MZANZI TRAVEL - ISSUE 3

Heritage & Environment
a shoemaker by trade and the grandfather of famous South
African poet, Louis Leipoldt. Quality shoes are produced in
the village to this day.
a) San rock art in Cederberg Wilderness Area
b) Wupperthal
c) Mountain landscape in Cederberg NATURE RESERVE.
in the mountains. The wilderness area encompasses about 71
000 hectares of rugged, mountainous terrain and offers many
white, sandy river beaches and deep natural swimming pools,
as well as some truly awesome hiking trails and rock-climbing
challenges.
The Cederberg, which forms part of the Cape floral region,
is a World Heritage Site, and among its many inhabitants are
the rare and endemic snow protea and the rare Clanwilliam
cedar. Last year CapeNature, who administer the area, opened
six stunning, luxurious new cottages to add to the existing
offering of cottages, camping and picnic sites.
From the top of the mountain we travelled down to the
Wupperthal Moravian Mission, a sleepy little settlement left
behind by time in the remote Tra-Tra valley on the eastern
flank of the mountain at the confluence of two tributaries of
the Doring River, which later joins the Olifants. The town was
established in 1830 by German Rhenish missionaries, Baron
Theobold Von Wurmb and Johann Gottlieb Leipoldt, the latter
a
b
c
At Clanwilliam, our next stop, we found a wide choice of
excellent accommodation, from basic camping to luxurious
B&Bs. We spent the night in the town, eating at one of a
number of fine restaurants. The next day, lacking the time, we
didn’t embark on the Rooibos Route, although we were told
it is a must-do. But we visited the shop of Rooibos Limited,
the world-headquarters of this unique South African product.
We also had just enough time left for a quick dip in the
Clanwilliam Dam, a favourite holiday destination, offering
fishing, skiing, kayaking and other water sports. But beware if
you visit here at the height of summer: the heat can be deadly
and tree shade is sparse around here. Go well prepared.
The dam is the prime smallmouth bass fishing venue in South
Africa and hosts two major bass fishing competitions each
year: the Winter Bass Classic in August and the Summer
Classic on the first weekend of October. The Olifants River
is home to a number more species of freshwater fish, so you
can stop anywhere along the route, take out your rod and try
your luck. Of course you’ll need the necessary angling permit
obtainable from any Post Office.
The first European settlers arrived in the Clanwilliam district in
1732; by 1820 the government of the Cape Colony established
a Magistrate’s Court and in 1901 tragedy struck when a fire
destroyed almost the entire town. A local farmer told us
jokingly that the fire took away all the trees, that’s why you
struggle to find any shade today.
For a better peep into the local history we visited the
Clanwilliam Museum, housed in a building that was originally
built in 1808 to serve as the town’s jail, one that has a few
stories of its own. The curator showed us the Louis Leipoldt
Collection, memorabilia and documents of this famous
Afrikaans poet.
Later we visited Leipoldt’s grave in the beautiful isolated
surroundings up in the mountain alongside the Pakhuis
Pass, a place where you can converse quietly with the many
fascinating ghosts of the past of this beautiful region.
The area is also home to much San rock art, mountain hikes,
flower routes, the Cederberg Astronomical Observatory,
various hiking trails including the Pakhuis Trail, a rock art trail
and the Rim of Africa Hike.
From Clanwilliam we followed the R363 on the east side of
the river till it joins up with the N7, before having a choice of
taking either the R363 or R362 – which run on either side of the
MZANZI TRAVEL| www.mzanzitravel.co.za|ISSUE 3 | 29