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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
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Irrigating the Gamtoos Valley

How often do you wonder where exactly the water in your tap and fruit and vegetables in your kitchen comes from?  We'll, if you live in Port Elizabeth its possible to answer both these questions for yourself by visiting the Gamtoos Valley.  The Gamtoos Valley is often referred to as the food basket of the Eastern Cape as it is one of South Africa's biggest citrus and vegetable producing areas.  The farms get their irrigation water from exactly the same…

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20/01/2014
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Frames Reservoir – Port Elizabeth’s oldest dam

Growing up I wanted to be an archaeologist.  Somebody like Indiana Jones who discovered lost cities, found ancient artefacts and went places that most can just dream of.  So now I work in tourism and love travelling with the explorer in me always waiting just below the surface.  Since I started Geocaching my explorer persona gets released on a regular basis.  I may not go in search of artefacts but looking for a cache feels like the same thing.  Don't think I can call the…

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29/11/2013
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Gariep Dam revisited

Two years ago we camped at the Forever Resorts' Gariep Dam Resort and had a marvelous time in the sun and next to the pool.  Afterwards I did this post on the dam.  Last week we headed for Gauteng for Chaos Boy to compete in the SA Trampoline Championships and stopped at the Gariep Dam on the way up to stretch our legs and have a breakfast picnic.The Gariep Dam was commissioned in 1971 and was originally called the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam.  After the…

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04/10/2010
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Kouga Dam

At the top of the Gamtoos Valley one would find the Kouga Dam, one of Port Elizabeth's three main water supply dams. The Kouga Dam was the first double arch dam to be built in South Africa. Other than for urban use, the dam is also the main supplier of irrigation water to the Gamtoos Valley. The pic was taken a little while ago when the dam last overflowed.More information on the dam can be found here.

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20/06/2009
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Gariep Dam Sunrise

With the sun rising just after 05:00 am, I didn't think that I will be able to get up early enough to get a decent sunrise pic over the Gariep Dam while on holiday. But luck (if you can call it that)was on my side. One night we had a couple with three small kids camping next to us in their tent. The baby cried just about the whole night and waking up for the upteenth time I relised that…

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05/01/2009
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Gariep Dam

The big unpacking has started. We got back yesterday from our two week camping holiday and everything is out of the car and waiting to be sorted, cleaned or stored. At least I've downloaded all my pics. The first week was spent camping at the Gariep Dam in the center of South Africa while the second week was spent on the coast at Cannon Rocks. Most of the time at Gariep was spent next to the pool, but during the…

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04/01/2009