Located above the Kaaimans River on the N2 tar Road between the towns of George and Wilderness, the Kaaimans River mouth has a tidal estuary at its mouth,. This spot is a popular with photographers.
On 1922 the Railways and Harbours Board recommended the construction of a railway between George and Knysna, a distance of approximately 67 kilometres, at an estimated cost of 296 820 pounds. The building of the line was started simultaneously from George and Knysna in 1924. Although the railway from George to Knysna was available for goods and passenger traffic since May 1928, it was formally opened by the Minister of Railways and Harbours, the Hon. C. W. Malan, on Wednesday, October 17th. The line travels through two tunnels of moderate length, cut into the hills above the sea, before it approaches the Kaaimans River Bridge, 210 meters long and 36 meters high.
The trains were usually pulled by SAR Class 19D steam locomotives, of 4-8-2 wheel arrangement with Vanderbilt-like "torpedo" tenders, although SAR Class 24 steam engines were also used occasionally. When dry conditions in the summer increase the risk of wildfires, diesel locomotives (SAR Class 32s) were used instead. It was declared an officially preserved railway in 1992, carrying about 40,000 passengers per year at the time. A decade later, it carried 115,000 passengers per year, 70% of whom were foreign tourists.
Tragically this railway was badly damaged in heavy floods in 2006, forcing its closure. In 2007, the train's owners, Transnet Limited, announced that the train was not regarded as part of its core business, and initiated a tender process to dispose of the train to a new owner/operator. In August 2010, Transnet announced that they had not found an operator, and the train would cease operating. The Western Cape Provincial MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde, said that he was resolved to keep this heritage tourism asset operational. In 2008, the train and the Kaaiman's River Bridge were featured in a television advertisement for Stella Artois.
As of 2019, the line is still closed.
TO QUALIFY FOR A VALID LOG ON THIS VIRTUAL CACHE YOU NEED TO DO THE FOLLOWING:
1. Take a picture of the bridge with your geocache name and date of visit displayed on the picture. Be creative – write it in the sand, on your forehead, on your finger,on your shoes or piece of paper. REMEMBER I want to SEE it together with the bridge in ONE picture!
2. As you approach the bridge there is a white marker across the river with three black plaques on it. Take a picture of the BOTTOM plaque on the white marker so that the inscription is clearly readable and include something that shows the date (for example on your hand, paper or your GPS) that you have visited. This picture should be send to me in a PRIVATE message/e-mail. Please DO NOT post this in your log! This serves as confirmation that you visited the location and to avoid arm-chair caching!
3. If you do not post a picture within 30 days after your visit, your log WILL BE deleted without further ado - no conversation about it. Let us all play fair.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.