Patensie panorama

The town of Patensie in the Gamtoos Valley is surrounded by beautiful scenery.  Rolling hills, distant mountains, citrus and vegetable farmland, valley thicket, guest farms and some of the friendliest people you will find anywhere.

A panorama of Hankey in the Gamtoos Valley... and some history

As visitors approach the town of Hankey in the Gamtoos Valley from the east, they have to pass Vergaderingskop before entering town.  This little koppie is the final resting place of Saartjie Baartman and worth a stop even if its just to enjoy a view of the surrounding valley.

The town of Hankey was established in 1826 (four years after the founding of the mission station in 1822 under the guidence of Dr John Philip ) and is the Gamtoos Valley's oldest town.  It was named after the Rev. William Alers Hankey who was the secretary of the London Missionary Society (LMS).  The purpose of the establishment of the village was to grow mielies and corn for the LMS main station at Bethelsdorp and also to carry out evangelistic work.  The town started with 25 families but was planned for 250 families.  The then inhabitants of the valley consisted of a large number of Khoi, a few Mfengos, a few (mostly Dutch) farmers and mixed "Gamtouer" descendants.

 

The first irrigation scheme on the Klein River was started by James Wait in 1827 and completed in 1830.  It extended for 3.5 miles and he was awarded 50 cattle and the use of 50 workers.  Part of this irrigation scheme can still be seen today and forms part of the Hankey Golf Course.

 

The second irrigation scheme on the Gamtoos River, a provincial heritage site in Hankey today, was carried out by William Enowy Philip, the son of John Philip.  His inspiration was the window in the hill between Backhousehoek and Vensterhoek and was dug using pick and shovel and wheelbarrows. The length of the tunnel is 228 meters and the speed of construction was very slow - about 1 to 2 feet a day. It was started in April 1843 and completed in August 1844 – 15 months later and was in use from April 1845 to 1970 - a period of 125 years.  This was the first ever tunnel scheme in South Africa.  William Philip drowned on 1 June 1845 in the Gamtoos River where the present low water bridge to Milton stands and not as is usually believed, on the opening day of the tunnel.  He and his niece, also a Philip drowned together when their small boat overturned at the Milton drift.

Umzimvubu River mouth in Port St Johns

I finally got to visit Port St Johns on the northern Wild Coast.  It wasn't a case of not wanting to do it before but rather one of never being in the area.  My visit was very brief though as we were on our way to Durban and still had a few stops to make so my Port St Johns experience consisted of stops at the mouth of the Umzimvubu River and Second Beach.  It was impossible to get the whole river mouth into one picture so I went panoramic and this is what the outcome was.

Natures Valley View panorama

A panoramic view of Nature's Valley from one of the scenic view site on the trail to Salt River

Nature's Valley panorama

A panoramic view of Nature's Valley and its surrounds from the top of The Point looking west

The Ark in Joubertina

Most people travelling between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town either barrel down the Garden Route's N2 in eight hours or explore the area over a period of several days.  Sadly very few people travel through the Langkloof along this beautiful section of Route 62, better known for the part running through the Klein Karoo.  The Langkloof isn't a popular tourist destination, not because of a lack of beauty but rather because of its direct competition on the other side of the mountains.  This means that the tourism infrastructure isn't that well developed, but what is there is well worth a visit.  Farm accommodation on working farms, mountain trails, adventure outings and most importantly, good old farming hospitality.

 The biggest town in the Langkloof is Joubertina.  The town was founded in 1907 and named after W A Joubert who was minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in Uniondale between 1878 and 1893.  At one stage the twon was a dry town meaning no alcohol was alloed to be sold in the town.  This meant that the hotel with its pub and off sales was built outside the town boundaries.  My grandparents lived in Joubertina for most of their lives and my mom grew up and went to school there.  We still have family on my mom's side who live in the Langkloof who we don't get to visit nearly enough.

 

On the road through the town visitors will find The Ark.  Its a place to stretch your legs, fill your tummy, get something cold to drink and get some information and direction to your next destination.

Travelling through the Langkloof back from Oudtshoorn early January, we stopped at The Ark for lunch.  I had a Langkloof Burger with beef patty, bacon, egg, cheese, onions and... wait for it... home made hand cut chips.  Probably the best burger I had during the whole 16 day holiday.  So next time you have to travel between the Western and Eastern Cape, why not change your regular route and take in some sights in the Langkloof?

Storms River Mouth panorama

I just noticed this lone picture sitting in a file and realised that it is one from our recent visit to the Tsitsikamma that I forgot to upload.  Its a panoramic picture taken from the eastern side of Storms River Mouth shows the three suspension bridges in the background.

Village Inn day and night panoramas

While staying at Tsitsikamma Village Inn in Storms River I took two panoramic photos from the upstairs balcony of one of the cottages.  One during the day and one in the evening.

 

Durban beachfront panorama

Yet again I spent nearly a week in Durban for Tourism Indaba with very little time to get out and take a couple of photos.  I did get to take a walk along the beachfront at South Beach on the morning of my departure and managed this panorama shot from one of the piers.  Click on the picture to see the enlarged version.

Hout Bay panorama

This panorama picture of Hout Bay was taken from the world famous Chapmans Peak Drive

V&A Waterfront panorama

A panorama photo of the V&A Waterfront

Panoramic view from Tabel Mountain

The view from the top of Table Mountain must be one of the most beautiful city views in the world with Cape Town at your feet and stretching away in the distance to the right and Table Bay and the Atlantic Ocean azure blue on the left.

I've pointed out a couple of Cape Town's main landmarks as seen from one of the lookouts on top of Table Mountain.  I will still follow this post up with a post discribing our visit to Table Mountain.

Our trip up Table Mountain was sponsored by Table Mountain Aerial Cableway.

Montagu Panorama

Even though I have a nifty little panorama setting on my camera I don't always do a lot of panorama photos.  The reason for this is mainly because the photo often looks a bit distorted if the horizon is a flat one.  Standing at one of the lookout spots overlooking the town of Montagu surrounded by beautiful mountains and summer fruit orchards (peach and apricot), I decided to give it a shot.  The result encouraged me to take a couple more on our holiday which I will still post.  Click on the picture to see an enlarged version.