The Gamtoos Valley with it's citrus farms, beautiful scenery and interesting little corners is one of our favorite day excursions to just get out of the city for a bit. The advantage is that it is nice and close to Port Elizabeth, so you are in the valley after like only a 40 minute drive. … Continue reading A Gamtoos Valley outing
A couple of weeks ago I got to finally go on the Waterfall Hike at InniKloof outside Hankey. Something we've been wanting to do for quite a while now. It was a day of beautiful views, huffing and puffing over a mountain, nearly loosing a child in the wilderness and finally taking a swim in … Continue reading A mountain pool dip
I know it's not Port Elizabeth, but I just have to share this with you. I was in Patensie for a tourism workshop this morning and the citrus orchards are just packed with fruit at the moment. The Gamtoos Valley is one of the biggest citrus producing areas in South Africa and it's well worth … Continue reading Laden with citrus
When was the last time you've been in the Gamtoos Valley? Perhaps I should ask, have you ever been for a drive up to the Kouga Dam? If the answer to both of these questions are "never" or "not recently" then there is no time like the present. After all the rain we have had recently the … Continue reading How about visiting the Kouga Dam?
Last weekend we took part in the Gamtoos Adventure Drive around the towns of Loerie and Hankey west of Port Elizabeth. At one of the stops on one of the back roads between the towns I snapped this photo of the Cockscomb Mountains beyond the rolling hills of this part of the valley. With a … Continue reading The Cockscomb on the horizon
After yesterday's picture of the Apple Express narrow gauge line I decided to post another picture featuring the line. After the line leaves Loerie it heads towards Jeffreys Bay across the lover Gamtoos Valley plains. Not far outside of Loerie the line crosses over the Loerie Spruit (a tributary of the Gamtoos River) before passing … Continue reading Railway bridge at Melon
This is the last post in the Gamtoos Valley series before returning to PE pics again. The biggest sundial in Africa and the Southern Hemisphere can be found somewhere in South Africa. "Where in South Africa?" I hear you ask. Cape Town? You're cold. Johannesburg? Very cold. Durban? Still cold. Port Elizabeth? Getting warmer. Where then? Its located in … Continue reading Gamtoos Series 7 – Sundial
The Gamtoos Valley is famous for the citrus produced there, amongst it various varieties of oranges, naartjies and lemons. Kids love naartjies because they are sweet and easy to peel and during the Gamtoos Citrus Festival visitors get to go on a tractor tour into the orchards and pick your own.
This is post #5 in a series of 7 posts featuring the Gamtoos Valley west of Port Elizabeth. One of the well known landmarks in the Gamtoos River Valley in the Eastern Cape is the Queen Victoria Profile on the road between Patensie and the Baviaanskloof. The profile is the result of erosion of the sheer cliff … Continue reading Gamtoos Series 5 – Queen Victoria Profile
This is post #4 in the Gamtoos Valley series. The town of Hankey was started as a mission station on behalf of the London Missionary Society by Dr John Phillip. The main purpose was to grow corn and mielies for the mission station at Bethelsdorp as well as to carry out evangelistic work in the valley. Dr Philip's son, … Continue reading Gamtoos Series 4 – Phillips Tunnel
Firefly the Travel Guy 