Nature's Valley panorama

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

Climbing The Point at Natures Valley

I'm starting to plan all my trips and holidays not just around what I want to see and do, but also around where there are Geocaches in the area.  If you don't know much about Geocaching then you would wonder why and how it could enhance a holiday, but believe me it does.  It often takes you to spots you may not have planned to visit otherwise but once you've been there you are really glad you did.  One of those on our recent visit to Natures Valley was The Point.  The Point is situated on the eastern side of the Natures Valley beach where the Otter Trail comes out with a magnificent view of the coastline.

At first the Damselfly wasn't too keen to climb to the top with the KidZ and I, but relented in the end and tagged along.  Although its quite a steep climb its not too difficult with steps aiding you most of the way.  We had to keep telling the KidZ not to get to close to the side as they were flying up ahead of us, laughing at their unfit parents huffing and puffing behind them.  Looking back as you climb higher and higher you start to realize that you will be in for an absolute scenic view treat once you are at the top.

Before we knew it we were there and turning back this was the view waiting for us. WOW! Through and through worth it and highly recommended to anybody visiting the Natures Valley area.  Even the Damselfly couldn't help but to agree.  Oh yes, and I did find the cache which has been up there for 12 years already making it the oldest cache I've found so far.

Heading for the waves

A couple of surfers heading into the sea at Pollok Beach in Port Elizabeth to surf at Pipe

The road through the Overberg

A recent road trip to Cape Town for work just proved yet again that there is no such thing as wasted time to be on the road between two places.  It will take a bit longer to get to the destination but make time to stop, even if its just to enjoy the scenery and countryside.  I did just that while driving through the Overberg with a quick leg stretcher at a picnic spot.

Sunset at the Crags

You know the saying when something goes on till the cows come home?  Well, a day literally does exactly the same.  While camping at The Crags the cows came by to be milked at about three in the afternoon and then headed home to the meadows just after five thirty... when the sun heads for the hills.  This means the day does go on till the cows come home. 

Outeniqua Yellowwood Tree at Natures Valley

I used to travel down the Garden Route quite often while I was still tour guiding but these days don't often get a chance to go further than the Tsitsikamma.  Driving down to Natures Valley on our recent Easter weekend Sho't Left in the area I had to stop at one of the view points on the way down on the Grootrivier Pass.  Its not a view point as much as it's a tree point.  The view is of a little valley next to the pass with a massive Outeniqua Yellowwood standing out above the rest of the forest.

 

The Outeniqua Yellowwood (Afrocarpus falcatus) is South Africa's national tree.  It is an evergreen conifer that often grows up to about 45 meters tall with some known to reach 60 meters.  Some of the largest individuals occur in the Knysna, Tsitsikamma and Amatole montane forests, where some specimens are over 1000 years old.  Outeniqua Yellowwoods are protected by law and can only be cut down with a special permit.

 

Just a couple of other facts courtesy of Wikipedia - The trunk can be 2 to 3 meters wide with a gray-brown to reddish and smooth but flaky bark.  The leaves are arranged in spirals on the branches.  They are small and narrow, up to 4.5 centimeters long by about 6 millimeters wide.  The yellowwood is a dioecious species, with male and female structures on separate plants. The male cone is brown with spiralling scales while the female cone has one scale bearing one seed between one and two centimeters long.

A dairy farm experience in the Crags

A holiday experience can be made up of anything and for our Easter long weekend Sho't Left to the Crags and Natures Valley we were expecting it to be made up of camping, swimming in the Natures valley lagoon, walks and Geocaching.  Little did we expect a farm experience that got the KidZ a lot more excited than any of the mentioned activities.  The campsite was situated across the road from the Natures Way Farmstall which on its turn is located on a working dairy farm.  The farm milks Jersey cows twice a day and every morning and afternoon the cows are herded past the campsite to the milking shed and then back again to the meadows where they spend the rest of their time.

The Tsitsikamma Sunrise Caravan Park where we stayed had on their website that you can go and see how the cows get milked across the road at the farm stall.  Little did we know that its not just one or two cows but close to 200 of them.  On our first morning there we went to find out what time they milk and were told 4pm to 6pm.  This meant that the KidZ were watch watching all day long and made sure we were back in time from the beach to go and see the cows.  Not just was it the KidZ first time in a commercial dairy but also my own.  I was snapping pictures and asking questions while trying to stay out the workers' way best I could to allow them to continue with their work.  After a while one of the workers called the KidZ over and showed them how the machines worked.  They even got to try their own hands at milking and Drama Princess got to put the milking machine on one of the cows. WOW! And there I thought we may just get to have a peek before being asked to leave.  Kudos to these workers to take time out in between doing their job to show these city folk what they do even if they don't have to.

We were barely out the milking shed and the farm's foreman went past with a buck bucket full of milk for the calves.  Before we could say a word the KidZ were off after him to give a hand and he didn't complain because it meant he could stand back and let the KidZ do their thing.  The feeding process is a bit more "advanced" than standing with bottles but on the other hand its designed for one person to feed a couple of calves at a time.  While the KidZ were busing the foreman explained to us the whole process of rearing calves, when they get weened from milk and where the go when they get a bit older.  In addition to all of this we also got to see a calf being born on our last afternoon there and all in all this accumulates and contributed to a much more memorable holiday than just hikes, Geocaching and swimming.