A panorama of Hankey in the Gamtoos Valley… and some history

As visitors approach the town of Hankey in the Gamtoos Valley from the east, they have to pass Vergaderingskop before entering town.  This little koppie is the final resting place of Saartjie Baartman and worth a stop even if its just to enjoy a view of the surrounding valley.The town of Hankey was established in 1826 (four years after the founding of the mission station in 1822 under the guidence of Dr John Philip ) and is the Gamtoos Valley's oldest…

Comments Off on A panorama of Hankey in the Gamtoos Valley… and some history

The Overberg town of Riviersonderend

Most people driving along the N2 between Cape Town and Mossel Bay only slow down while driving through the Overberg town of Riviersonderend because the speed limit drops to 60 km/hour.  Riviersonderend, 140 km east of Cape Town, isn't much more than a farm village with 5 245 (according to the 2011 census) inhabitants.  I'm one of those who are guilty of not giving the town any more time than a quick stop for a snack on my way through, but on…

1 Comment

The Ark in Joubertina

Most people travelling between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town either barrel down the Garden Route's N2 in eight hours or explore the area over a period of several days.  Sadly very few people travel through the Langkloof along this beautiful section of Route 62, better known for the part running through the Klein Karoo.  The Langkloof isn't a popular tourist destination, not because of a lack of beauty but rather because of its direct competition on the other side of the mountains. …

1 Comment

1800’s graveyard in Prince Albert

I was walking exploring around the back streets of the Karoo town of Prince Albert and to my delight stumbled on discovered this old cemetery. It belongs to the NG Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) and the graves date between 1844 and 1884. Non of the graves really had grave stones, but they were all covered in stone mounds. It was interesting though that there was a couple of graves with small structures built over them towards the back of the…

6 Comments

Ox wagons

I decided to start the week off with a nice varied Random ... theme post. The chosen Random ... theme is Ox Wagons. Ox wagons played an important roll in the early history of South Africa, in particular the Great Trek, and forms part of just about every museum exhibit throughout the country. They are specially evident around small towns and farms with ox wagon wheels often found at farm entrances. This ox wagon is on display outside the museum…

7 Comments

Nieu Bethesda Fossil Centre

I love Indiana Jones and when I was younger I wanted to be an archaeologist discovering lost civilisations and crawling through jungles looking for artifacts. I still have an great interest in archaeology and have a small collection of fossils and other interesting bits which I hope to still add to in future. So on a visit to Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo I reveled in the knowledge that I would be able to visit the Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre…

4 Comments

Herold

As you cross over the Montagu Pass from George into the Klein Karoo you enter a small village called Herold. Herold is tucked away in the mountains at the end of the beautiful historic pass. The town developed as a result of the the pass that was constructed in 1847. The town grew quite rapidly as travellers along this new road to the Klein Karoo needed a place to stay as well as other essential services. It continued to be…

4 Comments

Middleton

Barrelling along the N10 between Port Elizabeth and Cradock, most people don't even notice the little historic one horse Karoo town of Middleton. Situated about 20 km before reaching Cookhouse, Middleton is a charming little village steeped in history dating back to 1879. The village is situated next to the Great Fish River and includes the Middleton Manor hotel, a restaurant, pub, general dealer, bottle store, post office and camping site.What makes the village unique is that its privately owned.…

5 Comments

Country Churches

Today is another Random ... theme day and the theme is Random Country Churches. Some of the smallest towns in the middle of nowhere will have magnificent old Dutch Reformed Churches dating back from the early days. In most cases these churches were built in the late 1800's and early 1900's not to only service the town, but also the surrounding farming community. This means that some of these small towns today have huge churches. The Dutch Reformed Church in…

3 Comments

Poort-Pourri Kontreiwinkel

Driving towards De Rust and Oudtshoorn from Prince Albert takes one through Meiringspoort. Just before you enter the poort the road passes the little hamlet of Klaarstroom which has remained virtually unchanged since the days of Queen Victoria. As we were passing the turnoff into Klaarstroom my eye caught a peculiar sight and I nearly left the road as I spun my head around. A number of man sized dolls were sitting on benches, on bikes and just standing around…

5 Comments