trails

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Old Man’s Beard

I'm sure most people have seen the lichen generally referred to as Old Man's Beard.  One sees quite a lot of it in the Tsitsikamma forest, but in this case I found it on the Bushbuck Trail in The Island Nature Reserve.  Usnea is the generic and scientific name for several species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae, that generally grow hanging from tree branches and resembling grey or greenish hair.  It is often referred to as Old Man's Beard, but also…

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19/10/2014
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Hiking at The Island

A couple of weeks ago I got to hike the Bushbuck Trail in The Island Nature Reserve for the first time.  What a beautiful trail and part of Port Elizabeth and well worth a morning or day's outing

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15/10/2014
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Hiking “feet” selfie

Selfies is the "in" thing these days, specially while on holiday or doing activities.  Its a way to remember places by talking a picture of yourself somewhere.  In a world of social media its also a way of "look where I am and you're not".  There seem to be two types of selfies though.  The one is the obvious one of taking a picture of, well, yourself.  As in your face.  But there is also a growing tendency in taking…

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12/10/2014
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Hiking the Bushbuck Trail in The Island Nature Reserve

Port Elizabeth has some excellent short hiking trails that are perfect for a morning or day out in nature yet still within a stone's throw of the city.  As an outdoor enthusiast and avid Geocacher I've had the opportunity to do most of the trails around the city with one of the exceptions being the Bushbuck Trail through the Island Nature Reserve.  For this reason I was very excited when I got a call from Erenei Louw of Nelson Mandela Bay…

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25/09/2014
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Pasella walking the Sacramento Trail with Abel Kraamsaal

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/uoYinU8CjRw&source=udsAs you know I like to post a video on a Friday and this week I found a Pasella clip on YouTube I Haven't posted on the blog yet.  Can't believe I forgot about this one as I was involved behind the scenes in helping to organize it.  The insert featured Port Elizabeth based Afrikaans singer Abel Kraamsaal.  Pasella took Abel for a walk on the Sacramento Trail and the two guides that took them tell the viewers more about the shipwreck, Khoisan…

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29/08/2014
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The Big Tree

For my last post in this week's series on the Tsitsikamma I featuring a thing and not an activity.  The Big Tree is probably one of the best known landmarks in the area and a very popular stop for tourists.  An easy 500 meter boardwalk takes visitors to one of the giants of the forest.  I haven't been to the Big Tree for a couple of years and one of the things I noticed while there was that the signs no…

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15/08/2014
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Guinea Fowl Feather

A short walk during lunch time along the Lower Baakens Valley on the Guinea Fowl Trail produced a guinea fowl feather floating on a little stream forming part of the Baakens River.  A sign of wildlife and birds in the valley. 

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03/08/2014
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Aloe view of Swartkops River mouth

My three favorite flowers in the wild are aloes, proteas and arum lilies.  The aloes are in full bloom at the moment and gives colour to the winter landscape.  A hike along the Aloe Trail at Bluewater Bay took as to this spot from where we could see Amsterdamhoek and the Swartkops River mouth with flowering aloes in the foreground.

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14/07/2014
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Drama Princess leading the way

Its amazing how different from each other one's own children can be.  Drama Princess is the sporty outdoorsy type while Chaos Boy is happy to sit and watch tv or play in his room.  The other day when I announced that I was meeting Shefetswe and Sanhain at the Aloe Trail for a quick 6km hike and a couple of Geocaches, Drama Princess quickly got ready to go with while Chaos Boy just blew us off and went back to…

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13/07/2014
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Aloe Trail viewpoint

Last weekend a couple of us went for a late afternoon walk along the Aloe Trail at Bluewater Bay to find the Geocaches placed on the trail.  I make sure I always have my camera at hand and I snapped Drama Princess enjoying the view towards the Swartkops River without her knowing.

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09/07/2014