Maggey

First -thank you all for your recommendations
for the Garden Route (Garden Route Oct post)
Have just discovered I booked Eagles Crag
one day earlier than I thought.I need help replanning my itinerary.

Orginally I had 4nights in Cape Town but I'm
thinking of reducing it to 3nights so
I can keep 4nights along the Garden Route.
My last night has to be in Port Elizabeth

I'm praying the N2 will be accesible by
the time we arrive in mid Oct.

This is where I need help.. instead of
having 3 extra days in Port Elizabeth ..
I thought of either flying or driving
back to Cape Town..and spend the extra
nights there to make up for what we lost in
the beginning.

Driving back from Eagles Crag to Cape Town would be the ideal but can we drive back in one day? Your thoughts are much appreciated
Regards Maggey

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Maggey,

I dont understand what you are saying because in one line you say that your last night <b>has to be </b> in PE and then you ask whether you can drive from PE to Cape Town?

With regard to the PE to Cape Town journey my opinion is that that you will probably still be able to pass through the Kaaimans area in October be it over the Kaaimans Pass of for that matter the Saasveld road however due to this all being single lane traffic it will delay you by a couple of extra hours thus not making your journey back to Cape Town worthwhile. You could also travel from PE through the Langkloof to Oudtshoorn and then continue via the R62 back to Cape Town. This route will <b>not</b> be affected by the problems that are happening on the Kaaimans Pass but you have to understand that this is a long slog back to Cape Town and you <b>will</b> be very tired after the drive which could well take you between 9-10 hours depending on how fast you travel and what stops you make. Furthermore this road is going to be very heavily populated with big trucks due to the Kaaimans debacle so you certainly will be slowed down along the way on what will probably be a very frustrating day of driving. All in all I dont think this day will be an enjoyable experience.

In my opinion I would definitely not look at doing the drive back to Cape Town in one day and if you really want to spend your last period of time in Cape Town then you would be much better off to fly from PE to Cape Town after handing your car in at PE airport and then taking on new car hire in Cape Town.

There is another option that has opened up and that is that a fly operator by name of Mark Andrews (African Ramble - http://www.aframble.co.za/) has opened up a facility for doing the 15 minute flight from Plettenberg Bay to George in a 6 seater plane. The journey costs R1000/person with potential baggage restrictions, depending on how many people are on board, however where this could present you with problems is organising the handing off of your car hire at Plettenberg Bay as well a picking up new car hire in George. Needless to say the baggage ruling could also be a problem. Assuming that you can time your journey in such a way that you virtually arrive at Plett airport, hand over your car and hop on the 15 minute flight immediately so as to then land in George say 30 minutes later, pick up your new car and then move straight o to Cape Town then the journey from PE to Cape Town would be viable however with that said there are lots of &quot;buts&quot; in this plan and I would look at it every carefully before attempting to do the journey.

In summary if you do not have to spend your last night in PE as you have origially stated then I would recommend that you fly back to Cape Town and if this does not suit you, then even though I dont believe it is a very good option, I would suggest that you stay the extra day in PE.

Hope this all helps.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Maggey

Thank Selwyn !

Sorry for the confusion!

What I meant was our reservations at Eagles Crag is booked one day earlier than I thought and cannot be changed.

That means our number of nights along the Garden Route from Capetown are
reduced from 4nights to 3nights. The 3rd
night needing to be in PE as I'm assuming that's where we should be to
drive to Eagles Crag the following
day? Is it feasible to do Capetown
to Port Elizabeth with 3nights and still
enjoy the Garden Route?

This also means we have an extra day
in the PE region following Eagles Crag.
(orignally we were going to spend one night PE - then fly via Johannesburg back to Canada.

I'm thinking we'll have too much time in
the PE region. Your suggestion to fly back to Capetown following our stay at
Eagles Crag sounds like a good one. Then we can spend our final 2 nights in Capetown and fly back home from there.

Thank you again for all your help and I
hope this time my post makes sense!
thanks Maggey

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Maggey,

It seems to me as if you are content to deal with the holdups at the Kaaimans Pass so if this is the case I would suggest the following to you:

Leave Cape Town at 07h00 and arrive at the Kaaimans Pass at about 12h00. Endure the pain of a long crossing and probably arrive on the other side of the Kaaimans Pass at about 15h00. Ensure that you have a picnic with you so that you can have lunch in the car while waiting to cross the pass. Also DO NOT forget to visit toilets in Mossel Bay. Dont laugh as this is important.

Once you have passed through the Kaaimans Pass drive on to Knysna and stay over in the town for three nights. Use the town as a pivot to explore the Garden Route for the next three days. Amongst other I would explore the Western (Sedgefiled, Wilderness) and Eastern side (Pleettenberg Bay, Natures valley, Tsitsikamma region) of Knysna as well as the town of Knysna itself.

On the morning of day 4 I would travel to PE and onto Eagles Crag. The drive is a 4 hour experience and as you will be travelling over part of the region you will have already explored (Eastern side of Knysna) this should be a straight forward non stop drive to Shamwari. You need not have to stop over in Port Elizabeth when following this plan and more important is the fact that you wont be packing in and out of suitcases all the time.

After your Shmwari experience you could travel back to PE and catch a flight back to Cape Town thus avoiding all the Kaaimans Pass problems. A second plan could be that you could take a two day journey back to Cape Town via the Langkloof sleeping over in Oudtshorrn and travelling back to Cape Town on the R62 thereafter. If you do the latter journey you will lose a day in Cape Town whereas if you take the flight back to Cape Town you will gain an extra day in my city. Overall the choice is yours to make.

Hope this makes sense and help you in your decision making process.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Mediatorr

Selwyn (or anyone who is current),
What's the current status of the N2? Do you know what are the plans with regard to repair and maintenance and what is the expected time frame?

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Mediatorr,

Here is the latest report that I have on the Kaaimans Pass.
____________

SITUATION REPORT OF N2 AT KAAIMANS AS AT 08 SEPTEMBER 2006

Kaaimans is currently open for one lane traffic with stop-go access under supervision of an escort vehicle;

The maximum tonnage allowed on the pass is ¡&Uuml; 8 ton (GVM) Gross vehicle mass;

¡&curren; Construction vehicles working on the pass will be issued with a Eden permit to have access to the pass;

¡&curren; No pedestrians will be allowed access to the railway line from Wilderness side as far back as Leentjies klip and from Victoria Bay side from the resort;

¡&curren; Security guards deployed

¡&curren; The area surrounding Dolphins
Point have been cordoned off therefore nothing can be seen even if you stop at this area. Visitations to the drilling site are restricted and only allowed with the prior approval of the resident engineer , Mr F Henning;

¡&curren; Law enforcement will be applied in the no stopping areas;

¡&curren; Kaaimans pass are still stable and safe by Friday night 18h00 until 06h00 on Monday 11/09/06 the road will be re opened for combination as well as heavy vehicles with a total combination mass (GCM) of 25 ton;

¡&curren; For fixed loadbed trucks the total gross mass (GVM) of 25 ton will be applicable;

Saasveld Road

¡&curren; Closed for construction;

¡&curren; Only residents allowed on this route ¨C get a permit at the Eden JOC.

¡&curren; Construction on this route aimed to keep it open for single lane traffic at all times as an alternative to Kaaimans, should it be closed.

¡&curren; A mass restriction of 5 tonnes will apply when this road is opened.

Alternative Routes

o Prince Alfred pass open for light passenger vehicles only ¨C we do not encourage the using of the road;

o Please report reckless driving on any of the alternative routes to the nearest SAPS station.

o Garcia Pass open for light vehicles.

o Swartberg Pass open;

o Poort at Uniondale is open;

o Public encouraged to make use of alternative routes when possible.

o When traveling from Cape Town to PE the N1 alternative route can be used via Graaff Reinet.

Heavy Vehicle Owners

Any trucks breaking down on the Langkloof, Kaaimans or Outeniqua pass will be towed by Provincial traffic. No private arrangements will be allowed. Owner responsible for costs.

For further information, contact the Traffic Safety Officer, Basil Noordman at 082 459 5946. In case of emergency, contact the relevant emergency services. For information on Kaaimans Pass, phone 044 801 6300 or 086 004 4044 or send an SMS with the word ¡°George¡± to 35313.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

coline

Don’t under rate the attractions in Port Elizabeth and close by, even having spent time at Eagles Cragg which is awesome the Addo National Park is still well worth a visit.

Port Elizabeth has great beaches and some great cliff top walks, people always stay longer on their second visit.

Alternatively venture inland and visit Graaff Reinet and the Valley of Desolation or the Owl House at Nieu Bethesda.

Maggey

Thank you again for all your information
I will try to remain hopeful that the
situation improves along the N2 by
the time we arrive the 3rd week of
October !

Regards Maggey

Mediatorr

Thanks very much, Selwyn. I, too, am hoping to be able to use this road (in a rental car) in the 3rd week of October.

coline

Kaaimans re-opens for buses

GARDEN Route tourism, suffering after flood devastation to the region, received a welcome boost yesterday when it was announced that tour buses of all sizes and weights would be allowed to use the damaged N2 at Kaaimans Pass for an hour every day.

Weight restrictions on heavy vehicles using Kaaimans Pass have prevented larger tour buses from using the arterial since it was hit by a second round of flooding three weeks ago, causing mud and rock slides and triggering the partial collapse of the N2 at Dolphin‘s Point.

Additional good news for industry and the economy in the Southern Cape yesterday was that the weight restriction on heavy vehicles using the pass at night has been increased from 25 tons to 45 tons, which means that articulated vehicles and those with trailers will be allowed access.

Eden District municipality community services manager Johnny Douglas said that apart from the hour in the morning between 10am and 11am when tour buses would be allowed access, the weight restriction during the day remained at a maximum of eight tons. In the case of both day and night restrictions, the permitted weight is the gross tonnage including load.

Leslie Pieters, a director of Knysna Tourism and a local restaurateur, said that any move to improve access to Kaaimans Pass was very welcome. However, Pieters said the issue of traffic management at Kaaimans Pass was more critical than weight restrictions at this stage and the tourism industry would welcome a “sustainable announcement” in this regard.

George-Wilderness Tourism marketing manager Ann du Toit said the organisation was delighted about the news on tour buses.

“It‘s obviously not ideal that the time is restricted to only an hour during the day, but we appreciate that the road authorities have listened to us.”

She said George-Wilderness Tourism would now work with tour operators, assisting them with their programmes and itineraries in terms of the new access arrangement.

There was major congestion on the N2 at the flood-ravaged pass at the weekend, with motorists and truck drivers waiting for up to two hours to get through it after Eden District authorities raised the weight restriction around the clock to 25 tons.

The one-way traffic at Kaaimans is being controlled by a stop-go signal, with waiting periods of up to two hours at peak times and 30 minutes at all other times.

Meanwhile, the Saasveld Road between George and Wilderness – which was used as an alternative route when the Kaaimans Pass was closed and took the strain of heavy vehicle traffic for a number of days – has been closed for urgent repair work.

The road will remain closed until further notice.

coline

Better still.

Kaaimans pass near George in the Southern Cape will be opened tomorrow to coaches from 09h00 to 15h00 and from 18h00 till 06h00.

Maggey

Thank you Coline for your updates!
Please keep them coming! I'm beginning
to feel much more optimistic that
we'll be able to navigate the
Garden Route - all the best Maggey

abcdc

I'm sorry to be a bit of an idiot about the Garden Route geography, but we were planning to drive from Cape Town to Tsala in May '07 - should we rejigger our plans? Thanks!

Gardyloo

Just a note to say we drove the N2 from PE to CPT the week before last and the road was in decent shape most of the way, with minimal delays at Kaaimans Pass or anywhere else.