Gamtoos Valley

Uncategorized

Biggest sundial in the Africa

The biggest sundial in Africa and the Southern Hemisphere can be found somewhere in South Africa.  "Where in South Africa?" I hear you ask. Cape Town? You're cold.  Johannesburg? Very cold. Durban? Still cold. Port Elizabeth? Getting warmer. Where then? Its located in the humble Gamtoos Valley town of Hankey.  The Hankey Sundial was completed by local farmer Mr Dirk Schellingerhout in 1989 to commemorate the town's 160th anniversary.  The dial is located at the entrance to the town and just below Vergaderingskop, the final…

4 Comments
24/11/2013
Uncategorized

Orchard rainbow

An afternoon shower washed off the dust of a day exploring the Gamtoos Valley along some dirt back roads.  As the sun came out we went for a walk through the citrus orchard at Nikalandershoek where we were staying and a rainbow appeared over the trees.  The perfect end to the day.

3 Comments
24/10/2013
Uncategorized

Patensie Plaasbasaar – the epitome of church bazaars

Most people have been to their local church or school bazaar where the old tannies man tables with vetkoek, curry and rice and pancakes and kids run around while their parents buy food and chat to their neighbours who they never get to see due to the 6 foot wall separating their homes.  Last weekend I got to go to the Patensie Plaasbasaar, the NG Kerk Gamtoosvallei-Oos annual bazaar and I have to be honest here.  It was the mother…

4 Comments
18/10/2013
Read more about the article Queen Victoria in the Gamtoos Valley
Firefly the Travel Guy

Queen Victoria in the Gamtoos Valley

One of the well known landmarks in the Gamtoos River Valley in the Eastern Cape is the Queen Victoria Profile on the road between Patensie and the Baviaanskloof.  The profile is the result of erosion of the sheer cliff and can be seen when driving towards Patensie. About 140 million years ago the Cape Mountains were roughly three times higher than today.  A period of high rainfall then eroded them and the Enon Conglomerate, of which much of the Gamtoos…

2 Comments
03/07/2013
Uncategorized

Citrus Festival photos gallery

The annual Patensie Citrus Festival took place on 15 June 2013 in the Gamtoos Valley west of Port Elizabeth.  The Gamtoos is mainly a farming area with beautiful scenery, not forgetting true farming hospitality, so I take any excuse I can get to visit.  After really enjoying the 2012 festival we decided to head out there again this year and bundled the family in the car on the Saturday morning, headed out to the countryside.  Here are a some scenes from the festival. 

3 Comments
24/06/2013
Uncategorized

Citrus farm tour

While browsing around the stalls at the Patensie Citrus Festival on Saturday I heard the announcer say something about tractor trips to one of the citrus farms and I immediately went to enquire. Five minutes later the family was sitting in a trailer behind farmer Danie Malan's tractor in anticipation for the tour to his farm to start.Along the way Danie stopped to tell us about the young citrus trees that we saw and how the sun can easily burn their…

2 Comments
20/06/2012
Uncategorized

Patensie Citrus Festival 2012

There is just something special to small town festivals which you don't get in the cities and the Patensie Citrus Festival has that something special.  This past weekend the third annual Citrus Festival took place in the Gamtoos Vally west of Port Elizabeth.  The Gamtoos Valley is very much a farming area and produce both fruit and vegetables with potatoes and oranges being two of the major produce from the valley.  In actual fact the valley is often referred to…

2 Comments
19/06/2012
Uncategorized

Aloe silhouette

I took this pic on my whistle stop visit to the Gamtoos Valley recently. I couldn't resist sticking the sun behind the aloe and when I downloaded the pics I decided that I wanted to see it in sepia as well. I am quite impressed, even if I have to say so myself.

6 Comments
26/07/2010
Uncategorized

Sarah Bartmann’s grave

Situated on top of a hill overlooking the Gamtoos Valley just outside Hankey is the grave of Sarah Bartmann (Saartjie Baartman). She was born somewhere in the Gamtoos Valley in 1789 and moved to the Cape as a teenager to find work. From here she was lured to London under false in 1810 and was exhibited around England as the "Hottentot Venus". She was sold to a Frenchman who also exhibited her around France before here death. Sarah died in…

2 Comments
21/07/2010