There are numerous short and medium length hikes through the indigenous forests of the Tsitsikamma. The Plaatbos Nature Reserve next to Storms River Village has some great trails which will take one deep into the forest, over various streams and along the old Storms River pass. The Kidz love the walks with Chaos Boy and Drama Princess normally having a running battle over who should lead the way.
The rugged coastline of the southern Wild Coast at Morgan Bay, an area I'm hoping to be able to explore a bit more next year some time.
The Tsitsikamma is located on the Garden Route about 160 kilometers west of Port Elizabeth. It's ideal for a weekend breakaway from the city just to go and unwind and as most people are on holiday at the moment I thought it suitable to do a short Tsitsikamma series for this who follow the blog and isn't. A little cyber holiday as to say. The Tsitsikamma has some fantastic accommodation establishments ranging from hotels and luxury guesthouses to self catering cottages and…
It's Christmas eve and tonight Father Christmas will be visiting many children all over the world. Crawling down chimneys, sneaking in windows or just leaving a gift by the front door. Well, not quite all the children. There are many less privileged kids out there that may not be getting a gift this Christmas. On Wednesday Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and Holmeleigh Farm along with a number of very generous sponsors (and I want to mention musician Wayne Kallis specifically) hosted…
The historic Mackay Bridge and old road acorss the Sundays River used to be the main route from Port Elizabeth towards Grahamstown. Today the only traffic crossing it are people on foot and the odd bicycle and motorbike.
The Garden Route has many spectacular adventures that just about anybody can participate it. One of these is paddling up the magnificent Storms River gorge, starting at the suspension bridges over the river mouth. Just imagine the sheer cliffs of the gorge stretching up 100 meters on each side while leisurely paddling along. I seriously need to see if I can organise this trip for myself. I would love to do it.
I spotted this little square township shack with its washing hanging outside in Red Location, New Brighton on a recent township tour through Port Elizabeth's townships. I just found it a bit different because it wasn't surrounded by other shacks nor did it have a fence built around it.
The Cuyler Manor Museum just outside Uitenhage is one of my favorite spots in the town. The manor house was built in 1814 by Colonel Jacob Glen Cuyler who was the Landdrost of Uitenhage from 1806 to 1827. The Cape Dutch style building has been restored and turned into a museum showing how people lived back in the 1800's. The farmyard around the manor house forms part of the museum complex and include a touch farm, old water mill, a Xhosa…
Barb wire at sunset. Its hard to believe that I took this pic in Noordhoek, Cape Town, a year ago during our Summer holiday and right now we are on our way (or already there depending on when you read this) for this year's vacation. The Klein Karoo with Montagu and Oudtshoorn awaits.
The pool area at Thunzi Bush Lodge near Maitlands west of Port Elizabeth. Just the place to spend a couple of lazy hours this summer. Thunzi does the most amazing picnic lunches where you get a picnic basket full of goodies and can head down to the dam to relax on the lawns with a loved one. I want to try it early in the new year and will give some feedback afterwards.