South Africa Archives - Page 20 of 24

DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH VOLMOED

Just outside the town of Oudtshoorn you will find the settlement of Volmoed adorned with a beautiful sandstone church with an interesting history. The architect of this masterpiece is Watson Hall (1876 – 1941) and was ”compelled to come to South Africa for his health” arriving in Cape Town in 1897 at the age of 21. He first worked as an assistant in the famous Sir Herbert Baker’s office in Cape Town before he became an assistant in John Parker’s office in Cape Town. He lived in Claremont since his arrival in 1897 until his departure to Oudtshoorn in 1908 where he practised until 1920. In 1910 Hall won a competition for the Dutch Reformed Church in Calitzdorp but “owing to the dissatisfaction expressed by the congregation” the job went to the second prize winner, Wynand Louw. During 1920, at the age of 44, Watson Hall returned to Claremont. At… Read more >

HISTORIESE GEORGE

Die storie van George, wat na King George III vernoem is, begin reeds op 23 April 1811. Ek begin stap in Yorkstraat, wat vernoem is na die Duke of York en tweede seun van King Geroge III, by die Old Town House. Dit is reeds in 1847 opgerig en het eers die George Museum gehuisves, maar vandag dien dit as restaurant. Dan 100 jaar later in 1911 word daar op die hoek van Mark- en Hiberniastrate, ‘n gedenksaal opgerig wat vandag die Ingenieurs Departement van die George Munisipaliteit huisves. Ek kruis die straat en stap na die witgeverfde Poskantoor met sy mooi houtdeure en kenmerkende rooi posbusse. Nie net is dit in 1948 voltooi, maar spog ook met ‘n hout kloktoring. Dan verder op in die straat kry ek onverwags, agter mooi ysterhekke in ‘n lowergroen tuin, ‘n glimps van die statige Bishops Lea, huis van die Diocese of George…. Read more >

ST GEORGES CHURCH, KNYSNA

Today, while on my way to Diepwalle Camping Decks in the heart of the Knysna Forest I made a quick stop in the centre of Knysna to take some pictures of another Sophy Gray church so I entered through the old wooden gates to explore some more. Sophy’s stone churches stole my heart and now I am on a quest to tick them off one by one. This quaint church with its tranquil garden is situated in the Main Road, but is easily missed when one is in a hurry. John Rex., son of the legendary George Rex, laid the foundation stone in 1849 and soon after in 1850 construction started on plans adapted and provided by Sophy. Her church, the first in Knysna, is standing in front of the newer, darker church building which was only constructed in 1926. The gardens are well kept and the green grass, edged… Read more >

GAMKABERG NATURE RESERVE

What do you do for a summer holiday break? Well we planned a camping trip to Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, tucked away in the mountains between Oudtshoorn and Calitzdorp, where the summer temperature easily soars to 40˚ C during summer. Arriving at reception and while checking in with the helpful staff I glanced at the visitors book and noticed that we were the first campers in over a week. Really not a favoured destination for the summer holidays! After buying wood from Willem at reception we set off via the 4×4 trail climbing up Lawsons Pass to Bakenskop at 1105 meter (which were our highest elevation) to enjoy lunch in the cool breeze and enjoy the views from the top. Arriving at Oukraal we found that the facilities really exceeded all our expectations. The camping huts and stone shelter, providing cover against the relentless sun, were spotlessly… Read more >

STONE CHURCHES IN NOUPOORT

The last couple of weeks were quite busy and I did not get to my blog for some new posts. On our travels to Bloemfontein, for a school reunion, we took a detour through the rather depressing Karoo town of Noupoort where we stumbled upon two little stone churches. Situated across the street from the run down municipal building we found the St Agnes Anglican Church dating back to 1901. It was erected by a railway engineer in memory of fallen British soldiers, of whom some were stone masons, and were stationed at Noupoort during the Second Boer War. However before the troops could complete the church they were repatriated. That is probably the wall that I noticed just below the bell tower and was wondering what went wrong. It was the first time that I noticed this unique timber type bell tower on a church. I sort of like… Read more >

ST MARKS CATHEDRAL, GEORGE

I took some time off from my day job and did a bit of exploring in my own town. I must confess that I have been living in George for more than 15 years and have never visited the little stone cathedral in the middle of town. Arriving over the lunch hour on a sunny day I found the gardener attending to the lawn with love and care. He only gave me a quick glance and carried on with his tasks at hand. Today the little stone church stood out against the blue sky with picture opportunities aplenty. This is another one of the legendary Sophy Gray churches. The design of the cathedral is based on the Littlemore Church near Oxford in England which was designed by Henry Jones Underwood. Three stonemasons were used to build the cathedral and it was completed in only 13 months. Without the modern technology… Read more >

THAT FIRST RIDE OF SUMMER

Finally summer has arrived in our part of the world. It was time to get the dust off the bike and out of the garage after the long and wet winter months. The weather was perfect for a ride out with hubby as my usual riding buddy. Just to get the bum and hands in condition again we took a leisurely drive mainly on tar roads today and made some stops to log a cache or two. The camaraderie on the road by fellow riders, extending a nod in recognition no matter what the steed, always gives a warm feeling to my heart and just makes the ride more worth while. Everybody is enjoying the sun, the smells and the wide open roads our country has on offer and unlike a car you get to experience all the smells along the road which varies from the aromatic veld to the… Read more >