Elands River Valley

Read more about the article The Mount Ingwe Anglo Boer War Museum outside Port Elizabeth
Firefly the Travel Guy / Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

The Mount Ingwe Anglo Boer War Museum outside Port Elizabeth

This past weekend we joined the Eastern Cape Branch of the South African Military History Society on their quarterly outing. The destination. Lukas van der Merwe's Anglo Boer War Museum at Mount Ingwe in the Elandsrivier Valley between Port Elizabeth and Patensie. It's one of those attractions that I have heard of but didn't know much about and not having a bakkie or SUV I've never really considered heading out to it. The 50km dirt road from Rocklands near Uitenhage…

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17/04/2024
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Elands River Road sunrise

I'm a bit of a lazy bones when it gets to getting up early for sunrise.  That is one of the things I like about winter.  Sunrise is so much later.  During last weekend's Father / Son camp I took a walk out of the campsite to snap this the sunrise over the Elands River Valley.

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24/05/2015
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Father and Son camp

Last weekend I went on a Father and Son camp organized by Chaos Boy's school with Get Real Adventures out at their venue on the Elands River Road.  What a great experience!  We were split into two teams and got to do two days of challenges and activities with our sons.  Team building at it's best.  Here a couple of us (ok, so I'm behind the camera) are having early coffee around the fire while some of the others were trying their hands…

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21/05/2015
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Bulk River bridge

If you drive along the Elands River Road you pass over two rivers with dams visible on your left (if you are traveling westwards).  The Bulk River and Sand River dams both formed part of Port Elizabeth's early water supply and dates back to the early 1900's.  Both rivers are tributaries of the Elands River which in turn at its concourse with the Kwazunga River forms the Swartkops River.  I got to do a short kloofing expedition up the Bulk River as far…

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20/05/2015
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Sand River Getaway

A couple of week ago we spent a night along with a couple of friends at the Sand River Getaway in the Elands River Valley just to the west of Port Elizabeth.  So close to the city yet it felt like we were in a totally different area.  The Sand River Getaway has a couple of tented rooms on platforms and a big communal area which include a kitchen, lounge, dining area and ablution facilities.  Standing on the outside deck this is the…

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02/01/2013
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Bulk River valley

In yesterday's post I wrote about the Bulk River and Sand River that flows into the Elands River west of Port Elizabeth.  The Sand River Dam is fairly close to the Elands River Road while the Bulk River Dam can just be glimpsed from the road.  In the picture is the Bulk River with the dam barely visible higher up the valley.

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17/10/2012
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Sand River Dam

Port Elizabeth's earliest water supply came from the Shark River at Happy Valley and the Donkin Stream next to the Donkin Reserve.  As the city started to grow in its early days of development the demand for water far exceeded this meager supply.  After a competition held by the Port Elizabeth city council in 1862 to find proposals to supply the city with water, a weir and small dam was built in the Van Stadens River.  This was later followed by…

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16/10/2012
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Elands River Road

The Elands River Road links the Rocklands area with the Gamtoos Valley just outside Patensie.  The majority of the road is a gravel road but the route it follows through the Elands River Valley is very beautiful and well worth making a day or weekend trip out of, staying over in either of the two areas.

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15/10/2012