This mornings Gloriole

We had 22mm of ran form yesterday afternoon and thru the night, all the clouds and damp in the sky have grated a dutiful Rambo in a perfect circle around the sun from about 09:50 and it was visible for about 40 mints. A halo (also known as a nimbus, icebow or Gloriole) is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating colored or white arcs and spots in the sky. Many are near the sun or moon but others are elsewhere and even in the opposite part of the sky. At the same time Venus, Neptune and Pluto was close to the sun or in the ring. A lot of people took photos with there cell phons of the circle not even knowing one or even more of these planets is also in the ring. I have collected a lot of these photos to see how much of the 3 planets I can see. The biggest Plaint on the photos is Venus on its way to the West to become the evening stare at sunset. You can also see solar flare around the sun. A solar flare is a large explosion in the Sun's atmosphere that can release as much as 6 × 1025 joules of energy. This phenomenon is not uncomen and can bee seen up to a 100 times in a year around the world. Warning it is not healthy to look direct into the sun without the correct eye protection and the sun can make you blind.

The facts was find on Wikipedia

Photos taken by Willie Taljaard

Photos taken by Gert Botha

Photos taken by Rita and Nikita Ranchod

The Moth In the Study room

Look what is flying around in my Study room. If you know it tell me if not tell what you think.

This year's holiday plans is for the Cape Provence see how the program grows every day.

Day 1

Location	Description	Cost	Link
Cape Town Table view	Book in at Table view cabanas
Bayside Shopping Centre	Get food for the week
Centuri Citty	MTN Science Centre Sunday to Thursday - 9am – 6pm Friday & Saturday - 9am – 9pm Open all public holidays except Christmas Day	Youth 3-18 - R28 Adult - R22 Pensioners- R10	Open Link

Day 2

Location	Description	Cost	Link
Table Mountain	Cable car	Adult - Return: R145.00 Children (under 18 years) - Return: R76.00 Children under 4 years travel free Wild Card Holders - Adult Return: R116.00 Wild Card Holders - Child Return: R61.00 NB There rates is as un predictable as the fuel price it changes every month open the Link for more accurate cost	Open Link

Day 3

Location	Description	Cost	Link
Waterfront to Robben Island	Robben Island	The standard tour to Robben Island is 3.5 hours long, Tickets are sold at R180 for adults and R90 for all children under the age of 18	Open Link
Waterfront	Two Oceans Aquarium	Adults R85.00 Under 4 years Free Children ( 4 - 13 years ) R40.00 Children ( 14 - 17 years ) R65.00 Open daily from 9:30 - 18:00, 365 days a year	Open Link

Day 4

Location	Description	Cost	Link
Cape Town	SAAF Museum	The Cape Town Museum branch is open from 08h00 to 15h30 Mondays to Fridays and 08h00 to 12h30 Saturdays The Museum is closed on Sundays and Holidays. SAAF Museum, Private Bag X4, Ysterplaat, 7425, South Africa Telephone: (27) (0) 21 508-6576 Fax: (27) (0) 21 508-6576
Cape Town	Castle of Good Hope	TIME NEEDED: 1-2-hours depending on your interest The Castle is open daily from 9am to 4pm. The Key Ceremony takes place on weekdays at 10 am and the Change of Guards at 12 o'clock.
Cape Town	Signal Hill	Noon Day Gun is yet another of those little idiosyncrasies that sets Cape Town apart and makes her such an exciting place to visit, and you can watch the daily ritual up on Signal Hill at Lion Battery, from 11:30 (except on Sundays or public holidays).

Day 5

Location	Description	Cost	Link
Simons Town	Boulders Penguin Colony IME NEEDED: 1-hour to view the penguins	Entrance fee of R15 for adults and R5 for scholars. This gives access to the beach as well as the walkways and viewpoints
Cape Point	Cape Point	R 75 per person (valid from 01 September 2009). Discounts for children under 12 apply. - Free entrance to Wild Card and Cape Town Wild Card Holders	Open Link Cape Point Weather
Hout Bay	Hout Bay
Hout Bay	World of Birds	Entrance fees are Adults R65, Children R39, Pensioners	Open Link

Day 6

Location	Description	Cost	Link
Parel	KWV Head Office Tel (021) 807 3911
	Afrikaans Language Monument Taal Monument	R12 volwassenes | R5 studente | R2 kinders	Open Link
Franschhoek	Hugenote monument	Mon-Sat: 09:00 - 17:00 Sun: 14:00 - 17:00 Closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day Fees R10 for adults R5 for Students R2 for children Enjoy the nice garden and bring a picnicbasket along	Open Link
Franschhoek	Huguenot Chocolates	62 Huguenot Rd ( Main Rd ) Franschhoek R25 per person and we require 24 hours notice. Call (021) 876 4096 to book. Groups are welcome.	Open Link
Stellenbosch	Simonsberg Cheese Shop	Simonsberg Cheese Shop 9-13 Stoffel Smit Street Plankenbrug Industria Stellenbosch Telephone Number: 021 809 1017 Operating Hours: Mon-Fri 09:00 to 17:00 Sat 09:00 to 13:00 Sun/Public Holidays: Closed
Plankenbrug Road, Stellenbosch.	Bergkelders	Tours last about 1 hour. R30.00 per person and is free for children under 18.
Butterfly World	Butterfly World	Rates (subject to change) R35.00 per adult R20.00 for children over 3 R90.00 per family (2 adults, 2 children) R30.00 for pensioners/college students Discount for groups (Conditions apply) Children under 3 enter free	Open Link

New Link On My Blog

Time flies Sorry not for writing so often but here is a new add-on to my blog. See the link " Indicators" it will take you to my page with News and Economic indicators.

The picture is just something I try to draw if it do lot look good call it Art and then can it represent anything.

Travel by Train in SA

Have you recently travel by train in SA. Well I have in July 2008 and what I thought to be a stress full experience turned out to be relaxing and fun. We were traveling on the Thosholoza Meyl from Johannesburg to Cape Town with 40 children. First to get the tickets for a big group like that was fun. Although it was booked long before the time they still had to print the tickets one by one when I asked for it and nobody seems to be in a hurry. But if you travel this way you must never be in a hurry it takes about 25 hours to get to Cape Town. Make sure you book on the train with the sleeper couches and not the sitter one. That one is like sitting in a bus non stop and I will not suggest it. It cost us R420 return and bedding on the train was in the region of R40 but we were using our own sleeping bags. At first traveling through the stations of  Johannesburg’s suburbs was not very scenic but once you out of the city you see South Africa from a another angle. The route takes you also through the longest railway tunnels in South Africa.

 

The food on the Train is very good and fairly cheap. Sitting in the dinning car having something to eat and drink as the landscape around you change is something I can not explain to you. The sounds on the rails make you sleeping at night so much sweeter. No traffic to worry about you can just relax. Off course with 40 children the fun never stops on the Train.

 

If you want to do it in more style and much more expensive (from R9999 to R17000) and luxuries way, take the Blue Train we past it on the route or shall I say they passed us in the luxury of a five star hotel. Less expensive is the Premier Class at R1380 to R4900 doing the same route.

 

This photo’s was on that fun trip.