van Staden's Flower Power - PE Traditional Geocache
van Staden's Flower Power - PE
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Van Staden’s Flower Reserve - THIS IS THE SECOND OLDEST GEOCACHE IN THE EASTERNCAPE, PLACED IN 2003
This cache is hidden in the van Staden’s Wild Flower Reserve, just outside PE. The reserve is an ideal place for a picnic, with many lovely spots to choose from. We suggest that you take a picnic basket along.
To reach the cache, travel from PE on the N2, towards Humansdorp and take the offramp indicating “van Stadens Pass” at S33 54.565 E25 14.031, then turn into the reserve at S33 54.834 E25 13.322 and follow the tar road to S33 54.382 E25 13.087, where you can park your vehicle and where the River Walk starts.
Follow the trail for about 40 minutes at a leasurely pace. You should see a rockface on your left, with a smaller face jutting out from it next to the path and thus creating a crag of about 3m high. You need to wedge yourself into this crag and climb to the top (about 2.5m), the cache (0.8L L&L) will be in sight, covered by loose flat rocks.
You will have to climb down to the path before opening it, as space is limited where you are. You can now either turn back or continue for another 30 minutes to the end of the path. I recommend you continue, as there are some nice views down to the river and of the van Staden’s bridge. At the end of the trail you can follow a road in an almost bee line to your vehicle.
The gates open at 07h00 during the week, 08h00 at weekends and Public Holidays and close at 18h00 in summer and 17h00 in winter (1 May – 31 August). There is no entry fee.
There are signs all over the flower reserve encouraging you to get out of the car and walk.
The reserve was proclaimed in 1951, which makes it the oldest reserve of its kind in the country. The 450 hectare reserve is protected to ensure that the excellent variety of plant, bird and animal species that occur here remain unharmed. It houses a nursery which sells indigenous flora, as well as scenic picnic sites on the plateau connected by a number of paths and tracks as well as by road. An ablution block is situated near the entrance. There are a number of flat gravel roads and tracks on the plateau section running through the reserve, which are ideal for exploration on a mountain bike.
VIEW OR DOWNLOAD THE TRAIL TO YOUR GPS (visit link)
Additional Hints
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