baakens river

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Baakens River mouth

When the first Europeans arrived in Algoa Bay, the Baakens River flowed into a fresh water lagoon where early ships replenished their water stocks from.  For some reason somewhere in the past it was decided to lay the lagoon dry and reclaim the land at the bottom of the Baakens Valley.  This led to the containment of the river in a narrow channel which floods every time it rains.  Since the building of the Port Elizabeth Harbour the river has been…

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09/12/2012
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Damage on the Dip

During the recent flooding Port Elizabeth endured the road at the 3rd Avenue Dip was damaged which led to its closure.  This in turn led to major traffic disruptions on the William Moffet Expressway, specially during morning traffic.  The  Damselfly uses the Dip to get to both her work and the Kidz's school and her regular 20 minute drive took her over an hour with the road closure.  On Sunday I took a walk down to the low water bridge to have a look at the damage.  From…

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07/11/2012
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Lower Baakens River

Over the last couple of weeks Port Elizabeth has had a lot of rain and the Baakens River is running nice and strong.  I had to meet somebody at the Bridge Street Brewmasters and snapped this pic of the river which is normally nothing more than a narrow stream over here.

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23/06/2012
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Lower Baakens Valley

When Fort Frederick (top left) was built overlooking the Baakens River Mouth and coastline in 1799 things looked a little bit different than today.  The river flowed into a fresh water lagoon and the beach was a lot closer than it is today.  These days there is no more lagoon and the river flows along a narrow canal while there are businesses on the river's flood plain.  Since the building of the Port Elizabeth harbour the Fort is also much further from…

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16/04/2012
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Aloe along the Lower Guinea Fowl Trail

This time of the year most people head down to the beach during the holidays, but what if you're not into crowds, screaming kids, girls in bikini's who will never go in the water and are just there to catch the boys' eyes or just sand between your toes?  Why not do one of the many short hiking trails that can be found around the city?  The Lower Guinea Fowl Trail is one of the main very good trail there is to…

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02/01/2012
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After the rain

Over the last week we have had some good rains fall all over the country.  In and around Port Elizabeth it brought welcome relief although not nearly enough has fallen to break the drought.  There was enough rain though to get the Baakens River flowing a bit stronger at the 3rd Avenue Dip.

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20/12/2010
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Carols in Settlers Park

On Saturday night the second annual Carols by Candlelight in Settlers Park took place.  The event was organised by the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA (WESSA) and Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and forms part of the Baakens Valley Recovery Program.  Although the wind was blowing all day long, the spot where the carols took place was sheltered and you barely felt a breeze.  The program was lead by the Salvation Army Brass Band and the vocal talents of Niqui Cloete-Barrass…

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06/12/2010