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 so an easy walk it was not!  A mere 9 persons survived to reach Maputo (then Lourenco Marques) on 5 January 1648. Now I am wondering did they really know how far Maputo was or were they just sort of taking a guess or maybe started walking and just hoped for the best outcome possible?

The canon weighing in at 2 500 kg was manufactured in Macao, China and cast by the Bacarro family foundry.  The bronze canon was only salvaged 330 years later in 1977 and the detail is still in pristine condition.

How do you get such a heavy canon salvaged from tons of sand in the ocean floor? If anyone knows the story to this, please share it in the comments section. I would really like to know.

The canon overlooks a few rock pools and the sea and a bench provide a space to sit and contemplate or watch the dolphins frolic just behind the white of the waves.

If you are planning to do the nearby hike, make sure you take enough water and some sun protection for the round trip of 8 kilometers.  You can read more on sun wise tips at The African sun is not for sissies

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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 our Travels. We do fall in the category of believers that we can change the world one plastic piece at time (hence our no straw policy). This is part of our lifestyle. Therefore it was an easy decision to make. Above all, we are all for change. Thus, getting out of our comfort zone and making a difference.

This award is a motivation to us to do some extra work. To keep inspiring others to want to make a difference. Through the sharing of our daily lives, we would like to change the mindset of even just one person, to live a greener lifestyle, to care a little more, to love nature!

Thank you:

In conclusion, we want to thank each and every one of our followers! Those who join us on our journeys and those who took the time to vote for us. It is us, as a team, that makes a difference to a cleaner, healthier world.

Other Results:

Congratulations also to Luchae Williams from My Spreadsheet Brain (a fellow Eastern Cape Blogger), for being runner-up in not one, but TWO of the categories! Keep going, next year you will be a winner, no doubt!

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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.  No fancy gourmet stuff here.  Plain and simple all made by the friendly staff.

While waiting for our food to arrive I read the intriguing story portrayed by Jeanie Phillips about Mrs Perks, the forest fairy, weighing in at 300 lbs who could only move from the house to her enormous rocking chair on the veranda from where she dispensed medicine to the sick.

Another interesting story is that of the “Keeper of the Knysna Elephants” who became Dean at the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Ghana from 1951 -1960.

Off to the office to pick up some brochures.  There by chance we met Karel, who for 20 years tracked and looked after the elephants, and knows the forest like the back of his hand.  He will enthusiastically tell you how the naughty Kruger Park elephants escaped from the damp forest and caused havoc on nearby farms, but how good the Knysna elephants behaved by debarking the black wood and invasive wattle trees thus controlling its growth in the forest.  On the other hand kershout was favoured by the Kruger elephants.  In their own special way the elephants are the keepers of the indigenous forests of Knysna!  The same Karel of the office is the forest’s own celebrity as he was featured doing what he loves – tracking the elephants –  together with the famous researcher Gareth Patterson in an Animal Planet programme.

This is just some of the stories eagerly shared by Karel. He is such a barrel of information eagerly waiting to share it with visitors, but will never reveal the whereabouts of the remaining elusive Knysna elephants.

And when you return from the Elephant Walk, and hopefully spotted a Knysna Loerie displaying its red feathers, you can visit the little museum where you will find Old Suzi who faithfully rendered her services to the woodcutters of Knysna until 1930.

After inspecting the camping decks (some with a pitched safari tent or you can pitch your own tent) we decided that deck 3 and 4 will be our choice if we come to pitch our tent here.  If you have small children this is definitely a no-no as some of the decks are quite high.    The upside is if you dislike camping there is a self catering unit available just behind the coffee shop.

Diep Walle camping decks will see us in 2016!

*** For an interesting read visit this link***

http://africageographic.com/blog/tracking-the-elusive-knysna-elephants/

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St Francis dune vegetation

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.

A giant snail on the trail

Do take time to visit the reserve on different times of the year to experience the whole spectrum of the flora and fauna.

Flora

 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 bashing is required.  There are also a couple of geocaches (www.geocaching.com) that can be logged on the various trails.

 The tranquility of the bird hide, located near the entrance of the trail, can be utilized to observe some of the birds at a water pan.  So bring your binoculars!    If you are lucky you will spot the proud Springbuck or a plains zebra grazing in the fynbos.     Also look closer for some very interesting creatures that roam in this reserve.

A scary looking hairy worm

On the morning of our walk we did not encounter any of the various buck, but we found a lot of caracal spoor on the trail.  Don’t worry about the caracal (not the same as a lynx) as they are very shy and the possibility that you will encounter one of them is very rare.  You will be very privileged if you spot one!

Caracal spoor

Do remember that this is a nature reserve so there is always the odd possibility of snakes, especially during summer time.  Good advice is to take a walking stick when walking in the veld as well as some sunscreen and a hat for the relentless African sun.

NMMU also offers game drives, in what is probably a South African first for a university, through its private nature reserve.

 Please note that for safety purposes you need to report at the security boom when entering campus – just state that you are going to walk the Grysbok Trail and they do not have a problem.  Also sign the Visitors’ Book at the fence stile at the start of the trail to avoid any unwanted trouble as they do spot checks from time to time.

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The Hogsback Arminel Inn

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

A track leading to Keiskammahoek

Thanks to Geocaching we passed traditional huts and villages, beautiful mountain farms and forgotten small churches in this spectacular area surrounding Hogsback, Seymour, Cathcart and Keiskammahoek.

Road side to Carthcart

A small church perched on a hill

When the sun peaked for a moment through the clouds we took a walk on leave covered paths in the park and saw some magnificent birdlife, huge California redwoods, waterfalls in flood due to the incessant rain, fairy mushrooms and lush plantations.  A photographer’s dream!

Waterfalls dotted all over

Another beautiful, almost fairy-like, place visited  in my own country – a tick and a smiley on my travel bucket list!

A massive Californian redwood

Too quick the exploring of tree filled lanes in the quaint village with green pastures and  good food came to an end and we left with only the memories.

The post A WEEKEND VISIT TO HOGSBACK appeared first on TRAVELBUCKET.

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.

Rock formations outside town

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.

Old English Fort views

The fort was built by stonemason William Robertson and it was garrisoned by a company of the Gordon Highlanders who were surviviors of the Magersfontein battle.  They were camped on the original road construction site below Kalkoenkrans.  Today this is the parking area below the fort on the Montagu side.  Montagu had four small rectangular forts and a smaller circular one, all of which were instrumental in causing Commandant Gideon Scheepers and his Boer Commando of 300 men to avoid Montagu.

 Just further down the road at a spot called Lego Land a dozen or so rock climbers were honing their skills on the rock face – definitely not for me!

It was near lunchtime and seeing that we were in wine country we opted to visit Bon Courage,  which was established in the 1920’s on the farm Goedemoed.  The Dutch Reformed Church acquired the farm, closed the cellars, rooted out the vines, planted lucerne and fruit and used the farm as a training school for farm managers, but this did not work out well  so the church sold the farm again.

At Bon Courage

Usually there are a lot of people and children enjoying the hospitality of Bon Courage under an old African pepper tree, but the sky was turning grey and the wind picking up.  Luckily there is an indoor restaurant with a big fireplace for chilly winter days where lunch, and of course a glass of wine, can be enjoyed.

After lunch, and some wine, we were pretty laid back and relaxed.  As we drove into town in the late afternoon it was time for some pictures.  The red autumn vines glowed in the soft light on the white washed buildings and photo opportunities abounded.

Red vines and white washed houses

Being our last day in Montagu we took a drive on a less traveled gravel road to the nearby village of McGregor to spend some time and make a donation towards Eseltjies Rus Donkey Sanctuary where they care for abandoned and old donkeys.  Some of the donkeys really looked old and sad!

At Eseltjies Rus

 The weekend was coming to an end, but before we hit the road we popped in at the Montagu Dried Fruit factory shop in Bath Street which offers the public a range of delicious dried fruit and nuts at wholesale prices.   Now we were stocked with some healthy stuff for the cold winter days!

Cat sig

On our way to our  last treat of coffee and something sweet as a final farewell to Montagu we spot this sign in the village.

Our last cuppa at the Montagu Dried Fruit Company

It was time to leave …

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