I promised to show the caves that were inhabited by the locals a long time ago, and in here you will see them, on our river walk. There was a very serious flood here recently and I will also show you a video of it.
I took this photo from the balcony of our apartment. You can see the main cave in the mountain and the Keisie river runs through at the bottom of the mountain.
Soft white sound impregnated by little rocks, didn't make for an easy walk.
I was so surprised to see this staircase that was built up to reach the second lower cave.
Ouch! I for one could have hopped, skipped and jumped up that staircase in my younger days. But now I can only look at it with tears in my eyes. Ageing does that for one.
The stairs lead to this lower cave below. This is the second cave and there are three caves, but we couldn't see the third cave, as I think it was further on along the river walk.
That's my wife standing next to the riverbank further on the walk.
By looking at how the rocks choke the river into a gentle stream here, one would never think that during a flood, this little stream rises up to halfway of the mountain sides.
Two photos of the stream.
I was determined to walk until we found the third cave, and I think that this was it.
This was our turn around spot, as the path continues around this rock outcrop at the left and it carries on for miles.
Then we had a look at the river upstream towards the right hand of our starting point.
The river was wider here, and the flood damages were on show.
This whole area was flooded, as the water rose above both of the white ends of the low water bridge.
This below didn't look good to me.
Apparently, this area became a dam.
And finally, here is a video of the flood. It also dislodged and carried many little houses downstream and Montagu was cut off.
We were the first guests to arrive at Avalon Springs in Montagu, as they had been closed until the previous day of our arrival, so it was also the first day for them to open again after the floods. Thankfully, everything was in working order, and they did a wonderful restoration job. All of the hot spring pools were restored, and the flooded restaurants and little shops around the pools were also repaired. The staff was also very friendly, and we had a very happy stay.
South Africans are very resilient people, and after so many floods and other problems, we all just continue to keep on going even with the bad power cuts.
Such is life.
I hope you have enjoyed the story and the pictures.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.
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Although I'm not very claustrophobic, caves scare me 😱 but I would be curious enough to walk at least a few meters in one ... until it gets too dark 😉
This looks like an interesting area to walk - I love these rock formations, but not the grafiti. There are so many floodings down there and they destroy so much.
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I love the feeling when a lot of bats fly past my head in the deep and darker parts of a cave. Of course, you know what makes the sound, "hissss", but thankfully a snake has not bitten me in a cave yet 😳
Very interesting my friend and graffiti is a real pain to see in nature. One can only hope and pray that a flood will not wreck one's house, but that said, the people are also very good with the repairs after a flood.
Look how this rock was bent over time.
Cheers and thanks.
Haha, I love bats, but I always fear that a cave would collapse or that some old cave ghost would hunt me 😱 !LOLZ
Your people are used to lose or have destroyed their homes and to repair or even rebuilt them afterwards.
It always fascinates me when I see such cool rock formations and to me it's so hard to understand how they can form that way, but time is a strong power.
Sending !PIZZA and !LUV as always 😉
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Hi Hannes,
Oh yeah, it will be dangerous for you to walk deep into a cave. A hundred bats will swirl around your head, and an old cape ghost will get you, as his mountain goat cooking stock is at a low level, and he needs a refill 🤣 !LOLZ
Resilient people that are forced to face bad situations, so many times, that it has become second nature to them just to re-build, so you are right, as they are used to it 😳
Me too and to think that those rocks were once liquid lava, is so amazing. Then over a very long time, nature won, as the rainwater and winds carved the rocky peaks into sculptures.
Cheers and thanks.
Your words don't really help my with my fear of caves, my friend, because when I get next time near one I will certainly remember them and turn around as fast as I can 😱 !LOLZ
If once a flood destroyed my home I would certainly try to move somewhere safer, but I guess most of these people just don't have a choice.
As said so often before: Mother Nature is the best artist of all 👍😀 ... a shot from this morning ...
Sending !PIZZA and !LUV as always 😉
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My mom warned me not to go in and scratch where I shouldn't scratch, because the result is always terrifying. So yeah, rather pass the caves by and live to talk about it 😀 !LOLZ
Nope, they certainly have no choice but to build on the same spot again. Imagine that?
You build a shack and depend on luck that it will not be destroyed by a flood, but you know that sooner or later it will be destroyed. What a life!
Wow! Another Piber special and the snow adds a beautiful touch to the waterfall. I can sense your delight with this picture, as it is really a stunning one 😍😍😍
Cheers and thanks.
There's an old tunnel from WW1 right beside a road over a mountain pass in Slovenia. I've always been afraid to go in there - it looks so scary to me, but once my son wanted to explore it and I had to accompany him. It wasn't that bad, but I would never go in there alone, although it's only about 200 meters long 😱 !LOLZ
That wouldn't be a life to me ... always living in fear that I could lose my home any day.
Thanks 😀 but actually I don't like this waterfall a lot in Summer, but in Winter, when there's a lot of snow and ice it looks cool.
Sending !PIZZA and !LUV as always 😉
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very nice place .. i like the mountains ..
Thank you and I agree. The mountains are also my favorites !LOLZ
Wow it is breathtaking!
Thank you and it is indeed a wonderful place.
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She forgot to ask where this is, because we also want to go there!
Beautiful photos. Your tittle sounds almost like a title of a particular cartoon "river dance". The staircase and where it lead got my attention, if I was the one, I would be curious to know what's in there.
Thank you and I haven't seen that particular cartoon. The staircase is at 45 degrees, and only for the brave, or the experienced to climb. So, some things are better to avoid !LOL
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In such a beautiful place, it is a lot of fun to walk and the time is very well spent looking at all these natural sights and thinking about their history.
History is always at the top of my list, and they say that the mountains formed 2 million years ago, due to the hot lava beneath the ground that forced the rocks upwards. !LOL
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Wonderful pic
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