HAVE A WONDERFUL AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY MY FRIENDS!!
Hartebeespoort Dam is situated about half and hours drive from where I live and is nestled amongst some medium-sized mountains. The area is lush and green for most of the year with only he grass turning brown in the winter months. Some of the houses there are copies of the old Dutch houses which were put up by or early settlers.
There is a small complex where you can get a bite to eat or drink and has a small souvenier shop for the tourists.
The dam itself is fairly large and man-made, with many water sports on it from fishing, various kinds of boating and sailing, skiing etc.
Across the narrow part near the dam wall which has a hyrdo plant in it to generate elctricity, these houses can be seen but definitely not afforded, by most of our normal mortals.
Of course the area is full of flowers which in turn are full of bugs like this ladybird/bug larvae.
Spiders are everywhere even though most of the species found there are tiny.
It is a good place to go and relax. There is a houseboat which takes you out for lunchtime cruises and a small but lovely little zoo as well. The area has some nice hiking, cycling and horse riding trails so is very popular on a Sunday. The small restuarant is always full of people who come there on moterbikes for their 'breakfast-run'. For the birding enthusiast, it is a paradise.
You mentioned hiking, I suppose there are trails to the top of that mountain? It would be interesting to explore. The geology of the area is quite interesting also as it reminds me somewhat of the pluton monoliths that we have here in WNC but not quite. The strata appears to have been pushed up from the earths crust with no surrounding foothills, meaning that it cannot be very old in geological time. Wonder if or what this area looked like shortly after Pangea split up?
ReplyDeleteWell, I take that back, there appears to be some foothills, so maybe older than I surmised "pluton monoliths?"
ReplyDeleteArgh! I keep forgetting things! What kind of rock is that? Do you know? Could it be crystalized granite? Tell me...tell me... tell me... Inquiring minds want to know?
ReplyDeleteLOL!! Seems like you are looking for answers I cannot give you either. This mountain range has been puched up as in some areas you can see the layers in the rocks. Mpst of the areas around this range is privately owned so they do not allow trespasses. I have often looked for a way up there or any paths I could take as it is such a lovely area but so far, no go.
ReplyDeleteAt one point they have a cable car up to the top and most Sundays find hang gliders launching from there.
Just below this is the dam and so from the top of the hill, you have a wonderful view of it. One the otherside is mostly farmland and very pretty in the summer but somewhat barren in winter.
I noticed that in the last one, the mountain did look pushed up. I bet Elvis is under there somewhere. ; )
ReplyDeleteLOL!! I thought his song was "all shook up" not "all pushed up". LOL!!
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