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Tanks at Schoenies

Most people enjoy Port Elizabeth's main beaches but there are the few who try to flee the crowds to their favorite hidden spots and the little "beaches" and gullies in Schoenmakerskop are amongst these.  The most popular one in Schoenies is just in front of the Sacramento Restaurant and can be reached via steps down to the beach.  The spot is called Tanks.  According to Luc Hosten of Friends of Schoenmakerskop there are two theories on where the name came from.  The first one is that apparently large…

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08/04/2014
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Swartvlei

The area between Sedgefield and Wilderness on the Garden Route is known as the lakes district with five lakes found here.  The biggest of these lakes is Swartvlei just to the west of Sedgefield.  Swartvlei is the only one of these lakes that embraces a lake, lagoon and estuary and is clearly divided into a fresh water section in its upper region and a salt water section in the estuarine area where the tides have an influence.  The main Swartvlei lake visible on…

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08/04/2014
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Ironman weekend

Ironman is probably the biggest event staged in Port Elizabeth and right up there to what the Argus cycle race is to Cape Town and the Comrades Marathon to Durban.  But Ironman isn't just one day of ordinary sports men and women doing extra ordinary things, its a whole weekend of awesomeness and this past weekend was Ironman weekend.  It all starts in the week before the event with the arrival of athletes and there families, the Ironman expo and…

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07/04/2014
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Grey Heron on a pole

This Grey Heron was taking a break on a pole in the Sundays River at Colchester and wasn't really bothered when we cruised past it on the Sundays River Ferry.  The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae and grows to about one meter in height with a wingspan of between 1,5 and 2 meters.  It normally feeds in shallow water, catching fish, frogs and insects with its long bill.  Herons will also take small…

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04/04/2014
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Overberg churches along the N2

My last trip down to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth took a slight different form from the usual.  Normally one would barrel down the N2 trying to cover the distance as quickly as possible but on my last trip down I decided to turn off into each of the towns along the N2 through the Overberg for a closer look.  The one thing I do when I get to a new town is to look up the local historic Dutch Reformed Church…

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04/04/2014
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Van Stadens railway bridge – the highest narrow gauge bridge in the world

When the Apple Express used to run (and lets hope it will be running again some time) it always stopped at the Van Stadens Railway Bridge to allow passengers to walk across the bridge if they wanted to get photos of the train crossing it.  I decided to drive out to Van Stadens to look for two Geocaches at the bridge and got to visit it for the first time in over ten years.  The Van Stadens Railway Bridge is…

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03/04/2014
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The Lourensford River at Morgenster

The search for a Geocache while visiting Somerset West took me to a beautiful spot I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.  Travelling down a narrow road I came up to a closed gate and parked the car.  Walking through a side gate this was the scene waiting for me.  Turned out to be the old entrance into Morgenster Wine and Olive Estate.  Although the property on the other side of the river was private property, this side of the river had trails running…

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03/04/2014
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Mosaic patterns

If creating the 470 m2 Piazza Mosaic as part of Route 67 did one thing it was bringing vibrant colours to the Donkin Reserve.  The mosaic has so many different pictures and figures that I literally see something new every time I visit the Donkin.  One of the great things about it is the different angles you can look at it.  Either close up or from a distance with the third option being from the top of the Donkin Lighthouse.

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02/04/2014