This guy had an urgent need and headed for the contractors toilet.
This is a continuation, Part 2 of the "Come drive with us" post that I posted yesterday Here
We had entered this historical pass and as there were roadworks in place, we had to take our chances.
Come, let's go!
Two goods trucks had to be rescued here, as their roofs were too high and they struck the overhang here. So now all trucks are banned from the pass.
Yes, we were at the top of the mountain and it was amazing to see the bright greens on the new fynbos bushes.
Amazingly in the 1800s, they simply blasted a way through the mountain tips and left both sides intact.
Scary to see the crumbling mountain tops, as at one time or another, those big rocks will come tumbling down.
This guy waved at us as we passed him and he looked like a very friendly chap.
Precarious balancing of the rocks by mother nature methinks.
A rock as big as a ship resting on that little rock wedge below it.
Now how is this for balancing by wind and rain?
Talking about rain, there is a river that cut through the rocks of this mountain, far below the pass and I will show you in another post.
Nothing can beat the beauty of the wild mountain Protea flowers.
And here is the mountain monument seal.
It has the old South African logo "Ex unitate vires" meaning "Unity makes strength"!
Now we must remember that this pass was built in the 1800s by convicts and slaves. There were no trucks and heavy equipment and they used donkey carts and ox wagons.
Thankfully the mountain sides next to the pass were not touched over the years and the old dynamite blast marks are still clearly visible.
Here below you can see one of the dynamite plants exploding.
Imagine having no electric drilling equipment, no compressors and only big hammers and chisels weilded by convicts to build that pass and to blast the mountain rock faces off like this with dynamite?
This pass shows us the immense talents that reside within each of us.
So sad that many of us never develop our true talents.
And That's All Friends.
Note: All photos are my own and taken with two cameras, the Canon Powershot SX60HS and SX70HS Bridge cameras.
We hope that you have enjoyed the story and the pictures.
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Those are definitely some truly impressive boulders. It'd be rather awe inspiring, in it's own way, to watch them begin to tumble.
We're really spoiled in today's day and age with our modern technology, communications, and tools. A large part of the history of Canada is the building of the transcontinental railroad; imagine having to build a railroad that joins the Pacific and Atlantic oceans with primarily human power. Or even digging out the Panama Canal! That really is human ingenuity and determination.
Oh so great to see you again my friend.
I have seen those crash down and can guarantee that it is an absolute fearful sight as it dislodges other rocks on its way down. At times they can demolish a mile of carefully crafted mountain pass road that took many months to build at great cost, in an instant.
I think that some time in the future they will build sky ways to go over the mountains. Now that would be the way to go, as there would nr no kinks and dangerous u turns, as one could just drive straight over the mountains.
Oh yeah, I have always wanted to see that railroad and also the Siberian one. The old generation engineers were true masters of their trade and every century had its own works of wonders.
You speak of the Panama canal, but lets's go back to the days of an early Egypt and their water channels into the the towns and palaces with primitive tools. Have a look at the unfathomable pyramids. There are so many other historical examples of mankinds engineering feats in other countries. One can only be amazed at our stamina and endurance under any conditions.
Thank you for popping in.
Cheers and !BEER
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BEER.Very interesting post Zac, that road looks cool, but these balancing rocks look quite scary to me.
It's always amazing when you see such roads and think of how people have built them in the past. I have just thought of a movie I have seen not long ago, where they showed how people dig a tunnel in the beginning of the 20th century. Nobody would work like that anymore nowadays.
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BEER.Trucks have a knack of getting stuck, overloaded then take a short cut, ha ha...
The extreme manner in which passes and infrastructure came into being is death defying in some instances, rocks ready to roll down and crush you at any given time.
Your ship looks more like a Rhino horn, when balancing rocks do come down you know all about it 😄, nice outing with photography, the Protea flower and old logo standing proud!
!BEER
Hahaha, contractors will always take chances to save money, but they have certainly learned a very expensive lesson by sending their trucks over that pass. I wonder how much they paid for the rescue services. The trucks couldn't back out of the pass once pulled out from under the overhang and they had to cut the roofs of the truck's bodies off in order for it to pass under the overhang.
There is another very narrow section further on and I wonder how they got the trucks through there. I can bet that the insurance wouldn't pay for those silly mishaps.
I have explained in a previous comment how I saw a rockfall my friend and it's a teriible affair as it creates a mini landslide.
In another post I will show more about the graves of the workers that died on that pass and also the plaques where we found the monument seal.
Oh, and also a video of traveling on the pass before it was closed down for the roadworks.
Blessings.
!LUV
!BEER
Restrictive heights these truckers don't adhere to, getting cut out the truck would still be easier the remove the top 😄.
We went through early seventies then again in the late seventies in a smaller vehicles, one forgets the roads are extremely narrow.
Rock fall we only ever experienced at Injasuti after heavy rain fall up in the mountains, not a sound you will forget.
Hairpin drive, staggering when we went through with Protea out in bloom, the roads were exceptionally quiet those days with very few cars, it was fun.
Oh yeah, those contractors have learned their lesson methinks.
Our little Polo also had no problem in the tights.
The one I saw was at Magoebas kloof and yes, it created a mini landslide.
We saw only two cars, as the pass is closed to travelers and only residents are allowed.
But that silence is so terrific that one feels like you are in another world.
Blessings.
!LUV
!BEER
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