I have received this very intresting cover
from MICHAEL who lives in the RSA.
I thank you very much Michael for your kindness
THE COVER
Stamp designer A H Barrett
Plettenberg Bay
Plettenberg Bay is the jewel of The Garden Route and is tranquil and charming, hospitable and rather special.
Originally christened “Bahia Formosa” (beautiful bay) by early Portuguese explorers, Plettenberg Bay offers the visitor miles of sweeping, unspoilt golden beaches, a dramatic rocky peninsula, intriguing lagoons and estuaries, towering indigenous forests and unpolluted rivers and sea.
With its exceptional climate and beautiful view sites over the Indian Ocean, Plettenberg Bay is perfect for tourists interested in exploring, watching or just lazing.
More info at; http://www.plettenbergbay.co.za.plesk4.glodns.net/our-area/Golden Gate
Highlands National Park
Golden Gate Highlands National Park
"Golden Gate" refers to the impressive sandstone cliffs that are found on either side of the valley at the Golden Gate dam. In 1875, a farmer called J.N
.R. van Reenen and his wife stopped here as they travelled to their new farm in Vuurland. He named the location "Golden Gate" when he saw the last rays of the setting sun fall on the cliffs.
In 1963, 47.92 square kilometres (11,840 acres) were proclaimed as a national park, specifically to preserve the scenic beauty of the area. In 1981 the park was enlarged to 62.41 km² (15,420 acres) and in 1988 it was enlarged to 116.33 km² (28,746 acres). In 2004 it was announced that the park would be joined with the neighbouring QwaQwa National Park. The amalgamation of QwaQwa National Park was completed in 2007, inc
reasing the park's area to 340 km² (84,016 acres).
The park is 320 km (200 miles) from Johannesburg and is close to the villages of Clarens and Kestell, in the upper regions of the Little Caledon River. The park is situated in the Rooiberge of the eastern Free State, in the foothills of the Malu
ti Mountains. The Caledon River forms the southern boundary of the park as well as the border between the Free State and Lesotho. The highest peak in the park (and also in the Free State) is Ribbokkop at 2,829 m (9,281 ft).
The park is located in the eastern highveld region of South Africa, and experiences a dry sunny climate from June to August. It has showers, hails and thunderstorms between October and April. It has thick snowfalls in the winter. The park has a relatively high rainfall of 800 mm (30 inches) per year.
Geology and palaeontology
The geology of the park provides very visual "textb
ook" examples of Southern Africa's geological history. The sandstone formations in the park form the upper part of the Karoo Supergroup. These formations were deposited during a period of aeolian deposition towards the end of the Triassic Period. At the time of deposition the clima
te of the area the park covers was becoming progressively drier until arid desert conditions set in, resulting in a land of dunes and sandy desert, with occasional scattered oases. The deposition of the sandstones ended when lava flowed out over the desert 190 million years ago.
KANGOGROTTE
CANGO CAVES
Kango Grotte
19km from Klein Afrika and 29km from Oudtshoorn, at the head of the picturesque Cango Valley, lies the spectacular underground wonderland of the Cango Caves. Situated in a limestone ridge parallel to the well known Swartberg M
ountains, you will find the finest dripstone caverns, with there vast halls and towering formations.
Lost in absolute darkness, a deep stillness, a constant temperature and high humidity, it is a world with its own unique scenery of calcite masterpieces formed by gently dripping water.
Stamp designer Joan Van Gogh
Joan Van Gogh
She is well known for her botanical illustrations on stamps and books as her work is generally of a very high standard and convey both the minute details and the character of each species.
Gazania krebsiana
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Common names : terracotta gazania ( Eng. ); gousblom, botterblom, rooi gazania (Afr.)
Gazania krebsiana is an extremely showy plant when in flower largely due to its warm and bright flower colour, flower size and its extended flowering period. The plants are semi-decumbent (prostrate to ascending), perennial and he rbaceous and reach about 150 mm high. They are therefor aptly referred to as tufted groundcovers and many individuals together may give a rather mat-like appearance, a sight that is all too beautiful when in bloom. Individually they form rounded tufts on the ground of about 200 mm across with very distinctive foliage. The root system of G. krebsiana is fairly weak and consists of a series of adventitious roots. There is no definite main or taproot meaning the adventitious roots are quite shallow, only about 250 mm deep. This is one of the reasons why these plants react so well to rain and are therefore regarded as excellent pioneer plants.
Distribution and Habitat
Gazania krebsiana has a very wide distribution range, mainly within the winter rainfall region of South Africa. It is virtually found in all provinces of South Africa from Namaqualand in the west to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in the east. Northward it extends into the drier interior of the Great Karoo, the Free State and then into some parts of the summer rainfall regions of Gauteng and the Lowveld. Plants and adaptable and flourish in a host of habitats but are mostly found along roadsides, on flats or lower slopes, expose
d hills and rocky outcrops and stony ridges. The latter two habitats are especially ideal in the Namaqualand region of the country. To a lesser extent they may well be found in grassy situations, in montane vegetation and in coastal dune vegetation which is commonly referred to as Strandveld (seaside plants) in the west to south, and thicket in the east. Associated vegetation types include Succulent Karoo, Nama Karoo, Fynbos, Dry Valley Bushveld and Grasslands. Plants seem to tolerate a number of soil types but have a noticeable preference for clay and sandy soil.
Derivation of name and historical aspects
The generic name Gazania, was given in honour of Theodor of Gaza (1398-1478). He was responsible for the translation of the botanical works of Theophrastus from Greek into Latin. Another possibility is that gaza is Greek for riches and could refer to the richness in colour, variety and abundance of the plant. The Afrikaans common name botterblom (butter flower), owes its name to the fact that the ray florets are supposed to taste like butter when chewed. The English common name, terracotta gazania, refers to the
terracotta colour of the flowers.
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE QUALITY OF VINTAGE
Quality of the vintage symposium
14-21 February 1977
WORLD DIAMOND CONGRE SSES
Cullinan II
or
The Lesser Star of Africa
Stamp designer A. H. Barrett
The Cullinan diamond is the largest rough gem-qualit
y diamond ever found, at 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g).
The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at 530.2 carats (106.0 g) was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, 545.67 carats (109.13 g), also from the Premier Mine. Cullinan I is now mounted in the head of the Sceptre with the Cross.
The second largest gem from the Cullinan stone, Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa, at 317.4 carats (63.5 g), is the fourth largest polished
diamond in the world. Both gems are in the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
A. H. BARRETT
Known in the art world as A H Barrett, Barry was
a talented fine artist. Born in England, he immigrated to South Africa as a young man. He earned his living painting portraits, illustrating books, calendars, postage stamps and taking almost any commission that was offered. Birds, ships, fish, snakes, city-scapes, people – whatever he painted, Barry did it to perfection. He used a plethora of reference books, photographs and skins of birds and other creatures borrowed from museums, to ensure his paintings would stand up to scrutiny by pedantic scientists. He spent endless hours ensuring that measurements, colours and minute details were accurate. In three consecutive years, his work won third, second and finally first prize as Best Stamp Design, judged worldwide.
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/2007/05/the_story_of_ba_1.php
Designed by Dick Findlay
| Protea mundii | ||||||||||||||
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P. mundii | ||||||||||||||
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| Protea amundii |
Protea (pronounced /ˈproʊtiːə/) is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.
The genus Protea was named in 1735 by Carolus Linnaeus after the Greek god Proteus who could change his form at will, because proteas have such different forms. Linneaus's genus was formed by merging a number of genera previously published by Herman Boerhaave, although precisely which of Boerhaave's genera were included in Linnaeus's Protea varied with each of Linnaeus's publications.
Proteas attracted the attention of botanists visiting the Cape of Good Hope in the 1600s. Many species were introduced to Europe in the 1700s, enjoying a unique popularity at the time amongst botanists.
The Proteaceae family to which Proteas belong
is an ancient one. Its ancestors grew in Gondwanaland, 300 million years ago. Proteaceae is divided into two subfamilies: the Proteoideae, best represented in southern Africa, and the Grevilleoideae, concentrated in Australia and South America and the other smaller segments of Gondwanaland that are now part of eastern Asia. Africa shares only one genus with Madagascar, whereas South America and Australia share many common genera — this indicates they separated from Africa before they separated from each other.
Most protea occur south of the Limpopo River. However, Protea kilimanjaro is found in the chaparral zone of Mount Kenya National Park. 92% of the species occur only in the Cape Floristic Region, a narrow belt of mountainous coastal land f
rom Clanwilliam to Grahamstown, South Africa. The extraordinary richness and diversity of species characteristic of the Cape Flora is thought to be caused in part by the diverse landscape where populations can become isolated from each other and in time develop into separate species.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protea
Voortrekker Monument, 25th anniversary.
Voortrekker Monument and Encampment
Pretoria
Voortrekker Mon
ument
http://www.southafrica-travel.net/north/a1pret04.htm
Since childhood, Johan Hoekstra has been passionate about drawing animals and birds, and throughout his life has been taking trips to the bush at every opportunity; sketching, observing and photographing wildlife.
After studying architecture and graphic design, Johan embarked on a distinguished career in advertising, winning a host of international and local awards. Tiring of the grueling life in big business, he created his own design studio, specialisi
ng in design consulting, book design and illustration.
Commissions for his paintings starting coming in from the late 1980’s and this pointed to a whole new career.
Johan Hoekstra is noted for his fidelity to nature and his phenomenal sense of observation, through which he can express, with startling accuracy, the character and body language of any bird or animal.
His paintings hang in corporate and private collections in Southern Africa, the Middle and Far East, Australia, the USA, the UK and Europe.
1976, June 5 Litho. Perf. 12x12 1/2
http://www.wildlifeart.net/Biography.html
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an atypical member of the cat family (Felidae) that is unique in its speed, while lacking climbing abilities. Therefore it is placed in its own genus, Acinonyx.
It is the fastest land animal, reaching speeds between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph) in short bursts covering distances up to 460 m (1,500 ft), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 110 km/h (68 mph) in three seconds, faster than most supercars. Recent studies confirm the cheetah's status as fastest land animal.
The word "cheetah" is derived from the Sanskrit word citrakāyaḥ, meaning "variegated body", via the Hindi चीता cītāhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah
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