Graaff Reinet

Graaff Reinet is the 4th oldest town in South Africa and is the Gem of the Karoo. The town lies 750 metres (2,500 ft) above the sea and is built in a horse shoe on the banks of the Sunday's River, which rises a little farther north on the southern slopes of the Sneeuberge. The town is quite an interesting one with a big amount of historical buildings and museums that has been restored over the years. It is also home to the biggest succulent nursery in the world. Like Grahamstown, this is one of my favorite old towns to explore.

The Dutch Reformed church in the town is a prominent stone building in the main street with seating accommodation for 1500 people. The building is a reproduction of the Salisbury Cathedral.

The picture was used by Paul du Plessis on The duPs as one of the photos to illustrate his poem Afrikaner Journey.

International Mohair Summit

The first biennual International Mohair Summit took place in the Karoo town of Graaff Reinet last week. "What does it have to do with Port Elizabeth?" I hear you ask. Well, Port Elizabeth is seen as the mohair capital of the world as more mohair moves through this city than anywhere else in the world. If you want to learn more about the summit, you can read more about it on The Firefly Photo Files.

Specific posts are:

International Mohair Summit

Mohair Products

Shearing

Angora Goat Competitions

Sundays River mouth

This is the last post in this week's Sundays River Ferry series.  After cruising down the river and climbing the dunes, this is the view you get of the river mouth.

 

The Sundays River is said to be the fastest flowing river in South Africa.  It was originally known as the Nukakamma (Grassy River) by the Khoisan because the river's banks are always green and grassy.  The river has it's source in the Compassberg mountains (the highest mountain in the Eastern Cape) near Nieu-Bethesda.  From here it flows past Graaff-Reinet in a horse shoe, through the Karoo, the Zuurberg Mountains, past Kirkwood and Addo in the fertile Sundays River before getting to this point about 40km east of Port Elizabeth.

Returning to high school rugby

I used enjoy watching DF Malherbe, my alma mater, play rugby and netball on a Saturday. A few years after school I actually helped to coach the u14 team for a year or two but as time went on I got to go less and less as life got more and more busy.  Now Chaos Boy is at DF but he doesn't play rugby so we probably only got to go once or twice last year.  This weekend was the first big home derby of the season against Volkskool from Graaff-Reinet and we went to hang out there a bit.  DF's first team pulled off a two point victory in a nail biting game.  I'm sure going to try to go and watch more often this year.

Karoo mountain road

A weekend or two ago I found myself spending a night at Mount Camdeboo Game Reserve outside Graaff-Reinet before an early morning meeting.  What is spending time on a game reserve without a game drive so we headed out for a drive late afternoon.  The road took us right into the mountains on the reserve and how can one not prefer this over the busy rush of city traffic?

Sundays River

The view from the top of the dunes at Colchester is amazing.  On the one side you look down on the Sundays River flowing down towards Algoa Bay while the view the other way is across Algoa Bay towards Port Elizabeth with St Croix Island in-between.

 

The Sundays River is said to be the fastest flowing river in South Africa.  It was originally known as the Nukakamma (Grassy River) by the Khoisan because the river's banks are always green and grassy.  The river has it's source in the Compassberg mountains (the highest mountain in the Eastern Cape) near Nieu-Bethesda.  From here it flows past Graaff-Reinet in a horse shoe, through the Karoo, the Zuurberg Mountains, past Kirkwood and Addo in the fertile Sundays River before getting to this point about 40km east of Port Elizabeth.

Chilling with some gnomes

Every now and then I post a photo or two that wasn't taken in Port Elizabeth or the greater Nelson Mandela Bay.  Normally it's because I have run out of PE photos or haven't had a chance to take one.  Today is one of those days.  I'm posting this from Mount Camdeboo Game Reserve outside Graaff-Reinet where I am attending the Karoo Heartland AGM tomorrow.  On my way here I stopped at my favorite two Karoo gnomes a few kilometers south of Jansenville to discuss rugby (seeing that they are dressed in EP Kings and Springbok colours), tourism and the meaning of life.

Valley of Desolation

The Valley of Desolation is situated just outside the town of Graaff Reinet. It can be found in the Camdeboo National Park which provides the visitor with insights into the unique landscape and ecosystem of the Karoo, not to mention awesome scenic beauty. The Karoo was formed hundreds of millions of years ago and in some places, dolerite form jointed pillars. The best examples of which are found in the Valley of Desolation where erosion of the softer sedimentary beds has left dolerite pillars which rise to heights of 90 – 120 metres. There is nothing like standing at the top of the Valley of Desolation at sunset.

Sundays River view

Its peak holiday season so the Sundays River is probably packed with boats and holiday makers, very different from this sight I photographed a little while ago.  The Sundays River originated close to Nieu Bethesda north of Graaff Reinet in the Karoo and is said to be the fastest flowing river in South Africa.  Not too sure how they come to that conclusion.

Bashoto War Memorial in Uitenhage

In Magennis Park just off Church Road (Graaff-Reinet Road) in Uitenhage is a monument that seems kinda out of place in this part of the province.  It's a memorial commemorating those who died in the  Morosi Mountain and Basuto Campaigns of 1879 and 1880-1882.

Morosi's Mountain was the name given to a fortified mountain in the Drakensberg mountain range on the banks of the Orange River in southern Basutoland (modern day Lesotho).  This was the site of a siege during the Gun War, also known as the Basuto War.  It was given the name Morosi's Mountain after the Chief of a local tribe, who, after committing acts deemed as hostile to the Cape Colonial administration, fortified himself on the mountain.  The Gun War itself was the 1880-1881 conflict in the British territory of Basutoland (present-day Lesotho) in Southern Africa, fought between Cape Colony forces and rebellious Basotho chiefs over tribal rights.

Inside Fort Frederick

Fort Frederick sits above the Baakens Valley overlooking the Port Elizabeth Harbour and was built in 1799 by the British Forces to defend the mouth of the Baakens River to prevent a possible landing of French troops to assist the Graaff-Reinet rebels.  The fort was named after Frederick, Duke of York who was the Colonial Secretary at the time.  Ironically the fort never fired a shot in anger although it was defended by eight 12-powder guns.

Karoo Heartland - where the land meets the sky

Last week I posted the new promotional video for the Greater Addo and Sundays River Valley area. This week I want to present to you the new video for the Karoo Heartland which covers the towns of Somerset East, Cradock, Middleburg, Nieu-Bethesda, Graaff-Reinet and Jansenville.  The perfect weekend breakaway from Port Elizabeth and truly a place where the land meets the sky.

Winter is back... or still here

Just yesterday I asked somebody if they also thought that we didn't have a very cold winter this year as I stood sweating in the sun outside the lodge at Mount Camdeboo Game Reserve outside Graaff-Reinet.  This morning we woke up to a freezing wind and snow on the mountains in the area.  On my way back this afternoon I heard it hailed in some parts of Port Elizabeth. I pulled off the freeway and made a quick stop in Despatch (for a Geocache) and snapped this pic of an empty play park and the approaching clouds.  Cold and abandoned.  In black and white it feels even colder.  Winter just reminded us that she's still here and not leaving just yet.

Magennis Park

Magennis Park in Uitenhage is an open space just off Graaff Reinet Road in the middle of town. It can be compared with a park like Victoria Park here in Port Elizabeth. Usually its a nice green and shady park where one can go and relax on a warm day during lunch time, but currently its a bit on the dry side due to the drought the area is experiencing.

Then and Now - Fort Frederick

Fort Frederick is the oldest building in Port Elizabeth and said to be the first permanent stone structure built by the British in Africa south of the Equator. The fort was built in August 1799 near the mouth of the Baakens River in Algoa Bay to safeguard the fresh water supply and to keep watch for a possible landing of French troops send to assist the Graaff-Reinet rebels during the Napoleonic wars.  The fort was named after Frederick, Duke of York and then Commander of the British Army. 



The British abandoned the fort in 1802 after which it was temporarily occupied by Thomas Ferreira and a group of local burghers.  In May 1803 they were replaced by a contingent of 150 men of the Batavian Republic and three years later, in 1806, it was again taken over by the British after the second occupation of the Cape.  The fort was abandoned after 1868 and fell into disrepair.  The fort later became a national monument and was mostly restored.

 

The fort contained a powder magazine and a blockhouse, which has lost its timber upper storey.  It was originally defended by two 8-pounder guns and one 5.5 inch Howitzer.  These guns were removed when the fort was abandoned and today contains a selection of muzzle-loaders dating from the later part of the eighteenth century.  Even though the fort was built to defend the Bay, it never fired a shot in anger.

On the north side of the fort lies the grave of Captain Francis Evatt, Commandant of Fort Frederick between 1817 and 1847.  Captain Evatt is often referred to as the Father of Port Elizabeth because of the part he played in the town's early development as well as overseeing the landing of the 1820 British Settlers.

 

This picture dates from the early 1900's...

 

and this is what it looks like today.  The powder magazine is the little building on the left.

 

The Fort Frederick gateway and ramparts with a British soldier in uniform standing at the gateway.  The photo is dated 1895.  This was taken after the fort was abandoned for it's original purpose of guarding Algoa Bay.

The gateway as it looks today.  Notice the chimney top right that is visible in both pictures.

Sundays River

The Sundays River is the Eastern boundary of the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan area and situated right next to the Addo Elephant national Park's southern boundary. The Khoisan people originally named this river Nukakamma (Grassy Water) because the river's banks are always green and grassy despite the arid terrain that it runs through.

The source of the 250 kilometre long Sundays River is in the Compassberg Mountains near Nieu-Bethesda. The river then flows in a general south-south-easterly direction, passing the town Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo before winding its way through the Zuurberg Mountains and then past Kirkwood and Addo in the fertile Sundays River Valley. It empties into the Indian Ocean at Algoa Bay after running through the village of Colchester, 40km east of the city of Port Elizabeth.

Fort Frederick

Fort Frederick can be found on the hill overlooking the Baakens River valley and Port Elizabeth Harbour. It's a stone fort built in 1799 by the British Forces to defend the mouth of the Baakens River to prevent a possible landing of French troops to assist the Graaff-Reinet rebels. It was named after Frederick, Duke of York and was commanded by Captain Francis Evatt. Even though the fort was built to defend the Bay, ironically, no shot was ever fired in anger from it. The Fort, containing a powder magazine and a guardhouse, was originally defended by eight 12-powder guns.