As you cross over the Montagu Pass from George into the Klein Karoo you enter a small village called Herold. Herold is tucked away in the mountains at the end of the beautiful historic pass. The town developed as a result of the the pass that was constructed in 1847. The town grew quite rapidly as travellers along this new road to the Klein Karoo needed a place to stay as well as other essential services. It continued to be…
When we visited Oudtshoorn in December I got to go to the museum in the home of the former Afrikaans writer CJ Langenhoven for the first time since I was in primary school. His house, Arbeidsgenot ("the pleasure of work") was left to "all people with a love for Afrikaans" by his widow after her death in 1950 and was opened as a museum in 1955. Cornelis Jakobus Langenhoven was born on 12 August 1873. He started out working as…
Sunset over the Knysna Lagoon on the Garden Route. For more sunset and other sky pictures, visit Skywatch
The sunrise reflecting in the tidal pool at the Point in Mossel Bay For more sunrises, sunsets and other pictures featuring the sky, visit Skywatch
Schoemanshoek is a fertile valley just outside Oudtshoorn on the way to the Cango Caves. The area is mainly a farming area with ostriches and tobacco being farmed here historically. Even though most of the farmers in the valley still farm with ostriches and some crops, most have developed guest houses and restaurants on their properties. The nice thing about staying in Schoemanshoek is that visitors are right out in farming are. Most establishments are decorated with antiques while visitors…
Fancourt is one of South Africa's most prestigious golfing estates and consist of three golf courses, the Fancourt Hotel and a beautiful golf estate featuring different developments. The development is situated in George on the Garden Route and plays host to the Japan team during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. My only previous visit was during the Presidents Cup which took place in 2003 on The Links Coarse and where I got to see players like Tiger Woods and Ernie…
The ruin of the old toll house on the Swartberg Pass (here and here) can be found at the start of the pass on the Oudtshoorn side of the mountain. I would have wanted to spend some more time at the ruin getting photographs, but it was hot (around 40 degrees Celsius) and the family was getting impatient in the car.
Travelling from Mossel Bay to Oudtshoorn a week or so ago, we made a quick stop at Eight Bells Mountain Inn for a site inspection. Although I haven't been to Eight Bells for a while, it used to be one of my regular overnight stops when I was a tourist guide. The morning of our visit there was quite a lot of fog on the mountains around the area and I got this shot looking from the hotel across to…
Traveling down the Garden Route the other day we stopped at Bramon Wine Estate at The Crags just outside Plettenberg Bay. Bramon was the first wine estate this far east of the Cape Winelands and produces a superior Sauvignon Blanc 'cap classique' sparkling wine. The beauty of Bramon is that the seating for their restaurant is set in the vineyards and visitors can enjoy local wines with cheeses, meats, oysters, pates and homemade bread with the majestic Tsitsikamma mountains in…
The Featherbed Company's Paddle cruiser moments before departure for the sunset cruise on the Knysna Lagoon. Visit Skywatch for some more breathtaking views of the sky.