One of the spots you can get out of your car in Addo Elephant National Park is Domkrag Dam. It was named after a mountain tortoise called Domkrag that used to walk under cars and looked like he was trying to lift them up. Domkrag is the Afrikaans word for jack, as in a jack to lift a car. Other places you are allowed to get out of your car includes Zuurkop, the Spekboom enclosure, Jack's picnic spot, Algoa Bay…
I think one of visitors to Addo Elephant National Park's favorite parts is seeing baby elephants. They are cute and look cuddly, are very inquisitive and draws many ooohhh's and aaahhh's. Here are a couple of "Did you know" facts about baby elephants. An elephant's gestation period is 22 months. The longest pregnancy of all mammals. A baby elephant is called a calf When a calf is born it can weigh up to 90kg and stands about 1 meter high…
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…
Crossing the Great Kei River by pont into what used to be the old Transkei has always been on my South African bucket list. That was until I got to do it about 6 years or so ago. Since then I've had the opportunity to do it a couple of times and I always look forward to it. It's nothing fancy or out of this world, but it is special because there are so few ponts left in South Africa.…
A couple of months ago I spent a night at one of my favourite Karoo farm stay spots, DikkopVlakte Gasteplaas between Grahamstown and Bedford. Although they offer self-catering accommodation in the 6 bedroom main house, we were there for a meeting the next day and the owners Tommy and Carine van Kerken joined us for a braai that evening. For dessert Carine "threw" together a traditional Roly-Poly baked pudding. She didn't have a specific recipe on paper but made it…
In a way, walking up Lady's Slipper has become for Port Elizabeth what walking up Lion's Head is for Cape Town. At one stage only a few people did it, but lately it has become a very popular outing. Not very far distance-wise, but a tough cookie as far as terrain. It has been on my "To Do" list for so long and the other day I decided to tackle it with the family in tow. As the trail and…
The view of Maitland River mouth as you come down the road from Beachview side The Maitland River west of Port Elizabeth really isn't much to write home about. It originates somewhere between the N2 and the sea so isn't very long. Probably not even close to 20km in length. It flows down through Sleepy Hollow farm and then the Maitland Nature Reserve before the last little bit past the famous Maitland sand dune to the sea. The small lagoon…
One of my favorite views around Nelson Mandela Bay. The view of the Van Stadens Bridge from the picnic spot lookout in the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve
Today's post isn't one of a well-known or even public spot, but I do want to show you the expanse of the Karoo in the Jansenville / Darlington Dam district. A couple of months ago we spent a weekend with our church cell group on the farm Wortelkuil of Willie de Wet. Willie farms with goats and sheep, but also offers a bit of hunting on the farm On Sunday morning we all piled onto his bakkie and off-road buggy…