Karoo rain selfie

I enjoy taking selfies.  It is something one has to do if you travel solo a lot (which I normally do when travelling for business) and want to at least be in a picture.  Selfies are also a way to tell people "Look where I am and you're not" making it a great tourism marketing tool.  Driving back to Port Elizabeth from Johannesburg I was on a quiet road between Steynsburg and Hofmeyr in the Karoo and stopped to stretch my legs.  There wasn't a car in sight so I decided to do something I have seen a lot of bloggers and Instagrammers do.  Take a selfie with the camera on road level while standing right in the middle of the road.  Plus it started raining so I could do the stretch out my arms and feel the rain pose.  This was the result.  One moment I like the picture and the next it feels all wrong (what with lines and thirds and all).  I know I need to work on it a bit but lessons have been learned ala Heyneke Meyer and the Springboks.  So what do you think? 

Karoo windpomp

Two birds with one stone.  In this case two Karoo icons in one shot.  A windpomp and a couple of Karoo koppies.  In this case the Koffiebus and Teebus outside Steysnburg.

Karoo road works stop-go scenery

Some people absolutely hate stop-goes at road works.  I used to be one of those but recently have changed my whole outlook on them.  I make a point of it to get out the car at each one to stretch my legs and to take in the surroundings.  Even chat to the driver of the car in front or behind me.  A week or two ago I drove up to Johannesburg for the Getaway Show and encountered road works on the way up just north of Middleburg and on the way back just south of Cradock. 

 

My stop outside Middelburg was early morning on a grey cool day in the Karoo.  While the cars were passing from the front I was taking photos of the silhouetted Karoo koppies with a farm fence in the foreground.  Spot the windpomp on the left?

The drive back had me encounter a spot of rain.  Something that is always welcomed in the Karoo.  The road works on the N10 has been going for a little while now and they are progressing quite nicely.  The rain was brought on by a cold front and I loved seeing the mist on the mountains next to the road.  Other drivers standing at the stop go usually look at me curiously when I pull my camera out at spots like this while everybody else is sitting in their car being agitated.  I hope them seeing me take photos make them notice the surroundings a bit more as well.

A quick trip through the Bloukrans River Pass

The Bloukrans River Pass must be one of the most beautiful passes in the Southern Cape and Garden Route areas.  Unfortunately after the 2006 floods part of the road was damaged and rather than repairing it, the road was closed.  Although officially closed it isn't blocked off and there is nothing stopping cars from driving down it so that is just what I did a couple of weeks ago returning to Port Elizabeth from The Crags.  There are sections where there has been rockfalls and one has to be careful, but nothing so bad that you can't safely negotiate the road.  The nice part of it is that you are unlikely to encounter any other cars so there is a sense of peacefulness and isolation to the pass.  We stopped at the bottom to have a look at the river, but as it was a rainy day we didn't stay long.  Also the reason for a lack of more pics from the trip.

I am a huge "Walking Dead" fan and driving along the pass' leave covered road gave me that feeling of being somewhere in the series.  If you don't follow the series you won't get it, but I'm sure there are a few who do.  I'll hopefull get another chance to drive through again soon and hope to snap more pics while the sun shines.

Cradock Moederkerk

Driving through the Karoo Heartland town of Cradock the other day I just couldn't help but to stop and snap a few pics of the "Moederkerk" in town.  I've played around with a couple of effects and this is what I came up with. Oh yes, and what is a post without a little bit of interesting historic info?

 

The first Dutch Reformed congregation (and also the first church) in Cradock was established in 1824.  The present building was completed on the original site as the first church in 1868.  The building's design was based on St. Martins-in-the-Field on Trafalgar Square in London.  At the  opening ceremony the builder refused to hand over the door keys as he hadn't been paid everything owned to him (sounds familiar?).  Appeals when out to those in attendance and an amount of money was raised on the spot, enough to satisfy the builder.  During the Anglo-Boer War (1899 - 1902) the church roof was used as a lookout post by the British troops who garrisoned the town. as it was the highest spot in town. 

 

Hart Cottage at Glen Avon Farm

I told you a little bit of the history of Glen Avon Farm and the historic Glen Avon Watermill outside Somerset East in my previous post.  Glen Avon has a number of other old buildings on the property with the oldest being Hart Cottage.  Built around 1817, Hart Cottage is the only remaining of three of the original cottages built on the farm.  It's was painstakingly renovated and is being used as self catering accommodation for visitors to the farm.  In the background on the right is one of the farm's two old homesteads.

The historic Glen Avon Watermill

A week or two three ago I got to spend an evening on the historic Glen Avon Farm at the foot of the Bosberg Mountains outside Somerset East.  A stay at Glen Avon consist of true farm hospitality like you can only get in the Karoo and the B&B's surroundings is just what you need to get away from the city and take in farm life.  The highlight of my stay though, which was way too short, was a visit to the historic Glen Avon Watermill.

 

The history of Glen Avon is closely intertwined with that of Robert Hart.  Hart first came to the Cape in 1795 as an 18 year old private.  He returned there a second time as an officer (and a married man) in 1807 and was stationed in Grahamstown under Colonel John Graham.  Robert Hart was put in charge of the experimental farm which provided supplies to the army.  In 1825 the farm was closed down and the town of Somerset East was laid out on the land.  Hart was given land next to the town where he built a homestead.  The farm was called Glen Avon and it was here where Hart pioneered Marino sheep farming and also grew citrus fruit and grain.  The grain production in the area became so successful that he decided to build a commercial mill to be used for all the neighbouring farms.  

The equipment and machinery for the mill was imported from Leeds in England, brought by ship to Algoa Bay and carted by ox wagon across the Zuurberg Pass to the farm.  Although the mill hasn't worked since the mid 1990's most of it is still in working condition. 

 

The one part of the mill that is in visible need of repair is the chute that funnels the water to the wheel itself.  Unfortunately the floor wasn't replaced properly by the contractor when it was last renovated and have rusted holes throughout the length of it.  How I would have loved to see that old wheel turn. 

 

During our tour around and through the mill I photographed a couple of interesting signs, but I have to say the one that drew the most attention was the one that said "No smoking or spitting".  I imagine it was to make sure nothing unwanted landed in the flour.

 

The mill has three levels inside and Bill Brown, a sixth generation descendent of Robert Hart, explained the whole process that was followed when the mill was in use.  On the last leg of the visit he took us up rickety steps to the top level and you won't believe what we discovered there.  The Bat Cave.  No Batman though.  Needless to so a couple of ladies in the group high tailed back down the steps to get outside at this stage.  Anyhow, Batman or no Batman, the mill was so worth visiting.