roads

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Knysna forest roads

The are two ways of exploring the indigenous forests around Knysna, by car and on foot. Several forest roads take one all over the forests surrounding Knysna from down by the Knysna River up to Gouna, across to Millwood and over the Prince Alfred Pass.  The road in the picture is called Kom se Pad.The best way to really connect with the forest is by going on one of the many hiking trails criss crossing throughout the forest. This is the only way…

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22/12/2011
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Roadside stops

Driving along the highways and byways of this beautiful country of ours, somewhere you will have to pull over, stretch you legs and fill up body, soul and perhaps even your car (if you don't want to get stuck without fuel along those same roads). These places are normally one of the following three:Roadside picnic spots  Farm and country shopsand the boring (as far as exploring travellers goes) but very effective and well stocked 1-stop service stations

4 Comments
18/11/2010
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Karoo roads

Driving through the Karoo should be an adventure, not a rush.  It has so many interesting nooks and crannies to explore, but to get there one has to travel many interesting roads and paths. Travelling is as much about the journey as it is about the destination. Travelling through the Karoo one firstly encounters tar roads. On these we depart the big towns and cities, but from them, somewhere along the way, you have to turn off onto ... ... a dirt road.  It…

15 Comments
11/11/2010
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Old Walmer Road

In the days of old South End before most of it was demolished and the people forcibly removed from the area, Walmer Road was the main road running through South End towards the suburb of Walmer.  In those days the main hotels and businesses of the area was found along this road.  Today only a small section of this old road is still visible at the top of Pier Street.  It leads through an open piece of land and is…

6 Comments
03/10/2010
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Rusty road signs

I encountered this rusty old road sign on the dirt road just over the Zuurberg north of Port Elizabeth. It stands on an intersection on the R400 / R335 dirt roads and directs you to Port Elizabeth via the old Zuurberg Pass which used to be the main road between Port Elizabeth and the interior or via the N10 over the Olifantskop Pass.

6 Comments
15/08/2010
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Meiringspoort

There are two ways to get from the Karoo into the Klein Karoo over / through the Swartberg and both are very scenic. The Swartberg Pass is for those with lots of time and Meiringspoort for those in a hurry. The Meiringspoort road features soaring cliff walls with spectacular rock formations along the 25 km tarred road which winds along the floor of the gorge and crosses the Groot River 25 times. Each crossing, or drift, has its own name…

8 Comments
13/01/2010
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Swartberg Pass Part 2

Yesterday we drove up the Swartberg Pass and took a break at the top. Today we decent into the Karoo. The northern part of the pass is famous for its switchbacks and you won't find a travel book on South Africa that doesn't have at least one photo of the pass.Just before we started our decent I was curious to see where we were going and saw how the road snaked down the mountain side at a gradual decline. There…

5 Comments
07/01/2010
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Swartberg Pass Part 1

One of the highlights (literally and figuratively) of the holiday was getting to drive over the Swartberg Pass outside Oudtshoorn. The pass links the Klein Karoo with the Great Karoo and its always been very high on my "to do" list. The Swartberg Pass was built by one of South Africa's great pass builders, Thomas Bain, between 1881 and 1883. The construction work was done by convict labourers and the pass was officially opened on 10 January 1888. The pass…

6 Comments
06/01/2010
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Freeways

This is the view from the top of the Campanile out of the window facing north. The three lane freeway is the Settlers Freeway which connects the beachfront area to most of the city as well as the N2 highway out of town. The buildings on the left is part of the city centre while the bottom right of the picture is the Port Elizabeth Station. In the back the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is visible with the mountains beyond…

2 Comments
02/01/2010