Looking down the Langkloof from the Potjiesberg Pass

If you drive through the Langkloof from East to West you enter the valley just past Humansdorp and pass towns like Kareedouw, Jobertina, Krakeel, Louterwater, Misgund, Haarlem and Avontuur.  The valley is about 160 km long and the R62 (the road running through the Langkloof) then meets up with the N9 near the town of Uniondale.  Between this intersection and Uniondale travelers will find the Potjiesberg Pass.  The name of the Potjiesberg, directly translated, means little pot and refers to…

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A ray of light in the mountains

On my last trip to Cape Town I connected from Robertson to Grabouw via  a back road past Villiersdorp.  It was late afternoon and the sun was heading towards the mountain on my right hand side at a speed.  Suddenly it broke through the clouds and a sun ray reached down and touched the mountain side.  I pulled over as quickly as I could to grab a photo.  It looked much better in real life than it did in the…

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Off the off the beaten track in the Langkloof

Most tourists and holiday makers traveling from the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape (or vice versa) do so along the world famous Garden Route.  It means that they miss out on the very scenic Route 62 through the Langkloof which runs parallel to the Garden Route on the other side of the mountain.  You could say traveling through the Langkloof is travelling off the beaten track.  On my last trip up the Langkloof I detoured off onto a dirt…

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The view from the top of the Compass Berg

Seeing that I normally (try to) do a Geocaching related post on a Saturday, I really wanted to share this with you today even though it isn't in Port Elizabeth.  A couple of Geocachers got together in Nieu-Bethesda for a caching event tonight and one of the Port Elizabeth cachers up there for the event decided to go and climb the Compass Berg today to find a cache located right at the top.The Compass Berg is located north of Nieu-Bethesda…

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Table Mountain – Pulling the table cloth over

Table Mountain.  Probably the most iconic attraction in South Africa.  Something every visitor to the country wants to visit.  Being in the tourism industry I often get asked about Table Mountain by visitors and one piece of advise I always give is to go to the mountain at the first opportunity you get.  I was guided a tour down the Garden Route to Cape Town and on arrival in Cape Town we noticed the mountain was open.  There was bad…

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Sunset on the Zuurberg Mountains

An afternoon trip to Addo for an early evening meeting had me arrive in the area an hour or so early.  Problem? Not at all.  Doesn't matter where you are, if you have a passion for travel and is a Geocacher to boot, there will always be something to see, do or find.  This day was no different.  I decided to take a leisurely drive up the Zuurberg Pass to pick up a Geocache I hadn't done before plus it's…

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The Cockscomb on the horizon

Last weekend we took part in the Gamtoos Adventure Drive around the towns of Loerie and Hankey west of Port Elizabeth.  At one of the stops on one of the back roads between the towns I snapped this photo of the Cockscomb Mountains beyond the rolling hills of this part of the valley.  With a little HDR added, how can I not share this picture with you?

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Karoo koppies – Koffiebus and Teebus

The flat top koppies (mountains) of the Karoo is as part of this arid region of the country as windpompe, Angora goats, Karoo lamb, flowering aloes and big open skies.  Two of the best known Karoo koppies are the Koffiebus and Teebus south of the town of Steynsburg. The word "Bus" means pot in old Dutch as the hills are said to look like the old teapots and coffee pots of the early Dutch Settlers.  This means that if you had to translate, let's say,…

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Baviaans Lodge – a special oasis in the southern Baviaanskloof

The Baviaanskloof must be on the bucket list of a lot of South African travellers.  Stunning scenic beauty which, if she was a person, would put her in the top three of a Miss Universe competition.  Isolation, but not like just around the corner where you can't hear the traffic.  A true wilderness area.  UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Overnighting in caves or on a river beach next to sheer cliffs.  Challenging roads.  Unfortunately for us mere sedan drivers a big part…

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