Eastern Cape Provincial Article - South African Vacations
Eastern Cape Provincial Article - South African Vacations
Eastern Cape Provincial Article - South African Vacations
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MOLTENO<br />
Established on the farm Onverwacht, this town was named after the then<br />
Prime Minister of the <strong>Cape</strong>, Sir John Molteno, and for some time, was a major<br />
coal-mining area. However, when richer coal seams were found in KwaZulu-<br />
Natal and the then Transvaal Province, mining activities stopped and the town<br />
soon lost most of its inhabitants. It eventually recovered, thanks to the good,<br />
old-fashioned, cooking skills of one of the local inhabitants, Aunty Nannie<br />
Greyvenstein, and her home-baked rusks. Today, most of <strong>South</strong> Africa’s<br />
rusks, potato crisps and savoury biscuits are produced in this town. Merino<br />
sheep farming is the other main economic activity of the area.<br />
ADVENTURE AND SPORT<br />
Water sport: Locals flock to the 7-km-long dam for fishing, boating and other<br />
water sport activities.<br />
ARCHAEOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY<br />
San Rock Art at King’s Glen: Visit the San rock art site on the farm, King’s<br />
Glen, 5 km off the main tarred road from Molteno to Sterkstroom. This site,<br />
only recently discovered, lies well concealed within a cave on the farm.<br />
Another site not far from the homestead has a well-preserved painting of a<br />
“little man”. Viewings are by appointment only.<br />
San Rock Art and Fossils: There are various other rock art sites in the<br />
Sterkstroom/Tarkastad area such as the sites at Leyklikpoortjie and<br />
Falconridge. The area is also rich in fossil finds.<br />
ART AND CRAFTS<br />
Johannes Meintjies Collection: The local high school houses a selection of this<br />
well-known local artist’s work.<br />
HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE<br />
Battle of Stormberg: Visit the site of the Battle of Stormberg, one of the British<br />
disasters that took place during the so-called “Black Week” of December<br />
1899. Find out more about this Anglo-Boer War battle at the Molteno Museum.<br />
Historical buildings: The Old Mill has been converted into a hall and<br />
conference centre. Look carefully at the old Clock Tower - if it looks familiar to<br />
you, it is because it was the emblem used on old patent medicine bottles.<br />
Molteno Museum: The museum is housed in the sandstone library building. Its<br />
exhibits cover local European cultural history, a history of the area’s<br />
indigenous people and include a selection of daguerreotypes of the town<br />
(photographs produced through one of the earliest photographic processes<br />
known).<br />
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