Karoo road works stop-go scenery

Some people absolutely hate stop-goes at road works.  I used to be one of those but recently have changed my whole outlook on them.  I make a point of it to get out the car at each one to stretch my legs and to take in the surroundings.  Even chat to the driver of the car in front or behind me.  A week or two ago I drove up to Johannesburg for the Getaway Show and encountered road works on the way up just north of Middleburg and on the way back just south of Cradock. 

 

My stop outside Middelburg was early morning on a grey cool day in the Karoo.  While the cars were passing from the front I was taking photos of the silhouetted Karoo koppies with a farm fence in the foreground.  Spot the windpomp on the left?

The drive back had me encounter a spot of rain.  Something that is always welcomed in the Karoo.  The road works on the N10 has been going for a little while now and they are progressing quite nicely.  The rain was brought on by a cold front and I loved seeing the mist on the mountains next to the road.  Other drivers standing at the stop go usually look at me curiously when I pull my camera out at spots like this while everybody else is sitting in their car being agitated.  I hope them seeing me take photos make them notice the surroundings a bit more as well.

Cradock Moederkerk

Driving through the Karoo Heartland town of Cradock the other day I just couldn't help but to stop and snap a few pics of the "Moederkerk" in town.  I've played around with a couple of effects and this is what I came up with. Oh yes, and what is a post without a little bit of interesting historic info?

 

The first Dutch Reformed congregation (and also the first church) in Cradock was established in 1824.  The present building was completed on the original site as the first church in 1868.  The building's design was based on St. Martins-in-the-Field on Trafalgar Square in London.  At the  opening ceremony the builder refused to hand over the door keys as he hadn't been paid everything owned to him (sounds familiar?).  Appeals when out to those in attendance and an amount of money was raised on the spot, enough to satisfy the builder.  During the Anglo-Boer War (1899 - 1902) the church roof was used as a lookout post by the British troops who garrisoned the town. as it was the highest spot in town. 

 

Cradock's Tuishuise and Victoria Hotel

 

Driving through the Karoo from the interior to the Eastern or Southern Cape coast (or the other way around) and looking for a spot to sleep over?  The Karoo Heartland has some excellent overnighting spots in towns like Cradock, Graaff-Reinet, Nieu-Bethesda and Somerset East.  If Cradock is your overnight destination of choice then you really don't need to look any further than the iconic Tuishuise and Victoria Manor Hotel.

Die Tuishuise  on Market Street in Cradock is made up of 30 beautifully restored Karoo style cottages.  These cottages date back to the 1840's and are all furnished with antique furniture yet also includes all the modern amenities travelers require.  The Victoria Manor Hotel at the top of the street is one of the oldest hotels in South Africa and was built in 1848. 

Daggaboer Farmstall in the Karoo Heartland

About 50 km south of Cradock on the way to Port Elizabeth and the cool breeze of the coast, is one of the Karoo Heartland's most popular farmstalls.  Daggaboer Farmstall is one of those "you just have to stop and try their goodies" spots and was voted the WEG & GO! travel magazines' best farm stall in South Africa in 2011.

According to their website they are best known for their
• Cheesecake, lemon meringue & milk tart

• Crunchy koeksisters, millionaire’s shortbread, fudge & Turkish Delight

• Homemade Ginger Beer & Lemonade

• Best quality handmade sheepskin slippers

• Mohair knee blankets, scarves & socks

• Lavender linen sprays & aromatherapy gels

• Famous Kokskraal jewelry & other quality gifts.
• Roasted Olives, Dutch Cheeses, pure honey & pecan nuts grown in our valleys
• and many other pleasant surprises, spices, sjoe-sjoe sauces, curried beans & chutneys

 

I know all of that is a mouth full (literally and figuratively) and I can't vouch for all their products, but I have to say that the last time I passed there the temperature was flirting with the early 40's C and their chilled home made gingerbeer and lemonade both went down very very well.

Karoo Heartland Churches

Looking through everything I have that still needs to be posted I decided to take three Karoo churches and make up one Random... Karoo churches post.  Just about every small town in the Karoo Heartland of the Eastern Cape has a remarkable church of some sort.

 

Cradock must have one of the most memorable Karoo Heartland churches there are.  It stands at the top of Church Street and is known as the ``Mother" Church.  The church was completed in 1868 on the same site as the first Dutch Reformed church in the town.  This church community was also the first in Cradock and was established in 1824, 10 years after the town received it's name.  The design of the church was based on the ``St Martins-in-the-Fields" church in Trafalgar Square in London. and the great South African statesman and first President, Paul Kruger, was christened here in 1826.  During the Anglo-Boer War, the roof of the church was used as a look-out post by the British soldiers who occupied the town.

On the other end of the spectrum you will also find churches that is a lot less imposing yet still has historical value to the area its located in.  In the village if Middleton you will find a Methodist church that is probably smaller than most houses.  The church was built in 1903 and only has 5 rows of seats.  It has services in it every Sunday for the residents of the village which is run by the Noupoort Christian Care Centre who owns the village and uses it as part of their rehabilitation process for drug and alcohol addicts.

 

A little further to the north west is the village of Nieu-Bethesda.  Built in 1905, the Dutch Reformed Church is the grandest edifice in the village, with its long gothic spire reaching to the sky.  A decline in the town resulted in a dwindling of the numbers of the congregation and the church has not had a permanent minister since 1961 with the Sunday service being performed by a minister from Graaff-Reinet.  There is some fine wooden carvings on the old church pews and the original chandeliers are quite unique. 

Karoo sunrise

A 4am departure on a road trip to Johannesburg meant that I was just south of the Karoo town of Cradock when the sun started to lick at the horizon.  It wasn't long for the clouds to be on fire and I couldn't help but to pull over to take a picture with my phone which I Instagrammed immediately.  The Karoo always has something breathtaking to offer visitors on a plate.

Schreiner House in Cradock

Olive Schreiner (24 March 1855 – 11 December 1920) was a world renown South African writer and is best remembered for her novel The Story of an African Farm which has been highly acclaimed ever since its first publication in 1883.  She was born in Wittebergen and grew up Healdtown from the age of six.  Between 1868 and 1870 she lived in Cradock with her brother who was the headmaster of the local school and two other siblings.  Although Schreiner only lived in Cradock for three years, she was reburied (she was originally buried in Kimberley) outside the town on Buffelskop mountain.

The house she lived in with her siblings has been converted into Schreiner House, a museum mainly dedicated to Olive Schreiner.  The museum houses her personal library, exhibitions depicting her life and copies of all her books.  It also houses a small bookstore selling a wide variety of books.  Unfortunately I swung through town on a Sunday afternoon which meant the museum wasn't open, but I'll make a plan next time I'm in town. 

 

The Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival takes place in Cradock from 25 to 27 July this year (2014)

Time for a pitstop

Farm stalls all have their unique points and quirky bits. 

Daggaboer Farm Stall outside Cradock has this sign by the gents.....

27 miles to Cradock

Back in the old days distance stones were used to indicate to travellers how far they had to go to the next town.  These days there aren't a lot of them around and often they are found on old and back roads.  But trust Geocaching to take me to one of them on the N10 on a trip to Cradock.  This stone indicates 27 miles to Cradock and 80 miles to Grahamstown.   

Cradock grave yard track - no Harry Potter unfortunately

On my last visit to Cradock I went in search of the grave of Harry Potter.  Harry Potter, you ask? Well, Cradock's cemetery holds the grave of one Harry Potter who was a ‘beloved husband’ and died on July 27, 1910 at the age of 46.  Was he magical? Who knows?  I unfortunately didn't find him.  I did find this scene of this car track through the grave yard that I especially liked.  Since coming back home I have discovered GPS coordinates for his grave and the Geocacher in me will be back to follow the coordinates even if there isn't a cache with a log sheet to sign at ground zero.  Harry Potter's grave will be enough of a find.

I flew in a helicopter

 I'm not a regular flyer.  The first time I got to fly was in a Jac (similar to a Harvard), a flight I would never forget as the pilot did two rolls with this very nervous and acrophobic passenger in the back.  Since then I have become a lot better and over the last seven years got to fly a couple of times a year on passenger planes both around South Africa and internationally.  All that said, I still haven't been up in a small plane again and have never had the opportunity to go up in a helicopter.  I did a hot air balloon once, but never a helicopter.  That was until a couple of weeks ago.  I went to Cradock for a meeting and stayed at the excellent Tuishuise.  Lisa and David of Tuishuise invited me along for a late afternoon visit to a nearby game farm and while there Mike, the owner, asked if the guys wanted to go for a quick flip in his helicopter around the farm with him.  Well, lets see. We thought about it for probably a quarter of a second.... if that long.

 

Twenty minutes later we were up in the air and I was taking selfies. 

Ok, just one as proof that I was there. 

 

My camera was a bit slow to get any animal pics in the fading light, but the landscapes were irresistible.  The sun was setting behind us and coloured the clouds on the horizon beautifully.

 

We also turned around just in time to see the sun set over the Karoo landscape in the west.  What more do you want.  But the experience was nearly over and we were heading back.

As the wind had come up while we were in the air, Mike dropped David and I off in the veld and took the helicopter in solo to land on the landing pad next to the chopper shed.  Oh man, what an experience.  One I will cherish and remember as much as the "flipping" Jac flight. 

Karoo storm moving in

The Karoo is known as blue sky country.  That means when the thunder clouds start to pack together after a hot day there is lots of sky to watch the approaching storm in.  Like this one I witnessed just after leaving Cradock on my way back to Port Elizabeth.  I can just smell the drops splashing down on the hot tar road again.  Its one of my five favorite smells along with the smell of cut grass, fresh bread, the ocean and a damp forest.  What's you favorite smell?

 

Cradock Tuishuise

 

I often wonder how many people who have visited Cradock would never have stayed over in the town if it wasn't for the Tuishuise.  The Tuishuise on Market Square was built between 1840 and 1870 and housed artisans like harness makers, wheelwrights, smithies and carpenters who made a living from the horses, oxen and wagons passing through on their way north.  Unfortunately by the early 1900's oxen and wagons where replaced by trains and cars and the artisans started to loose their livelihood.  The reason the houses never really changed in style was because the people living there became too poor to knock them down and change them.  In the early 1980's Sandra Antrobus, a local farmer's wife with a keen interest in antiques and historic buildings bought a couple of the old houses, restored them and started renting them out to visitors and tourists.

Today those handful of houses has grown to 30 tuishuise and a hotel.  The hotel on the corner of Market Street right next to the Tuishuise is the Victoria (Manor) Hotel which was built in 1840 and is one of the oldest surviving hotels in South Africa.  The hotel was graced by many legendary South African figures like Cecil John Rhodes and Olive Schreiner back in the days.  Today visitors can either stay in the hotel or one of the refurbished Karoo cottages (or Tuishuise) with personal hospitality like only found in small towns.  Die Tuishuise are all furnished with antique furniture yet have all the amenities one would need from a self catering establishment.  Meals, both dinner and breakfast, can be enjoyed in the hotel, where one of the local farmers used to ride his horse right up to the bar for his daily knerts.  The horse by the way got served beer in a hubcap.

I've now had the privilege (and it really is a privilege) to stay at Tuishuise twice, once with the family and once while on business.  Its a great spot to just chill for a day or two while exploring Cradock and it's surrounds.  Cradock has a number of historic and natural attractions to enjoy with the highlight being the Mountain Zebra National Park just outside the town.  Plus the town has a couple of Geocaches to find, on being right on Market Street.

Cradock's Mother Church

The Dutch Reformed Church at the top of Church Street in Cradock is probably this Karoo town's most imposing landmark.  The first Dutch Reformed congregation in the town was established in 1824 and the church was the town's first.  Paul Kruger, who went on to become the President of the Transvaal Republic, who was born on a farm near Bulhoek south of Queenstown in 1826 was christened (by a Welsh pastor) in the original church and his name appears in the register.

 

The present building, the "Moederkerk" (mother church), as it stands today was completed on the same site as the first church in 1868 at an apparent cost of some £ 24 500 .  The design was based on the ``St Martins-in-the-Fields" church in Trafalgar Square in London.  An interesting fact is that during the Anglo-Boer War, the roof of the church was used as a look-out post by the British soldiers who occupied the town.

Cradock celebrates 200 years

Cradock is one of the main towns in the Karoo Heartland and this year celebrates 200 years since being founded.  By the late 1700's Graaff-Reinet had been established as a magistrate district and Dutch farmers has settled in the area.  In 1814 Sir John Cradock decided to build a series of forts along the lower Fish River and all the way up to present day Cradock to try to contain the Xhosa people to the East of the Fish River which by then had been proclaimed the boundary by the Government of the Cape.  Although Cradock started as a fort it never saw any action and slowly developed as a town. 

 

In the early days the town was home to a number of artisans but today is very much central to farming in the district.  The Karoo produces some of the best wool and mohair in the world and is a major meat supplier (lamb and beef) with the Karoo bush imparting that typical Karoo flavour to the mutton. 

 

Tourism in the town revolves around three things, its history, the nearby Mountain Zebra National Park and the Great Fish River that flows past the town.  Cradock is also an ideal stop-over for travelers on their way to and from the coast.

The picture of Cradock was taken from the summit of Oukop to the north-west of town.

Cradock attractions

Its been a year or two since my visit to Cradock here in the Eastern Cape, but I found a couple of pics of attractions in the town that I haven't posted before.

The historic NG Moederkerk (Dutch Reformed Church)

The church was completed in 1868 for the local Dutch Reformed congregation that was established in 1824, a mere 10 years after the town received it’s name. The design of the church was based on the design of "St. Martins-in-the-Field" in London's Trafalgar Square. During the Anglo-Boer War the church roof was used as a lookout post by the British soldiers who occupied the town.

Cradock Four Memorial

The four Cradock activists – Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkonto, Fort Calata and Sicelo Mhlauli – were killed by policemen in 1985 on their way back to Cradock from a meeting in Port Elizabeth. Goniwe set up the Cradock Residents’ Association (Cradora) and took on the contentious issues of rent increases, which led to consumer boycotts of white businesses in the town. The murder made headlines and Goniwe and his comrades became known as the Cradock Four.

Schreiner House Museum

The museum is situated in the house where the world-renowned South African author Olive Schreiner lived from 1868 till 1870. The Schreiner House Museum houses Olive’s personal library, exhibitions depicting her life and those of her siblings, and copies of all the books she wrote. The bookshop at the Schreiner House sells a wide variety of books, including Schreiner’s most celebrated work, The Story of an African Farm, as well as other books by and about her.

The early 20th Century horse drinking trough

In the early days of most towns there were spots where the farmers would stop to water their horses and animals after a long journey. This horse drinking trough can be found in Frere Street and was commissioned by the Cradock Town Council in commemoration of King Edward VIII, in 1902.

Tuishuise and Victoria Hotel

We spend a weekend at the very interesting Tuishuise in Cradock recently. The Tuishuise is an elegant collection of beautifully restored Victorian era craftsmen’s houses in this Karoo town about 3 hours north of Port Elizabeth. The more than two dozen Tuishuise line Market Street and are furnished with mostly antique furniture. Each house constitudes unit so you won't be sharing your house with anybody else. We were there in winter so the fireplace in our unit came in very handy on those cold evenings.

At the top of Market Street stands the The Victoria Hotel. Built in 1840, the hotel was graced by many of South Africa's legends such as Olive Schreiner and Cecil John Rhodes along with adventurers who passed here en route to the hinterland. The hotel serves as receiption area for the Tuishuise and serves typical Karoo dinners in the Albert dining room.

Karoo churches

For today's "Random ..." theme I decided on Karoo Churches. Most of the small Karoo towns have magnificent old churches that are well know landmarks in these towns.

The Dutch Reformed Church (Moederkerk) in Cradock. Built in 1868, the design is a near replica of St. Martins-in-the-Field in Londen.

The Dutch Reformed Church (Grotekerk) in Graaff-Reinet. It was built in 1885 and the design was based on the Salisbury Cathedral in England.

The Reformed Church in Venterstad, built in 1876.

Karoo Cactus

On our recent visit to Cradock we walked up Oukop, the hill outside the town. From the top there is a lovely view over the town. There is a wide variety of succulents and cactuses that grow in the area and this one I found very interesting.

Coral Aloe on Oukop

Coral Aloe is one of the many aloe species found in South Africa. Unlike most other aloe species, the coral aloe does not have thorny or spiky leaves. These aloes are in full bloom at the moment and in some areas in the Karoo the fields of aloe looks awesome at the moment. This coral aloe is growing on Oukop in Cradock.