The Bloukrans River Bridge Bungi site is one of the highest commercial bungy jumps in the world. At 216 meters high it is enough to take your breath away. Jumpers first start by signing an indemnity form before being strapped into their harnesses. You can get to the middle of the bridge in one of two ways. You can either take the cat walk which is attached to the side of the bridge or you take the quick way, the…
The Tsitsikamma National Park is definitively one of my absolute favorite places on the Garden Route. It is a awesome park with such contrast and natural beauty, its hard to find anything better anywhere else. Forests, towering cliffs, black rock coastline, white waves, blue ocean, streams, beaches... I can go on and on. The park is a very popular stop for tourists travelling the Garden Route. I have done several posts on it on my other blog. These can be…
The Tsitsikamma (Khoisan word meaning "Place of many waters") is the official start of the Garden Route. The Garden Route is one of South Africa's most popular tourist routes and follow the south coast from the Tsitsikamma to Mossel Bay. For travel and tourist purposes a Garden Route tour will take you from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town or the other way around..The Tsitsikamma forest is a indigenous forest which are highly protected by law. It consist of indigenous trees…
I love Cape St Francis. I have done many posts on it on my other blog, The Firefly Photo Files. Cape St Francis started out many years ago as a fishing village, but today is a sought after holiday destination. It has miles of beaches and is just the place to unwind. For me one of the main attractions to the village is the Seal Point lighthouse of which I have probably taken more photos than just about anything else.
Port St Francis was developed in the late 1990's as a duel purpose small boat harbour. The one section of the harbour is used by fishing boats which consist mainly of chokka boats. Chokka is the squid that calamari is made of and is caught off this coast. Its also known as white gold. The other part of the harbour is used by recreational vessels. The development of the harbour created the opportunity to develop the surrounding area into an…
St Francis Bay is an upmarket village which was developed around a marina since the 1960's. Over the years it has become a popular destination for the rich and wealthy who buy the expensive thatched roof houses overlooking the canals as second homes. The village is very unique as the original owner of the land dictated that any building built on the land had to be black and white. Thus all the houses are brilliantly white with either thatch or…
Jeffreys Bay is the surfing mecca of South Africa and is situated about 65 km west of Port Elizabeth on thew way to the Garden Route. The town is home to the best right hand point break wave in the world and attracts international surfers to its legendary waves. Jeffreys Bay is also very well known for its shells and a visit to the Jeffreys Bay Shell Museum is a must. As with just about all the places on the…
The Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area lies approximately 120 km west of Port Elizabeth and comprises of approximately 270 000 hactare of unspoiled, rugged mountainous terrain. Starting in the east at Komdomo, the road leads through the rugged beauty of the "Grootrivier" Gorge on its winding path through this pristine conservancy, all the way towards Willowmore in the west. A total distance of about 203 km. The area offers a wide range of eco-recreational opportunities as well as an unique wilderness experience!…
At the top of the Gamtoos Valley one would find the Kouga Dam, one of Port Elizabeth's three main water supply dams. The Kouga Dam was the first double arch dam to be built in South Africa. Other than for urban use, the dam is also the main supplier of irrigation water to the Gamtoos Valley. The pic was taken a little while ago when the dam last overflowed.More information on the dam can be found here.
The Gamtoos River Valley is one of my favorite areas and is found to the west of Port Elizabeth.Known as the food basket of the Eastern Cape, it is mainly a farming area producing citrus, potatoes and tobacco with all kinds of other fruit and vegetables also being grown. Its is a very scenic area with loads of potential as a top nature and agricultural tourism destination. All along the road accommodation can be found on various farms while there…