Western Cape Archives - Page 3 of 7

KNYSNA FIRE DISASTER, 7 JUNE 2017

7 June 2017 — I will surely never forget the date. This is the date when the worst fires ever in history struck the Garden Route area. 8 Junie 2017 — Soos wat ek nou hier sit en skryf elf uur die oggend is dit ‘n vriesende 8°C buite. Vir ons wêreld is dit koud, baie koud. Ek sit en my gedagtes dwaal na die mense wat vanoggend moet gaan kyk wat het hulle oor van hulle lewe – heel moontlik niks. So kom die berigte die een na die ander in. Die een gesin soek nog na hulle ma wat Alzheimers het. Hulle weet nie waar sy is nie … Die honde wat ronddwaal en soek na hulle base en huise … Mense wat die nag in hulle karre geslaap het met net die klere aan hulle lyf … Mense wat angsaanvalle kry … Eens bekende huise is onherkenbaar… 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 >

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 >

CEDERBERG RIDE REPORT

It was weekend and on the “to do” list was a bike trip through the Cederberg Mountains. The “not so little anymore” daughter just completed her introductory course to off road riding under the watchful eye of Countrytrax instructors so hubby was confident that she will cope with the ride. And she? She was excited as hell to prove her new skills. It was an early start in Stellenbosch as dawn was breaking and we needed to avoid the early morning traffic as we still wanted to sleep at Clanwilliam that night. So a long day (some 300 km via the R303 ) in the saddle! Our breakfast stop was just around the corner at the Wimpy in Wellington (you cannot start your day without a Wimpy breakfast). From here on we followed the tar road via Hermon through Ceres and up Gydo pass to hit gravel where the… Read more >

RADICAL RAPTORS

One of the most rewarding places I visited is Radical Raptors situated at The Heath on the N2, just outside of Plettenberg Bay. This safe haven for raptors is doing phenomenal work! During the daily flying displays you interact with amongst others Barney the owl and other rehabilitated feathered friends which cannot be released into the wild again for various reasons. After all, the very knowledgeable Dennis only uses birds with permanent injuries as ambassadors. And boy oh boy they behave like head boys! Not one step – or should I say feather – out of place. The trained birds are tame and well adapted to visitors. Therefore, during the flying display you are given a glove and the opportunity to invite the bird to land on your hand. In other words, opportunities by the dozen to take that perfect picture in natural surroundings or try and try and try… Read more >

Tag Archive: Western Cape