bridge

Read more about the article Sir Frederic Bridge in Nieu-Bethesda
Firefly the Travel Guy

Sir Frederic Bridge in Nieu-Bethesda

The Sir Frederic Bridge (also called Jubileum Bridge) creates a quick shortcut over the Gats River between the two sides of the village. The bridge is accessible via Parsonage Street and Pienaar Street and are a great lookout spot. The footbridge was proposed in 1897 and finally approved by the Administrator of the Cape, Sir Frederic de Waal, nearly 20 years later, in 1914. The local blacksmith, Fredrick Lehman, constructed it. In the late 1990s, the two bridges were redesigned…

Comments Off on Sir Frederic Bridge in Nieu-Bethesda
05/03/2026
Read more about the article The Storms River Bridge
Firefly the Travel Guy

The Storms River Bridge

I don't know how many times I've crossed the Storms River Bridge over the years. Not even counting the number of times I stopped there back when I was a tourist guide. The other day I stopped for fuel and decided to take a walk onto the bridge for a change again. It's always an experience. The Storms River Bridge, originally called Paul Sauer Bridge, is a deck arch bridge designed by Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi, and constructed by Concor…

Comments Off on The Storms River Bridge
06/06/2024
Read more about the article The Bloukrans Bridge on the border of the Eastern and Western Cape
Firefly the Travel Guy

The Bloukrans Bridge on the border of the Eastern and Western Cape

The Bloukrans Bridge in the Tsitsikamma is famous for being the site of the world’s highest commercial bridge bungee jump, operated by Bloukrans Bungy (previously known as Face Adrenalin) since 1997. The N2 national road along the Garden Route between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town crosses over the bridge and I'm sure somebody who has never pulled over to the view site probably doesn't know what's happening below them. Construction on the Bloukrans Bridge started in February 1980, running through…

Comments Off on The Bloukrans Bridge on the border of the Eastern and Western Cape
07/03/2024
Read more about the article The historic Mackay Bridge over the Sundays River
Firefly the Travel Guy / Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

The historic Mackay Bridge over the Sundays River

Back in the early 1800s the first river crossing across the Sundays River going east from Algoa Bay was a drift situated near Addo. As traffic increased there was an urgent need for a more direct route as the route via Addo was a bit of a detour to Grahamstown and the Albany DistrictBy the mid-1800s the Colchester area was a very busy spot as it had the only pont over the Sundays River on this main route between Port…

Comments Off on The historic Mackay Bridge over the Sundays River
22/10/2022
Read more about the article Van Stadens Narrow Gauge Bridge
Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

Van Stadens Narrow Gauge Bridge

A couple of weeks ago we walked to the Lower Van Stadens Dam and got a side view of the narrow-gauge bridge over the gorge from the northern side. The Van Stadens rail bridge is the second highest railway bridge in South Africa and the highest narrow-gauge bridge in the world. Construction on the bridge was completed in 1905 and the bridge is 156m long, 77m high and contains 1 112 cubic meters of concrete and 574 tons of steel.This…

Comments Off on Van Stadens Narrow Gauge Bridge
16/11/2021
Read more about the article The Van Staden’s River gorge road bridges
Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

The Van Staden’s River gorge road bridges

Van Standen's Groge with the arch bridge crossing it The Van Staden's River west of Port Elizabeth is the boundary of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro and a major landmark in the area. Most people cross the gorge on the N2 in a couple of seconds using the arch bridge while others take their time and drive through the old pass. But where does the name Van Staden's come from and when were the different bridges built? The arch bridge,…

Comments Off on The Van Staden’s River gorge road bridges
21/05/2021
Read more about the article Under Van Stadens bridge
Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

Under Van Stadens bridge

It's a weird feeling standing under the Van Stadens bridge. It's not an angle many see it from and you get a much better idea of the size and magnitude of the bridge when you are underneath it. Then add the "kadoef kadoef" as the cars and trucks pass overhead. Definitely a weird feeling. It's an easy walk to get below the bridge from the bridge lookout picnic spot so you don't have to do one of the longer trails…

3 Comments
13/04/2021
Read more about the article The Van Stadens Bridge
Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

The Van Stadens Bridge

Last Saturday we went for a walk at the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve and followed the River Walk up to the point where you walk under the Van Stadens Bridge. It truly is a sight from below, but I think I'll keep that photo for a second post. The bridge was completed on 12 October 1971 and stretches 198m across the gorge and is 125m at its highest point. The bridge was designed by Italian engineers and the two halves of…

1 Comment
12/04/2021
Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

The Van Stadens Bridges

The Van Stadens River is about 35km west of Port Elizabeth and you can either go over or through it to get to the other side. The river and original pass was named after one of the area’s pioneer farmers, Marthinus van Staden, who was the first person to plot a basic route through the Van Stadens River Gorge in the 1850’s.  In 1867 Thomas Bain was brought in by the Cape Government to rebuild the pass so that ox wagon traffic could…

Comments Off on The Van Stadens Bridges
15/06/2020