Three easy on the pocket George attractions

I don't think George is very high on anybody's list of possible holiday destinations.  Yes, as part of the Garden Route but not standing on it's own.  If that is how you think then I'm going to have to tell you how wrong your thinking is.  Spending Easter Weekend in George showed me in four days that George is actually the ideal family destination.  Beautiful mountains and passes, a stunning coastline, a laid back town atmosphere and not outrageously expensive attractions.  We were camping in George and took it easy while we were there (plus I did a load of Geocaches) so chose one attraction to do every day while there.  It turned out that all three are highly recommended and very cheap to do so here are Three things to do in George that are easy on the pocket.

The Outeniqua Transport Museum is a must do while in George and if you do nothing else then you have to try and get here.  The museum used to be the departure point of the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe and has the most magnificent collection of trains (13 locomotives and numerous carriages), vintage cars and other vehicles, railway memorabilia and the most magnificent model train layout.  I thought the family would be totally bored but they were anything but.  You can also have lunch or just a coffee and milkshake in a dining car.  The best of all, adults pay R20 and kids under 12 only R10.  What an absolute bargain.

The one thing we really wanted to do while in town was a visit to Red Berry Farm.  Red Berry Farm offers strawberry picking as well as a host of kiddies activities.  We were there to do the hedge maze.  I knew in advance that it was a proper hedge maze but I don't think I was fully prepared for what we encountered.  A truly dincum get lost for hours hedge maze.  You get a stamp card and have to look for 7 stations along the way to complete the card which took me an hour and a half.  After having coffee and a chat with friends who came by to say hi, I went back in an hour later to go and find Chaos Boy who was still wandering around looking for his last two stamps.  Would I go and do it again? In a heartbeat.  The cost? A paltry R35 per person.

On our last full day in George the options we considered were to either go down to Victoria Bay or up the historic Montagu Pass.  We opted for the latter of the two and explored this truly scenic pass completed way back in 1848.  The trip up was a combination of beautiful scenes, historic sites and being close to nature.  Although a dirt road that does take a battering from the rain, we drove up to the top and back down without any trouble in the Chev Aveo.  So what would you pay for this little outing? Well, nothing more than your petrol and some snacks for along the way.  Just don't leave your camera behind.

Karoo railway signals

This railway signal at Cockscomb Station on the R75 to Graaff-Reinet really tickled my fancy for some reason.

Cockscomb Station on the R74

Railway Stations used to be quite significant with station masters stationed there who was very proud of their workplace and kept it spick and span.  These days most of these small stations are abandoned with very little other than a sign, some signals and an abandoned, often ruined, building.  Driving up to Graaff-Reinet on the R74 from Port Elizabeth I made a quick stop at Cockscomb Station to find a Geocache and just had to snap a couple of pictures.  If it wasn't for Geocaching I would probably never have stopped here and I was better for it.

Railway line sunset

Picture this.  The R60 between Robertson and Worcester in the Western Cape.  Kinda in the middle of nowhere.  Nothing in sight other than the remains of an old railway station  Two guys park next to the road and dash across, climb through an old fence, hop over the railway line and run of into the bushes and fynbos.  Moments later they emerge and start walking back to the car.  What do you make of this?  For most regular folk it would probably be a very suspicious sight.  Confusing at least.  Not if you were a Geocacher though.  This was exactly what happened on the way to Cape Town recently.  Our last cache for the day before the last stretch to the Mother City had us do exactly that.  On the way back to the car the sun started to set behind the mountains on the horizon and I whipped out my phone to snap this picture.  My favorite pic from the trip.

Ashton locomotive at sunset

The town of Ashton is situated on the Robertson Valley close to the start of Route 62.  As one drives along this road between Worcester and the Klein Karoo there is a steam locomotive on the left about halfway through town.  Heading down to Cape Town I made a quick stop to have a look and with the sun heading to the horizon I snapped this picture.

 

 The locomotive is a No 2010 class 14 CRB and was designed and built by the Montreal Locomotive Works Canada - a division of the American Locomotive Company.  The Class 14 CRB locomotives were built between 1910 and 1922 to specifications of Mr D. A. Hendrie Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South African Railways.  No 2010 was commissioned in 1919 and used on the Worcester / Mosselbay rail section until 1983.  This Cape Gauge locomotive weighs 84.1 tons and the 10 ton / 4250 gallon capacity tender 50.9 tons.  The tractive effort of the locomotive is 35400 pounds at 75% boiler pressure with a boiler capacity of 180 pounds per square inch.  Yeah yeah, I know its useless info to most of us but there are some train nuts out there who would find it very interesting.

Van Stadens Narrow Gauge Railway Bridge

 

Geocaching is about so much more than using multi billion dollar spy satellite technology to find hidden Tupperware.  Its also about exploration, going to and discovering places you may not otherwise have gone to.  One of these is the highest narrow gauge railway bridge in the world spanning the Van Stadens Gorge outside Port Elizabeth.  Years ago when the Apple Express was still running it used to stop before the bridge and passengers could walk across and get a photograph of the train crossing with smoke billowing and steam blowing.  This time around I walked in from the closest road to find two containers placed on each side of the bridge.

 

This narrow gauge line from Port Elizabeth was authorised in 1899 and construction commenced in 1902, reaching the town of Avontuur in the Langkloof late in 1906. The line was built to connect the scenic Langkloof with its fruit growing industry to the port of Port Elizabeth. The official opening of the line was in 1907, with a main line track length of 284km (177 miles) from Port Elizabeth to Avontuur.  The 30km branch line from Gamtoos Junction to Patensie was completed in 1914 to serve this citrus producing area.  The establishment of the deciduous fruit industry in the Langkloof, and the use of the Narrow Gauge to transport fruit to the cooling sheds in the Port Elizabeth harbour for export, led to the popular name for the narrow gauge, namely the Apple Express.  It was also the name of the little tourist train that we so badly would like to have back running again.  

The Van Staden’s rail bridge is the second highest railway bridge in South Africa, and the highest narrow gauge bridge in the world.  Construction on the bridge was completed in 1905 with it being 156m long, 77m high and containing 1 112 cubic metres of concrete and 574 tons of steel.  I peeked through a gap down to the bottom of the gorge and snapped this last picture. Hectic to think what it must have been like building this.

Riding PE's miniature trains

Ketik ketik... ketik ketik... ketik ketik... The sound of the train's wheels on the tracks.  A sound which so many kids these days have never heard before.  Everybody loves to ride on a train doesn't matter if its a luxurious tourist train, a cross country train, a day trip tourist train, a commuter train or, in the case of this post, little miniature trains.  

On the first Sunday of the month Port Elizabeth parents gather their kids, pack picnic baskets and head down to Fernglen to ride the city's little trains.  The Port Elizabeth Model Locomotive Society was established in 1963 and offers young and old the opportunity to experience the golden age of train travel, even if its only a couple of loops around the park.  The route includes a dinkum tunnel and crosses over the Great Grass River Bridge before the engines steam back into the station.

There are both diesels and steam locomotives although most adults prefer to wait for the latter.  Kids really don't care much about this and will hop onto the first one available.  Rides were R6 a go the last time I was there and at that price people can afford to go again and again and again which means there is about a 10 minute wait to get on when it gets busy.  Not much so the wait is no excuse not to go.  Actually, if you even just remotely like trains this is something you just can't miss.  And believe me, once people get on those trains, everybody becomes a kid again.

First time on the Gautrain

Imagine a bunch of small town children going to Johannesburg and getting to ride on the Gautrain for the first time.  Now imagine a bunch of small town adults having fun and really being in the spirit of things riding on the Gautrain for the first time.  Well, I don't know what you are imagining, but the experience itself wasn't much different than it would be with kids.  Big eyes, lots of fun, comments and laughter   Earlier in the year I attended a tourism expo in Johannesburg and a bunch of us decided to all have our first ride on the Gautrain, Gauteng's state-of-the-art rapid rail network.

The group came from all over with towns like Matatiele in the North Eastern Cape, Mossel Bay on the Garden Route, Malmesbury in the Swartland and the Cape West Coast represented.  Oh yes, and me.  It was like everybody was high on sugar or something the way they were hopping around and joking while waiting for the train to arrive.  And then it came... Actually it didn't, cause this one was going the other way.  But ours arrived shortly after.

The fun continued and the ride was no different so while we were flying along at 160 km per hour the cracking of jokes just went on.  The dude against the window landed up next to the group and held his pose very well while all this was going on.  He should have just gone with the flow...

Arriving in Sandton from Midrand we disembarked the Gautrain at the 45 meter, 6 storey deep Sandton Station.  This we didn't quite realise until we went up three long escalators.  Wow, what a ride and what a marvel.  The return trip was a little more subdued, but still the excitement continued and I am sure everybody are looking forward to their next visit to Johannesburg for another ride on the Gautrain.

Random

I've been thinking about my blogs quite a lot lately and is considering changing this blog to look the same as my Port Elizabeth Daily Photo blog and show big pictures rather than little ones.  But I have a bunch of already edited pictures waiting to be posted, so I am working to get through them all before switching to big pics.  So I'm starting to work through all the "pics in waiting" with a rather random "Random ..." post showing a couple of random steam railway related pictures. 

So what does the last picture have to do with steam railway? Its the railway line between Knysna and George that was used by the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe.

British Troop Train

On the way up the hill to Fort Klapperkop and the SA National Defence Force Memorial outside Pretoria stand an old steam locomotive.  This specific locomotive was amongst others used over 100 years ago during the Anglo Boer War (1899 - 1902) to carry British troops and supplies from the coast to where the war was taking place in the interior of South Africa.

Apple Express in "go!" magazine

My favorite magazine is Weg, South Africa's biggest travel magazine. I had a huge surprise a month or two ago when the deputy editor of Weg's sister publication go! (the English version), e-mailed me asking for permission to use a picture of the Apple Express she had seen on Port Elizabeth Daily Photo. I have said before that when I go professional one day I would love to have my photos (and perhaps articles) published in these magazines, so it was a huge honour to be asked. My photo of the Apple Express features in the go! South Africa Travel Guide - 101 great things to do.

Melon

Ever heard of a place called Melon? No? Well, the other day I discovered such a place. Melon is a siding on the narrow gauge line between the Gamtoos Valley and the Langkloof. Its basically a farming area and Melon itself is nothing more than two small buildings next to the railway line, a general dealer and two houses.

The Apple Express

The historic little Apple Express steam train that puffs out of Port Elizabeth most weekends on a day trip to Thornhill has really been struggling for the last couple of years. Not just do the Apple Express Society struggle financially, but their steam engine has been out of commission for about two years now. The have been working on restoring the engine and about three or so weeks ago they took her out on a trial run. I just got home when I heard her whistle and jumped in my car and rushed to the railway line. I just made it and while running the last bit got a couple of shots of with my camera before she passed. I am so glad that she is back in running order. The have big plans for the Apple Express and the provincial government have now come on board as well with plans of a weekend passenger service to the Langkloof area.

My friends Sue and Max (SAM) at Port Elizabeth Daily Photo was lucky enough to have been on the train for the trial run. Read more about their experience here and here.

Miniature Trains

On the first Sunday of each month the Port Elizabeth Model Locomotive Society brings out their trains to the delight of young and old.

I'm normally very stoked (excuse the expression) when I get to go on the little steam engine. It actually runs on real coal and water just like a real steam engine. It even blows off steam like his big brothers.

Each engine would tow about three little seater wagons and the trip takes you in a big figure eight. The cost is next to nothing. About R2.50 per ride. Calculate that when the US Dollar is about R10 and the British Pound about R18.

As this photo shows, the ride is as popular with the "big" kids as it is with the little ones. I for one always get excited when the Damselfly suggests that we take the Rugrats for a visit to the trains. I wonder when we will go again.

The Choo Tjoe to Mossel Bay

If i suddenly dissapear for a couple of posts, don't worry. I seem to be loosing bandwidth somewhere and have a feeling that somebody is tapping in from somewhere. I'm hoping the problem will be sorted out soon. Anyway, on with the tour.

One of the most popular tourist attractions on the Garden Route is the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train. Its usual route between George and Knysna was damaged very badly a couple of years ago and its furure was very bleak. Some bright spark then suggested that they run the other way from George and end up in Mossel Bay about 50km away. The trip takes about two or so hours and passes through a very scenic area, over a couple of rivers and along the coastline.

Mossel Bay is situated exactly halfway between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and is along with George the other big town on the Garden Route. The town is a very important commercial centre for the surrounding area. The name Mossel Bay came from some of the first European explorers to come into the bay. The found a cave near the point of the bay full of mussle shells and called it Mossel Bay. The modern thinking on the reasons for the shells was that they were part of a Khoisan midden (junk heap) in the cave.

Mossel Bay is situated inthe only fully north facing bay on the South African coastline. It has the second most temperate climate in the world after Hawaii (Port Elizabeth is apparently fourth on that list) and has some beautiful beaches. Now this is not to scare anybody off from swimming there, but the ocean outside the bay is also one of the best areas in South Africa (after Gans Bay and False Bay) to do cage diving to watch the Great White Sharks.

The thing that Mossel Bay is most famous for is the fact that this is the spot where Bartholomew Dias became the first (known) European explorer to set foot in SA in 1488. In 1988 a replica of his Caraval was built in Portugal for the 500th anniversary of the event and was sailed to Mossel Bay. The replica is the centre peace of the Diaz Museum complex on the beachfront.

George

The town of George is one of the two big (ok, biggish) towns in the Southern Cape. Established in the early 1800's, the town was the first to be founded in the then Cape Colony by the British and was named after King George III.

Along the main road through George you will find the NG Kerk Moedergemeente (Dutch Reformed Church's Mother Congregation of the Southern Cape). The building is one of George's historic landmarks.

Georges is located at the foot of the imposing Outeniqua Mountains. The word Outeniqua means "Men laden with honey" in the Khoisan language and refers to the old days when the local Khoisan tribes went into the mountains to fetch honey from the wild bees. There are four passes that cross the mountains. The original pass was called the Cradock pass and is now a hiking trail. The second pass, the Montagu Pass follows one of the valleys through the mountain and is a gravel road that is still accessible. The "new" pass is called the Outeniqua Pass and is a awesome pass that cross the mountain into the Klein Karoo (more on that area when we get to Oudtshoorn in a couple of days).

Outeniqua Railway Museum can be found at the George station and is a big shed with a varied collection of steam trains, historic carriages, historic station goodies and vintage cars. It is from here that the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe departs. That trip we will do tomorrow.

Also departing from the Railway Museum is the Outeniqua Power Van. These historic restored electric railway vans will take you on the fourth pass up the Outeniqua Mountains, the railway pass. They will take visitors up to the top of the pass to enjoy the magnificent scenery of the mountains with it surrounding forests and plantations and the town below.

Wilderness

Before I get to today's part of the tour, I just want to answer a couple of questions that Ann had. Ann asked why the entrance through the Knysna Heads are so dangerous and if there were any plans for a breeding program for the elephants. There are several factors that make the Heads so dangerous. The entrance is about 200m wide although only about 70m are accessible to boats. There are two sandbars just outside the heads that make for the sudden development of waves, there is a submerged rock to the one side, the current through the Heads both in or out is in the region of about 11 knots which means having an engine failure could be catastrophic and lastly wind gets trapped between the Heads which is dangerous for sailing ships. That is it in a nutshell. As far as breeding of elephants go. Research show that the elephants are the same subspecies as the other elephants found in South Africa. The difference is that the have adapted to living in the forest. A couple of years ago they tried to introduce a couple of young orphaned elephants into the forest. They just cut a beeline to the nearest fields and destroyed fences in the process. Unfortunately they had to be removed.

The next stop on the tour is Wilderness. Wilderness is a lovely quite little town which has not developed as much as the other towns on the Garden Route. There is a story behind the name of a young man living in one of the town in the area long ago. He asked a girl to marry him and she said yes, but on the condition that they live out in the wilderness. Little did she know that he had a farm which he called Wilderness to accommodate this request.

This view is looking eastwards from Dolphin Point. Wilderness beach is a long stretch of sand which is very popular during the holiday season. The haziness is sea mist which hangs over the area just about permanently as it is trapped by the surrounding hillsides.

Looking west from the point you see the Kaaimans River with the Kaaimans Bridge across it. This is part of the route that the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train used to take. A couple of years ago the track was very badly damaged in heavy floods and have not been repaired. The train now runs the other way towards Mossel Bay. Tomorrow I will post about George and the next day the train and Mossel Bay will have its turn. Photos of the Choo Tjoe crossing the bridge can be found in just about any guide and photo book out there.