trails

Uncategorized

A walk to Salt River Mouth at Natures Valley

 The Garden Route has some excellent hiking trails.  The Otter, Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma trails are epic and will take you a couple of days covering long distance lugging along backpacks while short loops like Storms River Mouth, The Big Tree and Garden of Eden will use up an hour of your time with only a camera over your shoulder before heading off to your next destination.  These aren't the only trails though and whichever trail you choose will depend on where you…

1 Comment
07/11/2014
Uncategorized

Bushbuck Trail Beacon

 On my recent hike on the Bushbuck Trail in The Island Nature Reserve our turning point was a trig beacon near the western side of the reserve.  There wasn't much around the trig beacon except for the coastal bush to make a good photo out of it but I took one anyway. I climbed to the top to have a look at the surrounding view and decided to take a shadow selfie with me and the trig beacon. Somewhat weird? Probably.  But don't judge…

Comments Off on Bushbuck Trail Beacon
23/10/2014
Uncategorized

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…

2 Comments
19/10/2014
Uncategorized

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

Comments Off on Hiking at The Island
15/10/2014
Uncategorized

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…

Comments Off on Hiking “feet” selfie
12/10/2014
Uncategorized

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…

1 Comment
25/09/2014
Uncategorized

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…

2 Comments
29/08/2014
Uncategorized

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…

5 Comments
15/08/2014
Uncategorized

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. 

Comments Off on Guinea Fowl Feather
03/08/2014
Uncategorized

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.

2 Comments
14/07/2014