South Africa Archives - TRAVELBUCKET

THE TALE OF THE SACRAMENTO

Like many old artefacts there is a story behind the story and so does the Sacramento canon also have a back story. This canon was on the deck of the Portuguese galleon Sacramento when it ran aground on 30 June 1647 off the coast of Port Elizabeth – for those of you who do not know Jan van Riebeeck only arrived in 1652 in the Cape of Good Hope so five years prior to old Jan setting foot ashore at the Cape of Good Hope. What caused the disaster and how many people were aboard the Sacramento is unknown, but 72 made it to shore. After 10 days the group decided to walk from Port Elizabeth to Maputo – which is about 1 300 km away by the way – from where they planned to get a ship to Europe. It must have been hostile and wild country back then… Read more >

SOUTH AFRICAN BLOG AWARDS 2018: BEST ENVIRONMENTAL BLOG

It is official! Travelbucket was awarded the title of Best Environmental Blog during the 2018 South African Blog Awards! A full list of all the winners and runners-up in all the categories is available here. We are still stunned! We woke up one day, going about our business to save the planet one plastic piece at a time, when suddenly, we were hit by the big surprise of the announcement of the Category Winners and the Runners-up. Not in our wildest dreams could we ever hope to achieve something like this. Blogging is not about winning, it’s about sharing and learning from others. Travelbucket is a true reflection of our everyday adventures as a family. A family who has a passion for nature and it’s wildlife. We appreciate the fauna and flora that we are blessed with. Yes, we do set goals for ourselves. We do have Bucket Lists on… Read more >

FOREST LEGENDS

While everyone else was hanging out on the beach for the first day of January 2016 our family went to visit the Forest Legends Museum on the gravel road as you traverse the Prince Alfred Pass from Knysna to Uniondale. What a pleasure to drive through the damp forest and then unexpectedly arrive on top of the hill at the coffee shop. It was a lot busier than we expected. Families with grannies and young children were having something to bite in the shade of a tree, others were taking hikes and on the decks families camped out and were just relaxing and enjoying nature. This is far from the maddening crowds and cell phone towers. First we ordered something to eat from the coffee shop – a vetkoek stuffed with curried mince, a home made hamburger and toasted bacon and egg sandwich washed down with delicious home made gemmerbier. … Read more >

GRYSBOK TRAIL @ NMMU

It was an early rise and shine on a Saturday morning for a walk on the Grysbok trail. The whole of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) campus was declared a Private Nature Reserve in 1983. The 830 ha is dominated by the St Francis Dune Thicket vegetation. This fynbos vegetation is highly threatened due to agricultural clearing and coastal development. Despite some problems with invasive Australian Acacias the vegetation is in very good condition. The trail meanders through the reserve, providing opportunities for observing the exciting fauna and flora of the area. Do take time to visit the reserve on different times of the year to experience the whole spectrum of the flora and fauna. There are two trail options that can be walked, a 3.2 km or a 2.5 km loop. Both trails cover relatively flat terrain and are suitable for moderately fit people and no bundu… Read more >

A WEEKEND VISIT TO HOGSBACK

During December of 2013 we took a quick pre-Christmas break to Hogsback to celebrate our daughter’s successful academic year. The road took us high up into the Amathole mountains amongst cloud and rain. As we arrived at the beautiful Hogsback Arminel Inn the rain was pouring down and our hopes to do some walking diminished. So we were on to plan B at J R R Tolkien’s place of Hobbits and fairies! Plan B included driving the road (indicated on maps as a normal road, but do not be fooled as this has degraded to a 4×4 track) from Hogsback to Seymour, which was on hubby’s to do list, as well as picking up some caches in the area. However the weather did not have a sunny outlook so we followed the road less traveled through the forest to Keiskammehoek Thanks to Geocaching we passed traditional huts and villages,… Read more >

A WEEKEND IN MONTAGU

An all girls weekend wandering took us to Montagu in the Boland region. The town was named after the former secretary of the Cape Colony, John Montagu. It was also known as Agter Cogman’s Kloof. With its picturesque setting Montagu is famous for the mineral springs nestled on the verge of the town, impressive rock formation as you drive westwards on the R62 towards Robertson, outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and rock climbing, good food and local wines and of course the Montagu Dried Fruit Company. We used Paul and Shirley’s Koo Karoo Cottages as our base and explored the town and surrounds. Our first wandering took us to the Old English Fort – declared a monument in 1999 – perching on top of the “tunnel” in Cogmanskloof about 4 km from Montagu as you drive towards Ashton on the famous R62. The fort was built by stonemason William… Read more >