View of Algorax

Everybody knows the big blue factory next to the N2 just after you passed over the Swartkops River on the way into Port Elizabeth.  The factory is Algorax and is a carbon black factory.  Carbon black is mainly used as a reinforcing filler in tires and other rubber products.  With three of South Africa's biggest tyre manufacturers situated in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro the factory is situated within close range of all of these.  This is the view of the factory from Bluewater Bay across the Swartkops River. 

The road is long

Port Elizabeth has some beautiful rural areas all around it with many dirt road crossing through.  Dirt road are so synonymous with rural areas in the country and I know of some people who plan their travels in such a way that they drive as many dirt roads as possible.

Boardwalk Fountain Spectacular

In December the Boardwalk launched its Lake Spectacular with fountains on the Boardwalk Lake lit up by colourful lights and "dancing" to the tune of music.  They have one show daily from Sundays to Thursday and three performances on Fridays and Saturdays.  The attraction has become one of the highlights for visitors to the city and draws big numbers especially during the summer months.  The times do change from season to season so I don't want to publish times and then have fingers pointed at me when somebody goes at the wrong time and miss the show. #justsaying 

Boardwalk wonderland

After dark the Boardwalk Complex truly turns into a wonderland with all the lights lining the building and reflecting in the water of the lake.

Quarry flower

Rusty Roadsigns

There is one set of road signs that always grab my attention.  I may not pass there often, but the rusty road signs on the old R335 just north of the Zuurberg Pass is my favourite road sign in the whole world.  From this intersection there are four road going in each of the wind directions.  South will take toy towards Addo and Port Elizabeth via the old Zuurberg Pass, the original road north from Algoa Bay.  South takes you to Somerset East, west towards Jansenville (it will take you to Somerset East as well) and east to the N10 that crosses the Olifantskop Pass from Port Elizabeth heading north.

Sweet thorn sunset

Africa has the most beautiful sunsets. 

This one taken through a sweet thorn tree just north of Port Elizabeth

Bric and brac shopping at Art in the Park

Tomorrow is the last Sunday of the month which means it's Art in the Park in St Georges Park.   

I love game drives

I love game drives.  Being out in the open and fresh air with a breeze in your face and the sound of birds around.  Watching animals in their natural environment.  The sun rising or setting on the horizon.  Sharing special moments and sightings with loved ones and seeing the reaction of strangers from all over the world to those moments.  I love game drives. 

Two bridges and a drift

On the way back from spending a day in the Gamtoos Valley, I decided to take a drive through the Van Stadens Pass and stop at the bottom to snap a couple of pics (and log the geocache hidden there).  Doing some rock hopping I got to a point from where I could see both the new and old bridges as well as the original drift through the river.

 

The river and original pass was named after one of the area's pioneer farmers - Marthinus van Staden, who was the first person to plot a basic route through the Van Stadens River Gorge in the 1850's.  In 1867 Thomas Bain was brought in by the Cape Government to rebuild the pass so that ox wagon traffic could safely travel through the pass.  In 1868, barely a year later, a massive flood washed away major sections of the pass and bridge, which resulted in a complete rebuild.  Over the next eighty years the pass saw regular improvements and widening and it was finally tarred between 1950 and 1953.  In 1971 the N2 bridge over the gorge was opened.  It took 4 years to complete (1967 - 1971) and is the 1st of 5 large concrete bridges along the N2.  The bridge is an arch bridge design with a height of 140 m and a span of 198.1 m.  

The concrete remains of the original drift over the river can still be seen amongst the rocks and boulders.