Most people who access the Baakens Valley do so from How Avenue off Park Drive, Wellington Park or Walmer, but I wonder how many know that you can also do so from an entrance just off Brickmakerskloof. I took a walk into the park from here the other day and you quickly loose sight of all signs of civilisation except for the towering Knysna apartment building on the Walmer side of the valley.
By now I'm sure you all know that I do Geocaching. One of the things I like most about Geocaching is the fact that it takes one to places you may not otherwise have gone to or seen. Things you may never have discovered. On this occasion I was searching for a container at the top of Upper Valley Road when I came across this flowering succulent growing up against a stone. I'm not sure what it was but it…
The view of Settlers Park with the Baakens River flowing through it from the How Avenue parking area of the park stays one of my favorite views in Port Elizabeth.
Dodds Farm is part of the Baakens Valley and can be reached from the bottom of 9th Avenue in Walmer. It's a beautiful spot that could perhaps do with a bit of maintenance, bush clearing and grass cutting, but ideal for a picnic and some quiet time. The Baakens River flows right through Dodds Farm and there are several trails in the area, amongst them the Guinea Fowl trail and some trail running and mountain biking tracks.
Every couple of years Port Elizabeth tends to be hit by a flash flood which ends up causing more damage than the inhabitants of the city cares for. In 2006 we had a biggy and in the process a couple of bridges on the Baakens River washed away, one of them being at the bottom of Brickmakerskloof. The investigation on how best to replace the bridge along with a full on Environmental Impact Assessment took many many months. Eventually construction started in 2009 with…
Last Saturday (17 August 2013) I joined a number of fellow geocachers in celebrating International Geocaching Day with a CITO event in the Baakens Valley at the back of Beverley Grove. CITO stands for "Cache In Trash Out" and is a clean-up organised by geocachers at a spot where a cache is hidden that is in need of a spring clean. This specific location is home to a cache called Ancient Roman Tablets and for some reason has a huge litter problem. Cachers…
The view down the Baakens River Valley towards the Port Elizabeth Harbour from the Knysna apartment building in 1st Avenue Walmer.
When we are out and about I much rather prefer to take pictures of my KidZ doing things naturally than let them pose. After posting yesterday's picture of Chaos Boy walking on the railway line I found another picture, this time of the KidZ during a recent walk on the Lower Guinea Fowl Trail. I wish my folks could afford to take us to travel and explore as much when I was small. Unfortunately that wasn't the case and I only…
I wonder how many people know that Walmer used to be a town on its own before becoming part of Port Elizabeth. In 1815 the farm Welbedacht, covered an area just under 14 square miles, to the south west of Port Elizabeth was granted to AM Muller. When Muller died in 1845 his farm was inherited by his 8 sons who, true to form, could not decide on how to sub divide the property. As a result the farm was sold and…
As you may have noticed lately, I have developed a special fondness for the Baakens Valley. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for it, but since taking up geocaching I've had to venture into it a couple of times to look for caches and have taken my camera with on every occasion. The spot in the photo is in Settlers Park at one of the places where you cross the river hopping from stone to stone. The river dams up a…