Latest news with #Kariega
The Herald
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Herald
Van Wyk and Swartz dominate Algoa National Rally
Jono van Wyk, dubbed the 'Swazi Cowboy', and his navigator, Nico Swartz, pushed their Mazda 2 1.6-litre turbocharged four-wheel drive to its limits to win both rounds three and four of the National Rally Championship hosted by the Algoa Rally Club at the weekend. Round three took place in and around Kariega and Despatch, with round four playing out in the Longmore Forest. In Friday's third round action, Benjamin Habig and Barry White pushed hard, winning two of the stages with the 'comeback kids' Nico and Juandre Nienaber taking the final stage win after having rolled their Hyundai i20 during Thursday afternoon's qualifying run. The Nienaber brothers misjudged a jump on a high-speed section in the Spiders Web area and hit a marker tyre, which resulted in them cartwheeling numerous times, with their new car landing in a mangled mess. The true spirit of the Algoa Rally Club was soon evident as many of their members jumped in to assist in sourcing parts and lending panel beating equipment and welders to assist the team in rebuilding the badly damaged Hyundai to ensure it was on the start line on Friday morning. After eight stages in round three, it was Van Wyk and Swartz on the top step of the podium, followed by Habig and White in second, and the Nienaber brothers in third. In the Algoa Rally Club Championship, the Nienabers took first place, followed by Zambian visitors Seth and Urshlla Gomes in second, with Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie in third. Round four then moved to the Longmore Forest on Saturday with an early start in freezing conditions that didn't keep the spectators away, even when the forecasted midmorning rain arrived to add an exciting dimension to the well-prepared roads throughout the forest. Habig and White unfortunately damaged a rear CV Joint in the VW Polo, leaving them with drive to only three of the wheels. The Nienabers chased hard and entertained the crowd with their fearless, high-speed antics but were unable to match the dominance of Van Wyk and Swartz, who won every stage, leading to them taking their third overall win and extending their lead in the championship. The Nienaber brothers were second, with Habig and White in third. In the Algoa Rally Club standings, it was the Nienabers who triumphed, with Wade van Zummeren and Henry Adams in second, and Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber third. The Herald
The Herald
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Herald
Kariega's ‘Home of Polo' accelerates into top gear
It's been a year to remember for Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA), since it became the sole exporter of the Polo within the group globally, with 12 months that were marked by milestones for one of Mzansi's favourite vehicles. While the Kariega plant has been producing the Polo since 1996 and the Polo Vivo since 2010, it has only been the self-proclaimed Home of Polo since July 1 2024. The Polo is exported to 38 markets around the world and accounts for 88% of exported vehicles through the Port of Port Elizabeth, with 119,336 Polos having been exported from Kariega to Europe and the Asia-Pacific region in the last year. The Polo was SA's most exported vehicle in 2024 with the majority of the units shipped to Germany, France and the UK. VWGA production director Ulrich Schwabe said the Polo also performed strongly in the local market in 2024, selling 12,253 units and being named the top locally manufactured vehicle of the year at the Naamsa Accelerator Awards in October 2024. That same month was also the busiest production period for the plant, with a record-breaking 13,930 Polos built. 'The Polo is unquestionably an icon, and we are proud to call Plant Kariega its home,' Schwabe said. 'Our first year as the sole exporter of the Polo was a strong one, and we plan to build on the foundation of this success continuously and consistently, with the Polo, Vivo and our upcoming third model, the Tengo.' The plant celebrated a record production volume for 2024 with a total of 167,084 vehicles built in Kariega, of which 131,485 units were Polos for export, and 35,599 vehicles were Polos and Polo Vivos for the local market. Volkswagen also recently celebrated five decades of the Polo hatchback, with the launch of the new Polo Edition 50. However, the Edition 50 will only be available in European and UK markets. The Herald
The Herald
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Herald
Metro races to buy new buses as Cleary Park fleet lies broken
News Premium By Ntsikelelo Qoyo - 15 July 2025 While the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality rushes to procure 40 new buses for the upcoming Kariega route, the IPTS buses launched less than a year ago for the Cleary Park service have been idle for three months due to the city's struggle to pay the Volvo service centre. Eleven of the 25 Libongolwethu buses are sitting idle at the depot with broken windows and doors, leaking oil tanks and flat tires, while another five remain impounded at the Deal Party service station...
The Herald
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Kariega's Dolf eager to play in front of home fans
Growing up playing touch rugby with some boys in Pelican Street in Rosedale, Kariega, taught Springbok Women fullback Byrhandre Dolf how to step past bigger people, hence her dream to meet Cheslin Kolbe, who has perfected that art on the rugby field. And as soon as Dolf had moved from playing on tar to grass when her talents were recognised, she was invited to play rugby with her peers. Imagine Dolf's joy when the Springbok Women and Springboks flew from Johannesburg to Gqeberha on the same flight on Sunday, and she found herself seated next to Kolbe. As she recalls enthusiastically: 'We talked a bit of rugby, and he gave me some stepping tips.' Since boarding the flight to the Friendly City, Dolf has not stopped smiling. Not only did she score a wonderful try against Canada in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where she plays her provincial rugby for the Bulls Daisies, but then, after spending some time on the plane with Kolbe, she realised she was home when the plane touched down at the Dawid Stuurman International Airport. 'It was such a great feeling to be back. Rugby takes you to many places, but it also takes you away from home a lot, so for me to come back here was such a great feeling,' she said after the Bok Women completed their second training session of the week. This focused squarely on a better result than the 50-20 defeat suffered in Pretoria. 'We trained nicely so far, and we actually took some confidence from that game, despite the result. 'We scored three very good tries and realised that the gap between them as number two ranked team in the world, and ourselves is not that big, providing that we limit our soft moments and stay in the fight.' For Dolf, who made her Test debut against Canada 21 matches ago in 2023, the positives outweigh the negatives coming into the second clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. 'We focused on playing with more intensity and not having those 'switched off' moments, and that already worked well for us at training. 'I am optimistic that we will be a much harder team to break down this weekend,' she said. Dolf will be playing in the green and gold in front of her family for the first time, especially doing so in front of her grandmother, Lizzie Jantjies, with whom she lived from the age of eight. 'She is going to be there and see me play and that is special, as well as other family and friends,' Dolf said, adding that her previous experience at the iconic city landmark was equally memorable. 'I was already playing rugby at the time and loving it and also doing well, having played for the Eastern Province U16 and U18 teams at the National Girls Weeks. 'In 2021, when the Springboks played against Argentina, I was actually a ball retriever inside the stadium for that match and when I handed Malcolm Marx the ball to throw into the line-out, I was the happiest person ever, being so close to a rugby idol.' A lot of time has passed since and for Dolf, a lot of accolades have happened. She captained the Junior Springbok Women in 2022, made her Test debut a year later and went on to play in 21 Tests, scoring seven tries (and one conversion) in the green and gold, and missing only three Tests since that debut. 'That day I gave Malcolm the ball was huge for me and, since then, a lot of good things happened for me in rugby,' she said. — SA Rugby Communications
The Herald
08-07-2025
- The Herald
Man, 22, arrested in connection with sisters' murders
A 22-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a deadly weekend shooting spree in Kariega that left three people dead and two others caught in the crossfire. The shootings took place in the early hours of Sunday in Pompano Crescent, Tiryville. The provincial organised crime investigations anti-gang unit arrested the suspect at his home in Tiryville on Monday afternoon, following what police called a 'thorough investigation'. Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the suspect faced three counts of murder and two of attempted murder. The first shooting happened shortly after midnight, at about 12.15am, when Kamesh police officers heard gunshots during routine patrols. 'On arrival at an open space near Pompano Crescent, police found the body of a 22-year-old male with multiple gunshot wounds to his face and body,' Janse van Rensburg said. Less than three hours later, at about 2.40am, police responded to a second shooting — this time at a house in the same street. 'Unknown suspects kicked down the front door and stormed into a bedroom where three women and two men were. They opened fire,' Janse van Rensburg said. Two women — sisters Theresa Pullen, 32, and Fredericka Booysen, 46 — died at the scene. A third woman was wounded and taken to hospital. One of the men was shot at but not hit, and the other was unharmed. Detectives from the anti-gang unit quickly linked the suspect to both crime scenes. He is expected to appear in the Kariega magistrate's court on Wednesday. Nelson Mandela Bay district commissioner Major-General Vuyisile Ncata praised the investigating team's swift action in arresting the suspect. The Herald
