Ship under Swartkops Bridge

A ship out in Algoa Bay at anchor while waiting its turn to enter the Port Elizabeth Harbour. The picture was taken from Amsterdam Hoek across the Swartkops River under the Swartkops Bridge.

Swartkops Mouth

The mouth of the Swartkops River seen from the Bluewater Bay side. The factory on the right is the Algorex carbon black plant while the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is visible on the left.

Flamingoes

Greater Flamingoes (Phoenicopterus roseus) on the saltpans at Swartkops near the old Swartkops Power Station and the Marina Saltworks.

Marina Salt

There are several salt pans on the eastern side of Port Elizabeth around the Swartkops and Chatty Rivers. It is thought that during prehistoric times the sea pushed up to the these salt pans via the Swartkops and Chatty Rivers at high tide and left the seawater behind at low tide. This water evaporated and left behind … Continue reading Marina Salt →

Old Power Station

The old Swartkops Power Station makes for a very unusual landmark where it stands next to the Swartkops River. The power station came into operation in 1954 and was used by the Port Elizabeth Municipality to generate power until 1996 when ESKOM (South Africa's power utility) offered them electricity at a rate that couldn't be … Continue reading Old Power Station →

Swartkops River

Driving along the N2 one passes over the Swartkops River just before getting to the suburb of Bluewater Bay. Swartkops is a very popular fishing area with loads of boats out on the river over weekends. The area on the banks of the river is called Amsterdamhoek and was named after a Dutch ship (Amsterdam) … Continue reading Swartkops River →

Redhouse #2

Another view of Redhouse looking upstream this time from the top end of the Tow Path. The wind was blowing up a storm and there was no activity on the river.

Swartkops river mouth

Standing on the freeway last weekend, looking seawards, this was the lovely view that we saw of the sea mist rolling back from the Swartkops River Mouth.

Amsterdamhoek

At the Eastern edge of Port Elizabeth runs the Swartkops River, and there is a delightful little village on the bank of the river, overlooking the city. This part of it has changed little over the years, as you can see from this photo of our French friend, Gaston, fishing there back in 1959. But … Continue reading Amsterdamhoek →

Smelly creek

A couple of weeks ago we mentioned Smelly Creek when looking around the Swartkops River Mouth area. Last week the carbon black factory was belching particularly voluminous clouds into the early morning air.