On 15 March 2019 the catchment area of the Baviaanskloof had a down pour of about 75 mm in a time span of 40 minutes which caused huge damage to roads and alike.  Once through Raaskrans and crossing the first “drif” we noticed that big amounts of water rushed through the kloof.  Debris was hanging from trees to indicate the water’s reach.  This was the trend for the next two days – short and easy water crossing, longer water crossings, washed away water crossings and then there is the (in)famous water crossing at Smitskraal.  This is where we also encountered two bikers that was soaking wet, but with big smiles on their faces.  They just enjoyed the ride!

The 197 km long kloof is adorned with interesting names such as Vensterklip, where a skirmish between English and Boer took place, Doodsklip, Queen Victoria’s bust, Studtis and Babes se winkel.  If you get to know the history of the kloof you will also learn that JG Strijdom was born in the kloof and a book by PH Nortjè is based on the kloof.  Other points of interest are the Campbell monument which was erected to commemorate the floods of 1916 where several people succumbed to flood water rushing through the area.  The little DR Church with its red roof was also relocated to Zaaimansvlakte after it has been washed away in the 1916 floods.  So, there are a lot of sadness and interesting stories in the kloof if you look closer.  Take your time when you pass through the kloof. You will encounter different types of traffic from bicycles to donkey carts and beyond.  

If you are not comfortable with no cell phone reception and be disconnected from the outside world, this is not the place for you.   In the kloof people are friendly and always have time for a bit of chatter.  Be courteous and enquire about their wellbeing as well.  Sometimes you, as the visitor, is the only contact they might have with the outside world for some weeks.  Life is slow here.  Enjoy the ride.  At the moment you will definitely need a 4×4 to traverse the kloof as no road repairs were done to date.  It might also be a good idea to make sure your spare tyre is in good condition.  Despite driving careful we got a cut on the outside wall of one of our tyres, luckily no big damage, but come prepared. 

Lastly, remember this is also a popular ride for motorbike enthusiasts.  Be aware of them and especially around corners stick to your side and on steep inclines give them right of way – they will appreciate it!  If an accident happen here it takes hours to get help to this remote part of the world. 

A good place to stop and stock up while you enjoy a coffee moment is at Tolbos Deli and Bistro (http://www.tolbos.co.za)  where you can buy anything from wine, jams and rusk that will make your trip more enjoyable.  Also chat with the friendly owner, Hetsie, who is always on the ready the help with some advice.

Some need to knows:

Driving conditions are slow

Watch out for wildlife – kudu and baboon are abundant

This is a water scarce area – keep water sources pristine

Watch out for motorcycles

There are camping (our favourite is Doringkloof) and various guesthouse options available in the kloof

There is no cell phone reception

Nights can get chilly, pack something warm even though it is summer

The post ….. AND WE ARE OFF TO THE BAVIAANSKLOOF MEGA RESERVE appeared first on TRAVELBUCKET.

Some of you will know the dam by its former name of Paul Sauer who was a prominent politician on the South African scene. However, after 1995 the name of the dam was changed to the Kouga Dam. The dam was built in 1957 for irrigation purposes in the valley and to supply drinking water to the greater Port Elizabeth area. Something that I did not know was that the Kouga Dam also serves as a flood-control dam (or as we say in Afrikaans a koffer dam) for floods originating from the catchment area of the Kouga river and to decrease the effects of these floods in the lower Gamtoos area.

Below the dam wall, albeit the present drought, there was a lush green picnic site. Being a Sunday and over a long weekend I sort of expected that it will be packed with visitors. It was empty. As we were departing a family with small kids arrived and unpacked the car to spend the day kicking ball and playing with the kids in the shade of the trees. It was apparent that they know this hidden spot very well.

We took the short steep drive to the top of the dam wall. Standing on the double curvature wall of 82 meters in height we had a view over the rest of the dam. The dam was only about 49 percent full and littered with branches of dead trees. It was disheartening to see how low the water levels of the dam was at the moment. On the other hand it must be an impressive sight when it is full and the dam basin stretches back 34 kilometres storing 128 million cubic meters – my brain cannot even calculate what so much water must look like!

The little tunnel next to the dam wall created some good photo opportunities and like everyone else we stopped to snap some pictures.
Standing on the dam wall you realise the impact of the drought in the catchment areas of the dam and the enormous part water plays in our daily lives. Without water there is no life – I pray that rain will fall soon in the Baviaanskloof.

—oOo—

Need to know:
Money matters: No entrance fee payable
Where : GPS coordinate 33.7406°S 24.5877°E
Why: It is a good place to teach the young one about caring for our water resources
Facilities: Braai area under shade and ablution facilities

—oOo—

I have an interest in dams and water levels in general and it will be interesting to monitor the level of the dam. When you have visited the dam please drop the percentage displayed on the board near the causeway in the comments section below the post.

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At the time that the farmer, Winston le Roux, embarked on building this cable way in 1967 on his farm in the Baviaanskloof (Eastern Cape) he was 33 years old.  Winston set out identifying the right spot for the cable way by consulting aerial photographs that was available from the Department of Agriculture. This was before GPS’s or drones arrived on the scene!

Winston sourced the components of the cable from the nearby EP Cement quarries at Lime Bank, Loerie who operated an 11 kilometer cable way from the quarry at Lime Bank to Loerie station. The quarry did maintenance at regular intervals and some of the components of the cable way became redundant and Winston saw the opportunity to salvage it and build his cable way.

More than 1 200 meters of cable were needed to cross the gorge at ground level. To bring the first wire cable through the gorge took him more than six weeks and Winston only used his regular farm workers to accomplish this mammoth task, using hand signals and binoculars to communicate.

BUT WHY?

Winston had two farms on either side of the gorge and had to traverse two very steep passes of a distance of 48 kilometers to get produce to the Port Elizabeth markets. A one-way trip with a fully loaded truck took 3.5 hours of concentration and exhaustion. The cable way reduced this time to a mere 12 minutes.  As far as it is known this is the only private cable way in South Africa. If you look closely you will notice the lettering W le R in the concrete of the anchor pole.

The span across the gorge is 410 meters and 287 meters deep and when you  compare this with the Bloukrans bridge at Storms river which is 216 metres above the river bed with a span of 272 meters it is even a greater accomplishment.

Hats off to Winston le Roux!  He surely is a legend of the Baviaanskloof.

—oOo—

The full story can be read in the book Beautiful Baviaans.

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