TRAVELBUCKET

Latest Posts

VOORTREKKER MONUMENT

The monument, which was opened in 1949, sits prominent on top of a koppie or hill overlooking Pretoria and its suburbs. So, it is easy to spot it when you are approaching the city of Tswane, no matter which direction you are coming from. The reason for our visit today was to bring an American friend from the state of Texas to explain some of our history to him. This massive granite construction (40 metres wide, 40 metres long and 40 metres high) is close to the heart of many South Africans -and it also impressed our Texan friend who can relate to the early Pioneers as America also share a Pioneering history. The monument was built to honour the Voortrekkers (Pioneers) who left the Cape Colony to escape from British rule between 1835 and 1854. As I climbed the steps up to the entrance I l noticed a circular wall… Read more >

THE OLD DROSTDY, GEORGE

The story around the drostdy situated at the roundabout at the top end of York Street goes like this: apparently it was completed in 1815 to provide a residence and office for the first magistrate of George, Adriaan van Kervel. However, I could not find any confirmation in the history records of the exact date of completion. Then in 1826 when the second magistrate (Van der Riet) and his family was on holiday disaster struck. Nearly the whole building was destroyed in a fire, but some parts could be saved and it was rebuilt. History states that in 1897 the building was turned into a boarding house and in 1903 it took another change to become the Victoria Hotel which apparently served famous pub lunches. Meanwhile Charles Sayers started a museum in a rented room in Courtney Street. The museum quickly expanded due to generous donations and moved to the Old… Read more >

DE BAKKE, MOSSEL BAY

How many times I was wondering about how and where the name “De Bakke” originated as in most older names there must have been some significance in the naming of the place. The other day, while on a geocaching spree, I got my answer and this is the story of this piece of history that survived development: The early farmers of the area used to rest their animals at the large drinking troughs called waterbakke and the stage coaches apparently stopped here to water their horses before taking on the long haul to the town of George or over the Outeniqua mountains into the Karoo. Although rust is setting in, one of these big iron troughs are still to be seen at De Bakke and was used until 1949. Check it out at: S 34° 10.381 E 022° 07.770

AUTUMN

Autumn must be my favourite time of the year! I love the rich tones of autumn, the leaves silently falling to the ground and forming a thik carpet and the rustling of the leaves when the dogs walk over it. In South Africa we have a tendency to rake up all the leaves – which my Malawian gardener is very good at by the way – to have a spotless garden in contrast to the European style where you get a leaf wonderland in autumn. Although I am a hardy South African I rather prefer the European image of a picture dotted with beautiful leafs. Winter is slowly creeping in on us. The days are getting shorter and chillier. Very soon it will be time to get the fire going in the hearth, tuck in with a glass of red wine and a nice book. —oOO— Autumn is a second… Read more >

PRANCING HORSES

The first thing I noticed when we arrived in town is the massive prancing horse, surrounded by red roses, on the roundabout. Welcome in Maranello! As we went in search for a bed for the night – that does not cost you an arm and a leg – your senses are overwhelmed with the red factor on the streets. This is Ferrari territory! Getting an appropriate place to sleep took us a wee bit longer than usual as every so often when a red Ferrari, with that distinctive growl, shoosh past us hubby will freeze in his steps. Then after recovering from his frozen stance we moved a couple of steps forward just to get stopped in our tracks to gawk at another flamboyant red racer with that unmistakable sound. Sensory overload par excellence! The next day we went in search of Pista di Fiorano, the race track which is… Read more >

KAROOBOOM

Hit the road and pay this establishment on the famous Route 62 a visit. Driving in the direction of Cape Town it is approximately 33 km from the ostrich town of Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo on your left-hand side. When you see this old car you know you have found it. Coordinates: 33°33’24.8″S 21°53’07.2″E It was a nice and interesting Sunday morning breakfast run with the Garden Route BMW Motorcycle Club which ended at the Karooboom. The wind was really huffing and puffing when we left George along the Outeniqua pass where we had to hold on to the bikes. As soon as we reached the Waboomskraal valley the wind subsided and it was just a beautiful Karoo day. Today we followed the back roads via Kandelaarsrivier and De Hoop and so did the rain clouds. As we pulled in at Karooboom the heavens opened on us – time… Read more >

THE GOOD OLD PAPER MAP

Why still a hard copy map? Yes, yes, yes I know all the modern technology is available – and I do own a GPS and a smart phone with navigational abilities, but I still love a good old map with all those red lines connecting places. You see this is where the practical me jumps in again. I like it because: There is nothing more rewarding when you are planning a trip than to spread out the map on the table and say that is where I want to go. Yes, yes, I know the GPS shows me where I want to go, but sometimes we get so blinded by tunnel vision focussing on what the GPS tells us what to do that we do not actually know where we are in the bigger picture. Driving in town that is fine, you can just replace/recharge the batteries or plug into… Read more >