Van Stadens protea

The Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve just west of Port Elizabeth is probably the best spot around the city to see a wide range of protea species grow in the wild. The reserve offers visitors two different trail options with a couple of stunning view sights over the Van Stadens gorge. South Africa's national flower, the … Continue reading Van Stadens protea →

Late afternoon at Van Stadens lagoon

The sun slowly heading down after a perfect day at Van Stadens lagoon

The lagoon at Van Stadens Mouth

We spent a day at Van Stadens Mouth Resort for the first time in many years and the KidZ absolutely loved the lagoon next to the resort. There are paddle boats for hire but we took along our own little blowup boat along and it was a huge struggle to get the KidZ out of … Continue reading The lagoon at Van Stadens Mouth →

Van Stadens railway bridge – the highest narrow gauge bridge in the world

When the Apple Express used to run (and lets hope it will be running again some time) it always stopped at the Van Stadens Railway Bridge to allow passengers to walk across the bridge if they wanted to get photos of the train crossing it. I decided to drive out to Van Stadens to look … Continue reading Van Stadens railway bridge – the highest narrow gauge bridge in the world →

One Van Stadens Bridge seen from another Van Stadens Bridge

Most people driving along the N2 over the Van Stadens Bridge west of Port Elizabeth have seen the Van Stadens Railway Bridge (the higherst narrow gauge railway bridge in the world) higher up in the gorge in the distance. On a geocaching outing the other day I visited the railway bridge for the first time … Continue reading One Van Stadens Bridge seen from another Van Stadens Bridge →

Then and Now – Van Stadens Pass drift

Approaching Port Elizabeth from the west you have to drive over the Van Stadens River Bridge about 40 kilometres outside of town. Looking down into the gorge you can just imagine what an effort it must have been getting through that back in the earlier days. The river was named after one of the area's pioneer farmers … Continue reading Then and Now – Van Stadens Pass drift →

Rock climbing at Van Stadens

After a couple of recent posts (including Wildflower Reserve Trails and Under Van Stadens Bridge)that covered the Van Stadens area, I received an email from Derek Marshall with a couple of pictures. They were about, as he puts it, one of the more unknown aspects of PE. Rock climbing. I did a quick bit of research and found the … Continue reading Rock climbing at Van Stadens →

Bridge series #3 – Van Stadens Bridge

This is post #3 in the Port Elizabeth bridge series. The city's most imposing and best know bridge is the Van Stadens Bridge 35 km west of the city and also situated on the western boundary of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro. The 125 meter high, 340 meter long bridge was completed in 1971 and is the first … Continue reading Bridge series #3 – Van Stadens Bridge →

Wildflower Reserve trails

The Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve is looking stunning at the moment with loads of Pin Cushions and King Proteas in flower. We went for a short walk through the reserve and eventually Drama Princess and I fell so far behind the Damselfly and Chaos Boy cause she kept on stopping to look at flowers and ask … Continue reading Wildflower Reserve trails →

Under the Van Stadens Bridge

I really can't reiterate how Geocaching is taking me to places where I've never been before and for somebody who has thought I've seen most places there is to see around Port Elizabeth I keep on being surprised. Going after a couple of caches in the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve I had to follow the … Continue reading Under the Van Stadens Bridge →