Mossel Bay Photos

Photo overlooking the Santos Beach from George Road. The Malay Graves, situated in the Dias Museum Complex, can also be seen in the photo.

Although this video was posted in 2012 it is a very good video about the exhibits in the Dias Museum Complex. This is not my video.   This video was shared on YouTube.

Short history video about the arrival of Bartolomeu Dias in Mossel Bay and the replica caravel made for the 500th anniversary of his arrival. This is not my video.   This video was shared on youtube by Mossel Bay

Dias named the fresh-water spring "Aguada de São Bras" (watering place of St Blaize). The spring is part of the Dias Museum Complex and it still flows today.

Last of the stained glass windows in the Dias Museum Complex.

Another stained glass window in the Dias Museum Complex.

Stained glass window in the Dias Museum Complex.

This is the Bartolomeu Dias,  an almost-exact, if slightly modernised, replica of the Portuguese caravel in the Dias Museum Complex. A   caravel  is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship   developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese   to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. More information on the Museum website .

The first building was built around 1830 by Alexander Munro from Scotland for £25. He operated a canteen on the premises where unruly seamen met. His son got the first permit to catch whales on the beach below. The front house is one of Mossel Bay’s national monuments. However, these buildings are not open to the public.  Information from the Dias Museum Website .

Statue of Dias in the Dias Museum Complex. More information on the Museum website .

This Milkwood tree in the Dias Museum Complex is considered to be over 500 years old. The Portuguese navigator Da Nova found a message in, or under a tree near the watering place in 1501 and this may well be the same tree. More information on the museum website . 

The beautiful painting of "The Poort" and Bat Cave was painted by Mr. Richard Wyness.  The Poort is a favourite swimming place for locals and visitors.

Last week we went to watch Mark Nixon in the Dias Maritime Museum.   The Mossel Bay Arts Society organized the show but everybody was welcome.   I do not know a lot about classical music but did enjoy the evening.   Mark played music by Franz List, Johannes Brahms and Claude Debussy on the piano.   I enjoyed the Brahms and the Estampes of Claude Debussy and the setting was great.   We will look out for more shows in the future.

The Granary was built between 1786 and 1787 to store grain brought by farmers until there was enough for a shipload. It was demolished in 1951. In 1987 it was reconstructed from the original plans. Today it is the entrance to the Dias Museum Complex.

Scallop Shells on display in the Shell Museum. A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae.  The brightly coloured, fan-shaped shells are valued by shell collectors and is used as motifs in art and design. The name "scallop" is derived from the Old French escalope, which means "shell".

Chiton shells in the Shell Museum. Chitons are small to large marine molluscs in the class Polyplacophora. They have a dorsal shell with eight separate shell plates or valves.  These plates overlap at the front and back edges and provide good protection for impacts from above.

Paper Nautilus or Argonauts Shells in the Shell Museum. The argonauts are a group of pelagic octopuses.  These "shells" are the paper thin eggcase produced by female argonauts in which they reside.

This very rare Pygmy mask from the equatorial forests of Gabon in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can be found in the Shell Museum of the Dias Museum Complex.