Roxanne Reid's Blog, page 28

All you need to know about Stanford village

The little village of Stanford in the Overberg is just under a two-hour drive from Cape Town and increasingly popular as a getaway for a few days. There's lots to do and see, from action and adventure to bird watching and whale watching, as well as great wineries and restaurants. It even has its own brewery. Here's all you need to know about Stanford village in one easy-to-digest infographic.
This infographic was created by Xplorio for the Stanford community. Other posts about Stan...

Kruger paradise for photographers and birders

Photo: Arno Meintjies By Roxanne Reid
If you’ve been to the Kruger National Park but never sat for acouple of hours at Sunset Dam a few minutes' drive from Lower Sabie, you are obviouslyneither a birder nor a photographer. On a recent visit we had to share the space with a posse ofother cars, but it was worth it for the chance to see hippos and crocs by theton, as well as a feast of birds.

All this draws casual observers who stay onlya few minutes. It also draws die-hard photographers who a...

Enjoy virtual travels through the Karoo

If you love the back roads and little dorpies of the dry South African heartland that is the Karoo, you have two choices. You can fill up with high-priced fuel and go exploring on four wheels, or you can put yourself in the hands of authors Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit and let them be your virtual guides. They’ve made it their mission to travel to every corner of the Karoo to meet people and document the way of life. Now, with the launch of their ebook store, it just got easier to enjoy...

Oudtshoorn’s buildings – a photo blog

By Roxanne Reid
The Klein Karoo town of Oudtshoorn is best known for the Cango Cavesnearby and its heyday during the ostrich feather boom of 1900–1914. Feathers were high-fashion items that fetched enormous prices, bringing wealth that was reflected in the sandstone buildings of the era. Discover some of Oudtshoorn’s buildings in this photo blog. CP Nel Museum CP Nel Museum, 3 Baron van Rheede Street, 1906 The building that houses Oudtshoorn’s wonderful CP Nel Museum dates back to 19...

15 things to do in Prince Albert, Karoo

By Roxanne Reid
If wide open spaces and a deafening stillness appeal to you, if small Karoo towns make you happy, then Prince Albert – 390km from Cape Town – is your kind of town. But just because it’s peaceful, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on. Here are some of the many and variedthings to do in Prince Albert, Karoo. 1. Visit the Fransie Pienaar Museum in the main road for displays of glass and porcelain, musical instruments, weapons, Victorian clothing and of course information...

101 Kruger Tales

By Roxanne Reid
A woman takes a dip in a croc-infested dam. An angry elephant flips a car on to its roof. A man drives hundreds of kilometres with a venomous snake at his feet. A family gets caught in rising floodwaters. A lioness opens a car door with her teeth. These are just five of the amazing stories you can read about in 101 Kruger Tales . If you think such things can’t happen to you, think again. None of these encounters have been told by guides or rangers with privileged backstage...

Stay at the Dorpsplaas Cottage in Prince Albert

By Roxanne Reid
Prince Albert in the Karoo has changed and grown a lot in the last decade or two. Now it’s known less as the town named after Queen Victoria’s husband than for its olive festival and local markets, its artistic refugees escaping Big City life, its renovated old houses and Karoo stoepies. Next time you visit, you might want to stay at the Dorpsplaas Cottage in Prince Albert. We recently drove over the Swartberg Passto Prince Albert – something you really have to do at least...

Drive the Swartberg Pass in the Karoo

By Roxanne Reid
‘Show him an easy place to make a road and he shakes his head and says no. But show him a place where a monkey can’t get out and he’ll jump at it like a cat.’ So someone said of engineer and road builder Thomas Bain at the opening ceremony of theSwartberg Pass in the Karoo. Today, nearly 130 years later, the gravel pass that Bain built is still one of South Africa’s finest. On a road trip to the Karoo in May we drove north over the Swartberg Pass to Prince Albert, looking d...

Suurbraak at the foot of the Tradouw Pass

Suurbraak and Tradouw Pass By Roxanne Reid
Think giant oaks and the burble of water in little streams; think historical 19th century buildings and bright little houses in a thin ribbon along the roadside, yellow and purple and mauve shining in the sunlight. This is Suurbraak at the foot of the Tradouw Pass. It’s only 10km off the N2 but about 100 years away in time.
You’ll find Suurbraak between Swellendam in the Overberg and Barrydale in the Karoo. It started life as a mission station fo...

Meet the ghosts of Prince Albert in the Karoo

It’s getting dark. The main street is almost deserted. Out of the quietness emerges a dramatic figure in a long black cloak, seeming to float above the pavement rather than walk on it. We’ve asked to meet the ghosts of Prince Albert in the Karoo and if this is a way to set the scene on this cold evening, it’s working. Luckily, it’s just our guide and story teller, Ailsa Tudhope. She came to the small Karoo village of Prince Albert in 1998 and started collecting stories. Now she’s going to...