Western Cape

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A Sunday morning drive up the Montagu Pass

The Garden Route has many iconic passes.  Some crossing over mountains and others through gorges.  Some are part of main routes and are accessible to all, some are off the beaten track and only 4x4's are recommended while others are only accessible on foot or bicycle.  The Montagu Pass outside of George is one that would fit in between the first two of the options above.  A dirt road over the Outeniqua Mountains, not a main road but accessible to…

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19/07/2016
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Gliding around the Wilderness lakes on a segway

Mountain biking has become a very popular pastime of late and something I'd like to find the time for to try out.  Time and the money for a proper mountain bike.  I really wouldn't mind a proper off road bike to travel with.  You know, one of those big BMW ones.  But I can barely afford a scale model one so at the moment my favorite two wheel type of transportation is definitely a segway.  Not that I have one,…

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14/07/2016
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Driving between Wilderness and George along the back roads

Last Thursday morning I did a presentation at a tourism stakeholder workshop in the Tsitsikamma and after lunch moved on to George for a weekend exhibit.  Having had some time on my hands I decided to veer off the main road and pick up a few Geocaches along Bo-Langvlei Road, the dirt road running behind the lakes between Sedgefield and Wilderness.  The plan wasn't to do the whole road but only the last section of it starting between Bo-Langvlei and…

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10/07/2016
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Sunset over the Knysna Lagoon

I spent the weekend in Knysna for work and didn't have a lot of free time, but that did not stop me from dashing down to the Knysna Heads just in time to catch the sunset.  It's been a few years since I've spent some quality time in Knysna and I seriously need to make a plan and get back there to explore the forest a little more than I have in the past and also get down to places…

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03/07/2016
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Shark Spotters over Muizenberg

On my last visit to Cape Town I had to make a stop in Noordhoek and returned to Cape Town via Fish Hoek and Boyes Drive.  At the top of Boys Drive I pulled over to enjoy the view of Muizenberg Beach from the lookout where one of the shark spotters is based.  The Shark Spotting Programme is the only program of its kind in the world. Cape Town has, over the last few years, experienced an increase in the…

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01/06/2016
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Getting lost in the Redberry Maze in George

Literally for the last couple of years now the Damselfly has wanted to visit Redberry Farm in George on the Garden Route.  We just never had the opportunity to be in the area long enough to do so until we spent a long weekend in the town recently.  It meant that Redberry Farm was at the top of our "To Do" list for the weekend.  The reason for us wanting to visit Redberry Farm wasn't to actually go and pick strawberries…

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31/05/2016
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Trains, trains and some other stuff at the Outeniqua Transport Museum

When in George the one attraction you have to visit is the Outenique Transport Museum (also known as the Outenique Railway Museum).  It used to be one of my regular stops on the Garden Route back when I was working as a tourist guide and the Outenique Choo Tjie steam train was still running.  Spending a long weekend in George I just had to take the family to show them this amazing place.  I was just a little worried, because…

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30/05/2016
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Three easy on the pocket George attractions

I don't think George is very high on anybody's list of possible holiday destinations.  Yes, as part of the Garden Route but not standing on it's own.  If that is how you think then I'm going to have to tell you how wrong your thinking is.  Spending Easter Weekend in George showed me in four days that George is actually the ideal family destination.  Beautiful mountains and passes, a stunning coastline, a laid back town atmosphere and not outrageously expensive…

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27/05/2016
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Sunny day in Wilderness

Ahhh, a sunny autumn's day in the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park.  What more is there to say?

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11/05/2016
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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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09/05/2016