South Africa - Knysna Elephant Park, South Africa

Knysna Elephant Park

Elephants are the most amazing animals and there are numerous tales written about them.

Whilst it is always best to view these magnificent beasts in places like the Kruger Park, sometimes mingling with the orphaned elephants at Knysna Elephant Park can be very special.

The park was founded in 1994 to care for orphaned African elephants. The facility offers individual history on many of the elephants that have been looked after. Some remain as part of the current herd whilst others have died or been relocated to other reserves.

The outdoor space is open to both elephants, zebra and humans and feeding of the elephants is a must! Just feel the strength of those trunks.....

The elephants are housed inside at night although they are free to go out should they wish to do so. However, being snug and warm during the cold winter nights must be truly special for these beauties! 

One can book a "room" above the boma should you wish to watch the ellies sleeping/snoring oor doing whatever ellies do at bedtime.

 It was an amazing privilege to walk amongst these huge creatures, watch them eating, watch them heading for the feeding bar as each new batch of visitors arrived. 

The handlers stay with you for a long as you want to just watch and learn. 

Sally is the matriarch to the herd - she was born in 1989 and saved from culling in the kruger Park. She is the biggest elephant.

Keisha was born in 2003 and is identified by the holes in her ears and her tiny tusks.

Thandi is the first born elephant at the park and boasts a very wrinkly forehead!

Somebody's legs are rather wrinly as well.

 

The facility has loads of interesting info on elephants so it truly is a place to visit whilst in the Knysna area and more so if one is unable to visit either Addo Elephant Park or Kruger Park

© Judelle Drake

                    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

                For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

                                      www.bradclin.com

South Africa - Montagu Pass, George

Montagu Pass - South Africa

Do you feel like stepping back in time?  Back to 1848?

Then take a drive down the historic Montagu Pass to experience the oldest, unaltered pass still in use in South Africa! It's only 17.3 kms one way - do drive in both directions to fully get the feel of this magnificent pass.

This pass climbs to an altitude of 735m and was completed in 1848. This pass was built to connect George to Oudtshoorn and remains an incredible feat of engineering to this day.

It took 3 years to built this pass - can you imagine the blood,sweat and tears? Convicts were used in the building of the pass which replaced the difficult Cradock Pass. Today the Cradock Pass remains only as a hiking trail.

The engineer in charge of the building of the Montagu Pass was Henry Fancourt White from Australia.
The pass is named after John Montagu who was the Colonial Secretary of the Cape in the 1840's.

Imagine the joy of farmers who required 3 days journey to get between Oudtshoorn and George - with the new pass this was reduced to hours!!

Get the feel of the 1800's as you slowly drive this narow, gravel road. It's narrow and twisty and the ox wagons would have tested the driver's skill in negotiating the bends. One can just about hear the shouting and cracking of the whip.







The gravel road ends at the tiny hamlet of Herold where we discovered "Over the Mountain Guest Farm" They offer tea's and light meals and we opted for THE most delicious chocolate cake and pancakes!

The train line between George and Oudtshoorn 

The highlight of our journey was spotting a train on the line that runs between George and Oudtshoorn. There are not many trains on this route anymore so this was a real treat!

Such a short pass, so much history and now a well deserved National Monument.

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

                For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

                                      www.bradclin.com

South Africa - Fun on the Power Van, George

Power Van - Outeniqua Mountains, George

Looking for something fun to do in George (Western Cape, South Africa)?
Look no further than than a trip on the "Power Van" into the Outeniqua mountains high above George. You will be "squashed" into 2 small carriages while chugging along from the starting point in the George Railway Museum.

The six cylinder diesel engine carries everybody with ease and the views are incredible.

The spot where water was taken on by the steam locomotives 

Think back to 1908 when the grueling work of building this railway was begun by 700 convicts.
Work started from the George side and the aim was to connect George to Oudtshoorn by rail. Before the completion of the railway, a farmer would take approx.5 days by ox-wagon to take his produce to market in Oudtshoorn and then back with fruit, fertilizer and whatever else was available.

The line is very close to rockface in many places so huge amounts of dynamite would have been required to blast a passage or a tunnel.

Outeniqua Mountains

This must have been incredibly difficult work with pick axes and shovels plus the dust and noise of  continual blasting.

The Oudtshoorn side was started in 1911 and over 2500 people worked on this railway prior to its completion.

The trip goes up and up, passing through forest, fynbos and waterfalls plus the darkness of 6 tunnels!

The line runs parallel at times to the old Montague Pass, which in itself, is another engineering feat.

All 3 passes, the old dirt road, the railway pass plus the "new" road can be seen at various times from the Power Van.
The valleys and mountains are so very,very awe-inspiring.




It is suggested that one takes a picnic for the 30 minute stop where the old water tanks used to be (for the steam trains) The building is now abandoned.

The driver swops seats on the way down and everybody turns around - its rather fun as one faces back downhill again. There are 2 sets of controls! Commentary is provided and we stopped twice while waiting to hear about another train on the line. The line is still used, albeit not that frequently anymore.

The Outenique Transport Museum is well worth viewing either before or after your trip. The Model Railway exhibition is incredible but only open on certain days as this is run by volunteers who are totally passionate about all things "railway"

The Railway exhibits are fascinating - certainly now a bygone era. Vintage cars, in mint condition,  are also on display.

A highly recommended outing!

During high season, pre-booking is recommended

The Railway Museum, 2 Mission Street, George.

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

                For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

                                      www.bradclin.com

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