of the word The word ''bokkom'' comes from the Dutch language, Dutch word ''bokkem'', which is a variant of the word ''bokking'' (or ''buckinc'' in Middle Dutch).Etimologiewoordeboek van Afrikaans, Buro van die Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal, Editor: GJ van Wyk, 2003 The word ''bokking'' is de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berg River
The Berg River (also called Great Berg River or in Afrikaans: Bergrivier) is a river located just north of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is approximately 294 km (183 mi) long with a catchment area of 7,715 km² (2979 mi²) and debouches into the Atlantic Ocean. About 65% of the Berg River area is under agriculture. The major towns in the Berg River area are Velddrif and Laaiplek near the coast, Piketberg, Hopefield, Moorreesburg and Darling further inland. Course The Berg River can be subdivided into the following segments: * Upper Berg River and tributaries ::It rises south of Franschhoek in the Drakenstein and Franschhoek Mountains, and flows northwestwards, being joined by the Franschhoek River and Wemmershoek River both from the right (NE). This section of the river contributes about a third of the flow of the Berg. * Upper Middle Berg River and tributaries ::This section begins near the settlement of Pniel, where the river ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water, and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. Most existing estuaries formed during the Holocene epoch with the flooding of river-eroded or glacially scoured valleys when the sea level began to rise about 10,000–12,000 years ago. Estuaries are typically classified according to their geomorphological features or to water-circulation patterns. They can have many different names, such as bays, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salt Works
A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural salt pans are geological formations that are also created by water evaporating and leaving behind salts. Some salt evaporation ponds are only slightly modified from their natural version, such as the ponds on Great Inagua in the Bahamas, or the ponds in Jasiira, a few kilometres south of Mogadishu, where seawater is trapped and left to evaporate in the sun. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested. The ponds also provide a productive resting and feeding ground for many species of waterbirds, which may include endangered species. The ponds are commonly separated by levees. Salt evaporation ponds may also be called salterns, salt works ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontoon Ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi. Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels. Ship connections of much larger distances (such as over long distances in water bodies like the Mediterranean Sea) may also be called ferry services, and many carry vehicles. History In ancient times The profession of the ferryman is embodied in Greek mythology in Charon, the boatman who transported souls across the River Styx to the Underworld. Speculation that a pair of oxen propelled a ship having a water wheel can be found in 4th century Roman literature "''Anonymus De Rebus Bellicis''". Though impractical, there is no reason why it could not work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. A low-water crossing is a low bridge that allows crossing over a river or stream when water is low but may be treated as a ford when the river is high and water covers the crossing. Description A ford is a much cheaper form of river crossing than a bridge, and it can transport much more weight than a bridge, but it may become impassable after heavy rain or during flood conditions. A ford is therefore normally only suitable for very minor roads (and for paths intended for walkers and horse riders etc.). Most modern fords are usually shallow enough to be crossed by cars and other wheeled or tracked vehicles (a process known as "fording"). Fords may be accompanied by stepping stones for pedestrians. The United Kingdom has more than 2,000 fords, and most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leucospermum Rodolentum
''Leucospermum rodolentum'' is an upright, evergreen shrub of up to 3.0 m high, from the family Proteaceae. It has felty grey, elliptic to wedge-shaped leaves of 4–6½ cm (1.8–2.6 in) long and ¾–1½ cm wide, and very sweetly scented, globe-shaped, 3–3½ cm (1.2–1.4 in) wide, bright yellow flower heads, that are seated or on a very short stalk of ½ cm long, grouped with two to four together. Its common names include is sandveld pincushion in English and sandluisie or sandveldluisiesbos in Afrikaans. The plants are in bloom between August and November. It is an endemic species that only grows in a small area of the Western Cape province of South-Africa. Description ''Leucospermum rodolentum'' is an upright spreading shrub of up to 3 m (10 ft) high and 4 m (13½ ft) in diameter, that develops from a single trunk at its base of 8–14 cm (3¼–4¾ in) thick, with a smooth, grey bark. The flowering stems are rising up 5–7 mm in diameter an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limonium
''Limonium'' is a genus of 120 flowering plant species. Members are also known as sea-lavender, statice, caspia or marsh-rosemary. Despite their common names, species are not related to the lavenders or to rosemary. They are instead in Plumbaginaceae, the plumbago or leadwort family. The generic name is from the Latin ', used by Pliny for a wild plant and is ultimately derived from the Ancient Greek ' (, ‘meadow’). Distribution The genus has a subcosmopolitan distribution in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North America. By far the greatest diversity (over 100 species) is in the area stretching from the Canary Islands east through the Mediterranean region to central Asia; for comparison, North America only has three native ''Limonium'' species. Description Sea-lavenders normally grow as herbaceous perennial plants, growing 10–70 cm tall from a rhizome; a few (mainly from the Canary Islands) are woody shrubs up to 2 metres tall. Many species flourish in saline ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willdenowia Incurvata
''Willdenowia incurvata'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Willdenowia'' endemic to the Fynbos region of the Northern Cape and Western Cape. It is also known as the '' sonqua sunreed''; or ''sonkwasriet'' in Afrikaans. Distribution ''Willdenowia incurvata'' is found from False Bay in the Western Cape to Springbok in Namaqualand, in the Northern Cape. It is dominant in the sandveld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ... between Melkbos and the Olifants River, from sea level to the 1 200 m altitude range. Ecology ''Willdenowia incurvata'' is a reseeder, it reproduces by reseeding after a fire. Conservation status ''Willdenowia incurvata'' is classified as ''Least Concern'' as it is widely distributed, with a stable population. References Ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babiana Ringens
''Babiana ringens'', the rat's tail, is a flowering plant endemic to Cape Province of South Africa. The foliage is long and erect with an inflorescence consisting of a sterile main stalk adapted for ornithophily, pollination by birds. The plant bears bright red, tubular flowers on side branches close to the ground. It is a perennial that grows in nutrient-poor sandy soil and flowers during the winter rains. The main stalk acts as a perch for birds, enabling birds to land within reach of the plant's flowers. The adaptation of the stalk was first noticed by Rudolf Marloth The bird that is the main pollinator of the plant is the malachite sunbird (''Nectarinia famosa''). The male sunbird is twice as likely to perch on the stalk as the female and, on average, spends four times longer on a perch. The stalk does seem to play a role in pollination as plants without a stalk produced only half as many seeds and see less cross-pollination as plants with a stalk intact. Accessing the flowe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euclea Racemosa
''Euclea racemosa'' (the sea guarrie or dune guarrie) is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree that is indigenous to the Indian Ocean coast of Africa from Egypt to South Africa, as well as in Comoros, Oman and Yemen. ''Euclea racemosa'' has leathery foliage that can be exceptionally even and dense - making it an ideal plant for hedges. A dioecious tree (male and female flowers on separate trees), it produces small white flowers, which are followed by red, purple and black fruits that attract birds. The berries are used locally to make "Guarrie vinegar". The name guarrie appears to derive from the local Khoe language, in which it is spelled gwarri. Pictures File:Euclea racemosa - Sea Guarrie Tree - flowers 6.JPG, Detail of inflorescence. File:Euclea racemosa - Sea Guarrie Tree - berries 7.JPG, The characteristic multi-coloured berries of the Sea Guarrie tree. File:Euclea racemosa - Sea Guarrie Tree - berries 2.JPG, Detail of berries. File:Euclea racemosa - Dune Guarrie hed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
