The Nelson Mandela Bridge

The largest cable-stayed bridge in South Africa, the 284 metre long Nelson Mandela Bridge, starts virtually at the end of Jan Smuts Avenue and links Constitution Hill   precinct in Braamfontein   to the Cultural precinct in Newtown  , in the heart of the city’s inner city renewal project.

The Nelson Mandela Bridge, officially opened by Nelson Mandela himself, cost R38-million and took two years of construction to cross over the 40 railway lines that lie spread beneath its span.
The bridge carries two lanes of traffic; there are two sidewalks for pedestrians and a bicycle lane and it’s a ride worth taking for the incredible array of artworks decorating buildings past which the bridge runs (the city has some 65 artworks in total decorating its buildings).
Visually the bridge is incredibly appealing in its simplicity. Four tubular steel, concrete filled pylons are a central feature and key to the engineering of the bridge. The bridge is also supported on the largest pot bearings ever installed in the country, designed to cope with any stresses to the bridge - no surprise that Johannesburgs  Nelson Mandela Bridge was judged ‘the most outstanding civil engineering project achievement in the technical excellence category’ in 2003 by the SA Institute of Civil Engineers.

At night the bridge is a magical beacon that lights the sky, its imposing span dominating the horizon in amongst the city skyscrapers and viewed from the M1 highway by countless South Africans and visitors alike.

Thank you Christine (from Pretoria) for this nice card.

Pineapples in Ciskei

The Pineapple, ananas comosus, was introduced in Southern Africa from Java in about 1660. It is a delicious fruit with a distinctive flavour and a decorative appearance. The cultivation of the plant requires a sub-tropical climate, well-drained sub-soil, regular fertilising and efficient weed control. The Peddie area is Ciskei’s most important pineapple producing region.

The postmark is very appropriately from Peddie a major pineapple producing district. The 8c stamp depicts Spraying of the pineapple fields. Mobile boom sprayers were used for the application of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, as well as fertilisers and growth regulators.

The pineapple fruit consists of more than 100 small coalescent berry like fruit on a central axis. It is cone shaped and owes its name to its superficial resemblance to a pine-cone. Pineapple production in Ciskei is mainly concentrated on the large, juicy Cayenne variety, which were then sent to the canneries and juice factories in the Eastern Cape. Pineapples are packed in cartons for the local fresh fruit market. They are much in demand for their flavour, as well for the valuable vitamins, minerals and fruit-sugar they contain.

Thank you Maria.

RSA – Cape Point

Cape Point is a promontory at the southeast corner of the Cape Peninsula, which is a mountainous and scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres at the extreme southwestern tip of the African continent in the Republic of South Africa. Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town are close to the northern extremity of the same peninsula. The cape is located about 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) east and a little north of the Cape of Good Hope on the southwest corner. Although these two rocky and beautiful capes are very well known, neither cape is actually the southernmost point in Africa; that is Cape Agulhas, approximately 150 kilometres (90 mi) to the east-southeast.

The peak above Cape Point is higher than that above the Cape of Good Hope. The rugged sandstone (Table Mountain sandstone) ridge that rises from Cape Point at sea level develops into two peaks. There is a major peak that dominates the skyline locally but there is also a smaller peak about 100 m further south. The higher peak has the old lighthouse on the top. The Flying Dutchman Funicular runs from a car park to the north up to slightly below the level of the old lighthouse and a short flight of steps leads to a viewing platform at the base of the lighthouse. From the end of the railway a second path leads to the lower peak. Thank you Maria. This is a very pretty card.

South Africa - Robben Island

From the 17^th to the 20^th centuries, Robben Island served as a place of banishment, isolation and imprisonment. Today it is a World Heritage Site and museum, a poignant reminder to the newly democratic South Africa, of the price paid for freedom.

Robben Island lies about 10 km from Table Bay Harbour and 7 km from Bloubergstrand. It was here that Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years with many of his comrades. From here they could see the city from where they would rule the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Today the Island is a UNESCO World heritage site. An Island so integral to this Great Nation’s history, and indeed , to its future. Maria sent these two cards to me.