dam - Firefly the Travel Guy

Firefly the Travel Guy / Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

Water over the multi arches of the Churchill Dam

After the big rains in October (2023) both the Kouga and Churchill Dams overflowed. Following a visit to Storms River Village I decided to detour via Kareedouw to the Churchill Dam, somewhere I've never actually been to. I wasn't disappointed that I did. What a sight, especially with the water flowing over the multiple arches. The Churchill Dam is located on the Krom River at the bottom end of the Langkloof between Kareedouw and Humansdorp. The dam has a capacity…

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22/12/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

Vanderkloof Dam – second largest dam in South Africa

I like to detour via the Gariep Dam rather than Colesburg when heading north, usually for work or my daughter's cricket. The same can't be said for the Vanderkloof Dam though. I think the last time I saw it it was still called the PK le Roux Dam and I was still in primary school. Having some extra time on our hands on a recent trip to Bloemfontein (for cricket again), we decided to detour via the dam and Orania…

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19/04/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

Beervlei Dam, the dam that was built to be empty

Motorists traveling along the N9 from the interior via Graaff Reinet and Aberdeen towards Willowmore would notice a huge empty dam on the right. It’s not empty because of drought though. The Beervlei Dam is supposed to be empty. The dam was completed in 1957 as a flood control dam to help protect areas downstream on the Groot River when good rains do happen. The Karoo sediments in the area contain a lot of salts and it has been found…

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27/07/2022

Firefly the Travel Guy

Darlington Dam

A few months ago we spent a weekend on a friend's farm near Darlington Dam and he took us for a quick drive to see what the dam looked like. Unfortunately we didn't get to go to the dam wall itself, so my picture is of the runoff below the wall. Darlington Dam, also referred to as Lake Mentz is located off the main road between Kirkwood and Jansenville and was completed in 1922. The primary reason for the dam being…

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04/09/2020

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The Kouga Dam overflowing in all it’s glory

This was my favorite photo from our visit to the Kouga Dam in the Gamtoos Valley to see it overflowing. I just slapped I with a bit of HDR to give it a bit of a more striking look. A dam like this overflowing is always a sight to behold.

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04/11/2015

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Checking the Kouga Dam overflowing

A week or two three ago we spent the weekend at Tia Ghee Tented Camp in the Gamtoos Valley and heard that the Kouga Dam was still overflowing after good late winter and spring rains. We immediately decided to take a drive up to the dam for a look and we definitely weren't disappointed. From the tar road, very close to where it becomes dirt going into the Baviaanskloof, there is a dirt road turnoff to the left and about 7…

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03/11/2015

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A very unusual beach

Can you guess where this beach is?.........Technically it's not a beach. Not a coastal one anyway. It is the sandveld on the banks of the Bloemhof Dam on the border between the North West Province and the Free State.Bloemhof Dam was built in the late 1960's and is located at the confluence of the Vaal River and the Vet River. At 25 000 hectares the dam with it's 4 270 m long dam wall is one of the largest in South Africa. The dam…

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23/09/2015

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The Gariep Dam – South Africa’s biggest dam

Returning from Gauteng on a recent road trip I decided to make a little detour via the Gariep Dam and take the Steynsburg and Hofmeyr road through the Karoo to Cradock. I made a lunch and leg stretch stop at the lookout overlooking the Gariep Dam wall. The Gariep Dam was opened in 1071 and initially called the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam after the first prime minister of the Republic of South Africa. After the end of Apartheid it was decided to change the…

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06/10/2014

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Buffeljagsrivier farmstall dam

A sunny blue sky day. So typical of South Africa, specially in summer. A grumbling tummy made me pull over at a farm stall at Buffeljagsrivier near Swellendam to look for a pie and something to drink. Behind the farm stall was a big piece of grass with this farm dam and it is where I snapped this picture. Green surroundings with a beautiful blue reflection and mountains in the background. Makes one want to spend more time, but the road was calling.

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01/07/2014

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Groenvlei jetty

The lakes district between Knysna and Wilderness on the Garden Route is made up of a series of lakes, most of them visible from the N2 itself. Out of all those lakes, Groenvlei - just east of Sedgefield - is the only one that is a fresh water lake and without an inlet or an outlet. The lake is maintained by rainwater and springs alone. There are very strict restrictions on boating on Groenvlei with only electric motors, and no outboard motors, allowed. The lake…

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22/04/2014