Paul Sauer (Storms River) Bridge

Driving westwards from Port Elizabeth onto the world famous and beautiful Garden Route, most people fly along the N2 highway for the first 160 kilometers and make their first stop at the Petroport in the Tsitsikamma.  From here on the Garden Route offers many towns, attractions, view sites, art shops and so much more for visitors.  The Petroport is located next to the Paul Sauer Bridge and in addition to filling up cars and tummies and emptying out bladders, visitors take a walk to the lookout platform or onto the walkway next to the bridge.

The arch bridge, also known as the Storms River Bridge, was completed in 1958 and forms a major link in the National Route N2 between George and Port Elizabeth. The bridge is one of four great arch bridges crossing the deep gorges of the Tsitsikamma and is about 120 meters high.

Taking a walk across the bridge you get a good idea of the deep and narrow gorges that rip open this part of the Garden Route and you get new respect for the early travelers trying to find a way to get to the other side.  Before the bridge was built travellers had to take the Storms River Pass which was built along the old elephant trails.  The old dirt road pass is now closed to traffic and only accessible on foot and mountain bikes.

SS Mendi Memorial

 Mendi Memorial in New Brighton

There is a monument in the New Brighton township of Port Elizabeth to those who died on the SS Mendi in the First World War.  Blacks were not allowed to represent South Africa during the war as soldiers and those black people who did volunteer were sent to Europe as Labour Corps to do work like digging trenches.  The SS Mendi sailed from Cape Town transporting 823 members of the 5th Battalion, South African Native Labour Corps to France.  From Cape Town she went via Lagos to Plymouth before crossing the English Channel for Le Havre.  On 21 February 1917 at 5am in thick fog she was struck and cut almost in half by the SS Darro, an empty meat ship that was bound for Argentina.

 Inscription on the Mendi Memorial at New Brighton

616 South Africans (607 of them black troops) plus 30 British crew members died in the disaster.  The men of the South African Labour Corps came from a wide range of social backgrounds and different groups within South Africa, but the majority were from the rural areas of the Pondo Kingdom in the Eastern Cape.  Some men were killed outright in the collision while others were trapped below decks.  Many however gathered on the listing deck of the Mendi, but unfortunately very few of them could swim.

One of the most shocking parts of the incident is that the crew of the Darro made no attempt to rescue survivors and kept on sailing on.

The names of the men who died on the SS Mendi are inscribed on the Wall of Names at Freedom Park in Pretoria 

Oral history records that the men met their fate with great dignity. Their chaplain, Reverend Isaac Dyobha, is reported to have calmed the panicked men by raising his arms aloft and crying out in a loud voice:

"Be quiet and calm, my countrymen. What is happening now is what you came to do...you are going to die, but that is what you came to do. Brothers, we are drilling the death drill. I, a Xhosa, say you are my brothers...Swazis, Pondos, Basotho...so let us die like brothers. We are the sons of Africa. Raise your war-cries, brothers, for though they made us leave our assegais in the kraal, our voices are left with our bodies."

They were stomping the "death drill" as the ship went under.

Misty waterfall

By now you must surely be tired of all the Drakensberg photos that keep on appearing.  LOL! That will change soon.  We are in Mossel Bay for a week making use of a prize I won and over Easter's loooong weekend we are going camping in Knysna.  So I will shortly have loads of photos from the beautiful Garden Route to show all of you.  Stay tuned.

Greater Flamingo

This Greater Flamingo was standing sleeping on one leg in the middle of the pathway at Birds of Eden.  He wasn't bothered at all when I squeezed past him and sat down on the path to get a couple of close up shots.

Queen's Causeway

The Royal Family visited South Africa in 1947 and one of their stops was at the Royal Natal National Park which at that stage was only known as the Natal National Park.  The "royal" was added to the name following the 1947 visit. 

From the Mahai camp site you walk about 500 meters to the Cascades Waterfalls which acts as the camp's swimming area.  Just before getting to the Cascade there is a little bridge crossing the river.  The bridge is called the Queen's Causeway.  I haven't been able to find any information on the Queen's Causeway on the internet other than it being mentioned.  So here is my guess.  The bridge must have been built before the 1947 visit to enable the Royal Family to cross the river while walking up to the Cascade. 

The view from the Queen's Causeway

Bromeliad

Port Elizabeth Airforce Museum

I took the kids for a visit to the South African Airforce Museum in Port Elizabeth recently and just realised again what a gem of an attraction it is.  The museum is housed in one of the old airport hangers behind the Port Elizabeth Airport and has a very nice collection of nine aircraft and helicopters as well as other memorabilia.

Visitors to the museum are invited to get into the Impala aircraft in the picture in a flight suit for photos at an additional cost.  Well, perhaps not an additional cost as the museum doesn't have an entrance fee and visitors are only asked for a donation.  They are currently also installing an flight simulator into their Mirage which will hopefully also go a long way to attract more feet through the door.

A recent addition to the exhibit is the replica of an aircraft gun turret which the Rugrats just loved.

In the second hanger at the museum there is an outside company that runs an aircraft maintenance business.  Some of the museum's aircraft are also housed in this hanger and the kids could hardly believe thew size of the big helicopter on display.