Every time I visit the Gamtoos Valley and drive through Hankey, I look up the cliffs on the western side of the town at the Bergvenster (Berg Window) thinking that I must really make a plan to climb up there one day. That opportunity came when we spent a Shot Left weekend in Hankey staying at the The Milk House. I told the Damselfly that I'm heading up there come hell or high water. She asked why and the answer was…
The East London beachfront has a very interesting looking statue which had me scratching my head when I saw it for the first time. Multicultural Man is a bronze sculpture created by Italian artist Francesco Perilli. It depicts a faceless man in the middle of the earth who is trying to unite two meridians, while the other meridians are lifted by doves, the universal symbols of peace. The bronze man himself is three meters high and has been designed to represent…
I had to make the 600 kilometer return trip from Port Elizabeth to East London twice this past week. Luckily for me I enjoy road trips for various reasons and other than my back complaining I really didn't mind going. Returning from the second trip it started to get late and the sun started to set as I was about 30 minutes east of Port Alfred on the R72. A quick sunset photo with my phone and I was on the…
When people talk about the Eastern Cape, Wild Coast and Transkei then the road are always one of the first things mentioned. "The road is bad." "The road is full of potholes." "The road this", "the road that" and "the road whatever". I've never been further than just past East London and got to fly to Durban every time I had to go to Indaba. The only time I drove to KwaZulu Natal I went via the Eastern Free State to…
Port St Johns. Scenic. Cultural. Rustic. Authentic. Rich experiences. Unspoiled beaches, Rugged coastline. Natural beauty. The backpackers' party town of the Wild Coast. Port St Johns at the mouth of the Mzimvubu River really is an iconic town and covers all of that and more. Looking at the picture of Second Beach you could easily mistake it for a tropical island somewhere. One word of warning though. If you want to swim at Second Beach, don't go too deep into the water. The beach…
The Gamtoos Valley west of Port Elizabeth is often just seen as the entrance to the Baviaanskloof yet its a tranquil and very scenic farming area. I visit the valley a couple of times a year to participate in the annual Gamtoos Tourism Adventure Drive, the Citrus festival and the Patensie Boere Basaar. This also means that I spend a lot of time in the Patensie area so when Carol Pearson of The Milk House contacted me to invite us…
Have you ever picked up how some people can go through life without noticing the little things? Often this is the same story when you take a group of people on a hiking trail. Some people would just do the walk to be out in the fresh air, some would enjoy beautiful views and scenic attractions and usually a small percentage would notice the details. A succulent with a tiny little flower, a buck spoor in the soft sand, a butterfly fluttering by…
Most people associate the scenic Tsitsikamma with indigenous forests, river gorges and a rugged coastline. It also has the beautiful Tsitsikamma Mountains running parallel to the coast and on the eastern side big green open fields used for diary farming. And that's just the scenery.....
Its been a while since I've done a "Random ..." themed post, so here is one. On a trip up the old Zuurberg Pass from the Karoo side, I discovered an old kraal wall perfectly built without any cement. Put together like a puzzle.Cobble stones on the beach at Schoenmakerskop in Port ElizabethAnother historic building. The wall of the stables at Fort Peddie between Grahamstown and King William's Town, dating back to about 1835. This time, unlike in the first picture,…
Spending one night at Trennery's on the Wild Coast, I decided that I wanted to explore a bit. Upstream from the Qolora River Mouth is a spot called The Gates and it was here that I caught this heron sitting on a branch at dusk.