I ventured into Colleen Glen west of Port Elizabeth the other day in search of a geocache and ended up at the top of a narrow little road with the most beautiful view down towards the sea. The Maitland sand dune can be seen in the background with farmland and small holdings in between. Pity it wasn't a bright sunny day.
This is the last of the pics I took on our hike on the Maitland Nature Reserve's 9km trail in December. It was the first time I've been on the Maitland Trail and it just showed me that Port Elizabeth has so much that even I haven't seen. And people say there are nothing to do in PE.
The Maitland Nature Reserve's 9km trail is one of Port Elizabeth's lesser known trails. I got to do it for the first time a little while ago and although it was very overgrown (not sure if its been cleared yet) I really enjoyed it. Most of the trail goes through indigenous bush and coastal forest with great views of the Maitland dune and coastline at the turning point.
The pool area at Thunzi Bush Lodge near Maitlands west of Port Elizabeth. Just the place to spend a couple of lazy hours this summer. Thunzi does the most amazing picnic lunches where you get a picnic basket full of goodies and can head down to the dam to relax on the lawns with a loved one. I want to try it early in the new year and will give some feedback afterwards.
I was very impressed with the Maitland Nature Reserve Trail when I got to do it for the first time a couple of weeks ago . Even though it was very overgrown after all the rain we've had these last couple of months its wonderful to be able to walk through the coastal forest and still only be a stone's throw from the city. At its turning point the 9km trail has a couple of view sites down the valley…
A week or so ago I got the opportunity to venture into the Maitland Nature Reserve for the first time. It wasn't that I've never wanted to go there, its more a case that I just never had the opportunity. The reserve is made up of mostly indigenous coastal forest and is located just up the road from the giant Maitland sand dune. There are two shorter trails (3km and 4km respectively) as well as a longer 9km hike. The short 3km…
With all the recent flooding in and around Port Elizabeth all the rivers in the area came down in flood. The Maitland River which is normally nothing more than a trickle was no different and the aftermath can still clearly be seen at the river mouth with debris lying all over the show. You can also see how wide the river ran into the sea when it flooded.
There is an Afrikaans song that says that if you get tired of life in the city you have to go for a walk in the countryside. In Port Elizabeth we are very very fortunate to have a lot of countryside right on our doorstep withing the city boundaries. Places like the Baakens Valley, Sacramento Trail, Cape Recife, Kragga Kamma area and Maitland River Valley to mention only a few.
Very few people realise how beautiful it really is along the rivers and streams around Port Elizabeth. The Baakens Valley is truly stunning and so is the Maitland River Valley. I found this lily pond upstream in the Maitland River.
After spending two days going down the slippery slide with the kids at Sleepy Hollow my Boet and I decided to go and try out the foofy slide (zipline) at the main swimming hole. Now I'm not one who is very comfortable with heights and I get nervous if I have to lift my feet anywhere higher than mother earth herself. That coupled with the unknown speed of the zipline, submerged rocks next to the bank and... the worry of how long…