Traversing Rugged Mountains and Sheltered, Bountiful Valleys continue… October 10, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Africa, Air Tickets, Cape Town, Destination, Europe, Hotels, Museum, South Africa, Tour, Trails, Trip, Victoria Falls , trackbackDale of Citrus Groves
Although farms near Citrusdal have been worked for well over two centuries, the town dates only from 1916. The main road north reaches it through Piekenierskloof (pikemen’s gorge) — a name dating from 1675 when the Dutch East India Company at the Cape stationed soldiers near here to protect one of their Khoikhoi allies from attack by a rival chieftain, Gonnema. Encumbered by heavy pikes and breastplates, the Dutch soldiers pursued their foes through the mountains in vain.
Citrusdal nestles in a tranquil valley along the banks of the Olifants River, surrounded by the deep green foliage of orange and lemon trees, which fill the air with the fragrance of their blossoms in spring. A 200-year-old orange tree on the farm Groot Heksrivier, near Citrusdal, still bears fruit and is a national monument.
The radio-active spa south of Citrusdal has been visited for its purported restorative powers since the days of the earliest explorers.
The Original Home of the Griquas
The countryside through which you travel after Porterville was once the home of a Khoikhoi tribe called the Grigriquas, encountered in 1661 by the surgeon Pieter van Meerhoff, who noted that some of them wore copper ornaments. It was a Grigriqua chief who later guided Governor Simon van der Stel on his expedition to the copper mines of Namaqualand.
One of the leaders of the tribe, Adam Kok (born in 1710) is said to have derived his surname from the fact that he worked as a cook (kok) to the governor. He later led his people northwards to settle at what became Griquatown. His descendant Adam Kok III headed the long Griqua trek that ended in the founding of Kokstad, thus creating a Griqualand West and a Griqualand East.
The Narrow Passages
The little Swartland town of Porterville below the Olifants River Mountains was founded in 1863 on the farm Willemsvallei, and named after William Porter, the Attorney- General of the Cape. The gentle air currents that swirl around these craggy mountains make them ideal for hang-gliders. A favourite venue is the farm Cardouw, which takes its name from the old Khoikhoi word for ‘narrow passage’. Cardouws (or Kardouws) Kloof was once an important route across the mountains, although it was described by the traveller Thunberg as ‘one of the most difficult roads that go across the African mountains‘. The old pass can no longer be traversed by vehicle, and has not been used for more than a century. Even the section that can still be used (approaching close to the summit) is not for the nervous motorist.
Ceres — Valley of Corn-Goddess
The settlement in the Warm Bokkeveld was called Ceres after the Roman corn-goddess — an appropriate name for a fertile valley which has become known for its production of wheat and fruit.
The first stock farmers arrived in the Bokkeveld (goat or buck country) in 1727. More than a century later, after the discovery of diamonds in the northern Cape, nearby Michell’s
Pass became the main highway to the north, and the settlement entered a period of hectic prosperity. The pass collected a greater revenue than any other toll in the country, but this came to an end when the railway lines to the north bypassed Ceres. The Togryers (transport riders) Museum on the corner of Munnik and Oranje streets preserves many relics of the town’s exciting history.
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Traversing Rugged Mountains and Sheltered, Bountiful Valleys continue…
- Traversing Rugged Mountains and Sheltered, Bountiful Valleys
- Four Passes that link together the pastoral patchwork of the Boland
- Please to make a Hotel Reservation
- The 'Land van Waveren' and the wild beauty of Bain's Kloof part 2
- What Air Tickets say, what Airline Luggage can take, have you been treated differently?
- The Strandveld Holiday— exploring the southernmost Shores of Africa
- A Sunburned Haven for Sea Birds and Hardy Fishermen part 1
- A Sunburned Haven for Sea Birds and Hardy Fishermen part 2
- Touring Paradise, St George's Street — 'memory mile' of a Naval Town part 1
- South African Travel Guide: 'Gem of the Karoo' in a spacious mountain setting
Comments»
Shirts let you be casual, cool, and comfortable whether you’ re hiking rugged terrain or just kicked back on the couch. … Florist Cape Town
Best Western Cape Suites Hotel, Cape Town accommodation, Cape Town Hotel, south africa, lodge, south Africa self catering, south Africa hotel… … South Africa Accommodation