Paarl *Discussion and Galary*

[Cape Town Guy]

As Die Kapenaar kindly reposted the pictures for me. I'll make a more suitable start to the thread.


Paarl
Quick Intro



Population: 108,000
Founded: 1687 (Third oldest town in South Africa)

Attractions

Taal Monument and Museum

Wine

Fairview
KWV -One of the top Brandy brands worldwide
Siimonsvlei

Top Restuarants

Bosmans (The Business Day Restaurant of the Year Award 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2005)

Le Quartier Francais (Franschhoek) - Top 10 Restuarant in the World (Hotel Magazine USA) + many many more

Websites

http://blog.winecountry.co.za/ | www.paarlonline.com

[DennisRodman97]

mofo u need a spell check

[Lydon]

Don't be rude now.

[Cape Town Guy]

Originally Posted by DennisRodman97

mofo u need a spell check

ill never understand why people are so rude over the internet...hmmm well sorry o great one.

[Lydon]

Originally Posted by DennisRodman97

mofo u need a spell check

and the irony in that sentence is just hilarious.

[Jakes1]

your pics are about as visible as some people's privates...

[Cape Town Guy]

tried clicking them or is that also too small? Actually not being sarcastic...

[Jakes1]

Originally Posted by Cape Town Guy

tried clicking them or is that also too small? Actually not being sarcastic...

Don't want to click on them... it is racist to push someone's buttons...

[Cape Town Guy]

haha okaaay...well then dont its okay.

[Jakes1]

evil colonialist

[HirakataShi]

Ladies

[Die Kapenaar]

[Cape Town Guy]

Thank you for that Was considering doing it. Had upload issues that are now resolved.

[Cape Town Guy]

Some old news, though for anyone following golf:

Stenson and Wood join illustrious South African Open field

European Ryder Cup star Henrik Stenson and rising English golfer Chris Wood are the latest to join one of the strongest fields in South African Open Championship history at Pearl Valley Golf Estates in December.

Both players have been confirmed for the 18-21 December showpiece and will tee up alongside a trilogy of the greatest South African golfers - Masters champion Trevor Immelman, triple Major champion Ernie Els and double US Open champion Retief Goosen - defending champion James Kingston, European Tour Order of Merit winner Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy.

Stenson will seek to become only the second Swedish champion of the South African Open following the triumph of Mathias Gr�nberg at Randpark Golf Club in 2000.

The powerful Swede made a significant impact on world golf in 2007, winning the Dubai Desert Classic and the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play to finish a career high fourth on the European Tour Order of Merit, which will be known as The Race to Dubai from next season following a partnership between The European Tour and Dubai-based Leisurecorp, owners of Pearl Valley.

This year Stenson has already achieved ten top-ten finishes on The European Tour, including tied third in the British Open and tied fourth in the US PGA Championship.

Wood joins a distinguished field as a result of having turned professional shortly after his tied fifth-place finish in the British Open at Royal Birkdale while still an amateur.

Wood will seek to join an equally illustrious list of champions who won the South African Open in their first appearance, including Vijay Singh and Bobby Locke.

David Spencer, Leisurecorp CEO-Golf, owners of Pearl Valley Golf Estates, said:

"Henrik is based in Dubai and is a good friend of ours, so I'm delighted that he has decided to play; he's one of the biggest hitters in the game and always a big draw. Chris Wood was an unknown before The Open, but his incredible performance at Birkdale, not to mention his immense frame made a few people sit up and take notice! Chris is a rising star of the game and definitely one to watch this season.

"With the course in such great condition and the world-class field among the best in the Championship's history, this year's event promises to be one of the highlights of The Race to Dubai calendar."

Admission to the South African Open will be free for anyone who pre-registers for tickets at www.southafricanopen.com from Thursday 25th September. Free tickets will also be available from the Pearl Valley Lifestyle Experience at V&A Waterfront in Cape Town from 25th September. An admission charge of R100 will be applicable for any visitors who attend the tournament without pre-registering. Anyone who has already purchased tickets for the South African Open can have the cost of their ticket fully refunded by contacting Maru Sport at 011 444 9400.

For every visitor who obtains free tickets to the South African Open, R5 will be donated to the official charity, the Pebbles Project. For more information on the Pebbles Project visit www.pebblesproject.co.za

[annman]

Tourist hub planned for Boland

November 10 2008 at 08:03AM

By Anél Powell

Wide-Ranging development plans mooted for the new R1,5-billion Berg River Dam include a 2 000 metre Olympic-size rowing course, an upmarket lodge, restaurants, shops and other tourist and recreational facilities.

Consultants CNdV Africa Planning & Design and the state-owned Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) unveiled the development options for the Berg River catchment area in weekend advertisements.

In a draft report prepared for public comment, Simon Nicks and Nigel Rossouw of CNdV and TCTA respectively said all development in the dam area should be limited to tourism and recreational facilities.

There would be no residential development in the area.

Rossouw said the proposals had emerged during four years of public consultation about development possibilities for the catchment area.

However, as some parts of the catchment fell within the Cape Winelands biosphere and the Hottentots Holland nature reserve, many options could be curtailed by environmental concerns.

Although the deadline for public comment is November 28, Rossouw said it was too early for development plans to be on the table. "Our interest is in preserving the water quality of the Berg River Dam catchment area."

But he said TCTA wanted to open the area to the public.

"Most water catchment areas are closed to the public. With this (one) we are taking a different approach because Franschhoek has very little open public space."

Parcels of state land in the area have been de-proclaimed from forestry land use and released to the Department of Public Works, but the use made of them still had to be determined, the consultants said.

Rossouw said a legal entity responsible for land-use planning in the catchment area needed to be set up.

While several development options had been proposed, Rossouw said there was no guarantee any of them would be realised.

Although the report proposes land water use options for the Berg River, it restricts development on steep parts of the site.

The authors said high-lying areas of the dam could be used for low-intensity activities such as hiking and overnight tented accommodation. More intensive activities, such as mountain biking and fishing, could take place in the lower areas.

Traditional crops and flora, such as buchu, proteas, stone fruit and wine grapes could be farmed on the agricultural land on the edge of the dam. All farming should be organic.

Entertainment facilities, restaurants, a cafe, shops and and environmental educational facilities could be built on the eastern side of the dam wall.

An upmarket tourist lodge could be located at the Bells Lodge site and linked to a remote bush camp in the Assegaaibosch Valley.

"The Berg River Dam has the potential to open a new range of tourism opportunities to complement the long-established tourism activities in the Franschhoek Valley," said the report.

Possible restrictions on tourism activities could be the fluctuating water levels of the dam.

The water level is low in summer, making the area unsuitable for water activities.

The dam, which was built to address the province's water shortage, will also be used for recreational activities.

But the consultants recommended these be limited to non-motorised activities such as sailing, angling, canoeing and rowing.

There should also be an area for swimming.

A rowing and dragon boat course could be established on a 2 000 metre, eight-lane Olympic size rowing facility on the dam.

The consultants proposed several options for the management of the dam, including the establishment of a Water User Association that would collect charges from users or a Trust that would manage the dam with an operating company.

[Cape Town Guy]

Funny that. In the beginning when this dam was completed they were very strict on saying that no recreational activity would take place. The dam is situated about 200m from my school so we went on outings during its construction a good 2 years back. Absolutely massive construction. And brilliant news with the new plans to develop it into something more.

[annman]

Never knew there was a school right there, thought the closest was Bridge House?

[Mo Rush]

Originally Posted by annman

Tourist hub planned for Boland

November 10 2008 at 08:03AM

By Anél Powell

Wide-Ranging development plans mooted for the new R1,5-billion Berg River Dam include a 2 000 metre Olympic-size rowing course, an upmarket lodge, restaurants, shops and other tourist and recreational facilities.

Consultants CNdV Africa Planning & Design and the state-owned Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) unveiled the development options for the Berg River catchment area in weekend advertisements.

In a draft report prepared for public comment, Simon Nicks and Nigel Rossouw of CNdV and TCTA respectively said all development in the dam area should be limited to tourism and recreational facilities.

There would be no residential development in the area.

Rossouw said the proposals had emerged during four years of public consultation about development possibilities for the catchment area.

However, as some parts of the catchment fell within the Cape Winelands biosphere and the Hottentots Holland nature reserve, many options could be curtailed by environmental concerns.

Although the deadline for public comment is November 28, Rossouw said it was too early for development plans to be on the table. "Our interest is in preserving the water quality of the Berg River Dam catchment area."

But he said TCTA wanted to open the area to the public.

"Most water catchment areas are closed to the public. With this (one) we are taking a different approach because Franschhoek has very little open public space."

Parcels of state land in the area have been de-proclaimed from forestry land use and released to the Department of Public Works, but the use made of them still had to be determined, the consultants said.

Rossouw said a legal entity responsible for land-use planning in the catchment area needed to be set up.

While several development options had been proposed, Rossouw said there was no guarantee any of them would be realised.

Although the report proposes land water use options for the Berg River, it restricts development on steep parts of the site.

The authors said high-lying areas of the dam could be used for low-intensity activities such as hiking and overnight tented accommodation. More intensive activities, such as mountain biking and fishing, could take place in the lower areas.

Traditional crops and flora, such as buchu, proteas, stone fruit and wine grapes could be farmed on the agricultural land on the edge of the dam. All farming should be organic.

Entertainment facilities, restaurants, a cafe, shops and and environmental educational facilities could be built on the eastern side of the dam wall.

An upmarket tourist lodge could be located at the Bells Lodge site and linked to a remote bush camp in the Assegaaibosch Valley.

"The Berg River Dam has the potential to open a new range of tourism opportunities to complement the long-established tourism activities in the Franschhoek Valley," said the report.

Possible restrictions on tourism activities could be the fluctuating water levels of the dam.

The water level is low in summer, making the area unsuitable for water activities.

The dam, which was built to address the province's water shortage, will also be used for recreational activities.

But the consultants recommended these be limited to non-motorised activities such as sailing, angling, canoeing and rowing.

There should also be an area for swimming.

A rowing and dragon boat course could be established on a 2 000 metre, eight-lane Olympic size rowing facility on the dam.

The consultants proposed several options for the management of the dam, including the establishment of a Water User Association that would collect charges from users or a Trust that would manage the dam with an operating company.

The Olympic Rowing Course was mooted for many many years.

[Mo Rush]

Olympic Rowing Course

[annman]

Haha... only noticed now... the introductory pic on this thread is my upload to Wikipedia from a geological trip up to Paarl Rock from 2001!

Nice pics of the Berg River Dam Mo, really wanted to see what it looked like.