Take My Pick!

Often, when people see my camera, they strike a pose or approach me and ask me to take their pics, knowing full well that we won't meet again and that they'll never get a print - here are a few of them:













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The Dunedin Star - An Amazing Rescue Story

This post is a follow-up to a previous entry, Namibia's Skeleton Coast - The Gates Of Hell.

This page is a dedication and synopsis of a truly amazing rescue operation on Namibia's Skeleton Coast in 1942:


"...Fearing that the Dunedin Star may break up Captain Lee made the decision to put the passengers and crew ashore.

The launch was disabled by the heavy seas, cast upon the beach, and left there useless for further operations.

Nobody was injured, but 63 people, including eight women, three babies in arms, and a number of elderly men, were left on the open beach, without shelter of any kind, with only the food and water in the lifeboat to share between them, and no help likely to reach them for at least two days ... "



Wiki also has an entry of the grounding and rescue:

"... A Ventura bomber dropped supplies on the beach, then later, in an attempt to rescue women and children, landed on a nearby salt pan. However the landing gear broke through the crusted surface of the salt, damaging the aircraft and getting the aircraft stuck in the sands.

After performing on site repairs and a four day digging effort, the aircraft finally took off again, only to crash into the sea approximately 43 minutes after taking off. The crew not only survived the crash, but managed to swim ashore and later find their way to the overland rescue convoy as well ...



... Her grounding became famous because of the perilous conditions facing the survivors after they landed on the desolate Namibian shore. The coastline is completely inhospitable, being guarded on one side by the fierce surf and on the other by the almost completely barren Namib Desert that runs almost the entire length of the coast and varies in width from 50–160 km ..."

The Dunedin Star Shipwreck was the subject of a book, Skeleton Coast, by John Marsh and published in 1944:


"...The story of the wrecking of the big British passenger liner Dunedin Star and the eventual rescue of her more than 100 passengers and crew, at the cost of other lives, another ship, a big aircraft, a number of army trucks, etc., has become known to millions since the book was first published, and is generally accepted to be the peer of true adventure stories so far to come out of Africa ..."

Links:

Namibia's Skeleton Coast - The Gates Of Hell
MV Dunedin Star
Wiki Article
The book
Blue Star Line

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Rastas

RASTAS
I think I know where these dudes hide their stashes ...

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More Trees In My World

Related Post: Trees In My World

Back Online again soon ...

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Etosha Birds - Part 2

Lilac-breasted Roller






Black-shouldered Kite




Blacksmith Lapwing (Plover)




Egyptian Goose




Kori Bustard






Juv. Chanting Goshawk

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Eye Of Providence

EYE OF PROVIDENCE
The Eye of Providence or the all-seeing eye is a symbol showing an eye surrounded by rays of light or a glory, and usually enclosed by a triangle. It is sometimes interpreted as representing the eye of God keeping watch on humankind.

In its current form, the symbol first appeared in the west during the 17th & 18th centuries, but representations of an all-seeing eye can be traced back to Egyptian mythology and the Eye of Horus.

However, it is first in Buddhism that the eye is associated with a triplicity. Buddha is also regularly referred to as the "Eye of the World" throughout Buddhist scriptures and is represented as a trinity in the shape of a triangle known as the Tiratna or Triple Gem.

In 1782 the Eye of Providence was adopted as part of the symbolism on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States.

The Eye of Providence also appears as part of the iconography of the Freemasons. Here it represents the all-seeing eye of God, and is then a reminder that a Mason's deeds are always observed by God.

It is a popular conspiracy theory that the Eye of Providence shown atop an unfinished pyramid on the Great Seal of the United States indicates the influence of Freemasonry in the founding of the United States.

Among the three members of the original design committee for the Great Seal, only Benjamin Franklin was a confirmed Mason.

Possibly the most famous use of the eye is on the back of the United States one-dollar bill.

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Cape Town - Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Colonel Bird's Bath



Protea







Cycads




Euphorbia obesa




Whenever I'm in Cape Town I try to visit the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens to get my fix of green - and gigantic old trees ... it always renews my spirit.

On my last recent quick visit to Cape Town, my camera was in for cleaning and it was raining so I couldn't get to the garden - these are pics from previous trips but they don't really capture the beauty of the place, I just thought they may be of interest to some.

Here's what this site has to say:

"Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is acclaimed as one of the great botanic gardens of the world. Few gardens can match the sheer grandeur of the setting of Kirstenbosch, against the eastern slopes of Cape Town’s Table Mountain.

... was the first botanic garden in the world to be devoted to a country's indigenous flora.

There are over 7000 species in cultivation at Kirstenbosch, including many rare and threatened species."

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Just A Song Before I Go ...

Well, I must return home to do some building 'n stuff. I'll be gone about six weeks or so - I've scheduled a few posts and I'll check in from time-to-time ...

I have no TV up north so I'll miss the Soccer World Cup - see the tears in my eyes hey? ... :)

I wish you all health and good cheer, keep well and I'll see you after awhile - here's a song before I go:


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