The Lourensford River at Morgenster

The search for a Geocache while visiting Somerset West took me to a beautiful spot I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.  Travelling down a narrow road I came up to a closed gate and parked the car.  Walking through a side gate this was the scene waiting for me.  Turned out to be the old entrance into Morgenster Wine and Olive Estate.  Although the property on the other side of the river was private property, this side of the river had trails running up and down the river and I encountered lots of locals walking their dogs along these trails.  Looking for the cache meant using "Top Gun 007" stealth mode and my camera was the perfect alibi for hanging around the one spot for so long.

Vergelegen tree

This black and white is of one of the historic Campher Trees at Vergelegen in Somerset West

Vergelegen

The Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West is less than an hour's drive from Cape Town yet back in the 1700's it took three days by ox wagon to get there.  In 1700 Willem Adriaan van der Stel succeeded his father, Simon van der Stel, as governor of the Cape and it didn't take him long to claim himself a modest 30,000 hactre piece of land just like his father had done with Constantia.  The farm was on the slopes of the Hottentots Holland mountains with beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean and was called 'Vergelegen' meaning 'situated far away' due to the distance from Cape Town.  Willem Adriaan planted vines as well as fruit orchards and also started farming with cattle and sheep.  Shortly after he left the Cape the estate was sold and divided into four separate farms namely Vergelegen, Lourensford, Morgenster and Cloetenburg. 

The old Cape Dutch style homestead has been turned into a museum offering visitors a glimpse into a 300 years of Vergelegen's existence showcasing select treasures of early Cape Furniture, objects and textiles.

Directly behind (or in front, depending how you look at it) the house stand five giant Camphor Trees.  These trees are the oldest living, officially documented trees on the sub-continent and was planted by van der Stel somewhere between 1700 and 1706.  The trees are officially protected and were proclaimed National Monuments in 1942.

To the side of the manor house visitors will find the Royal Oak.  The tree was planted in 1928 and according to the first plaque under it was grown from one of the last acorns of King Alfred's Oak at Blenheim Palace in England.  A second plaque states that acorns from this oak was personally collected on 23 April 1947 by His Majesty King George VI for replanting in Windsor Great Park.  Two other plaques commemorate the first visits to Vergelegen by Queen Elizabeth II (21 March 1995) and  Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall (5 November 2011).

Pink Vergelegen

One of the wine estates in the Western Cape I've always wanted to visit but never had the opportunity before was Vergelegen in Somerset West.  Earlier in the year I was in the area and pinched off an hour of my time to pop in for a look a this historic estate established by Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel in 1700.  I'll do another post about the estate in general, but wanted to show off these two pictures of the old Cape Dutch style manor house seen from the garden which, on my visit, had the most beautiful pink flowers in bloom. 

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Somerset West ghost hill

When I was in primary school we went on a school tour to Cape Town and one of the places we visited was the ghost hill in Somerset West.  I remember how the teacher parked the school bus on the hill, switched it off and let go of the hand brake, making the bus free wheel... UP the hill.  I've always wanted to return and on a recent trip to Somerset West I made some enquiries and headed up to the top of Parel Valley Road to where I was told it was.  It took me a couple of stops and tries before I found it but I did.  The road comes up the hill before cresting the top and running slightly down hill from where the car is towards the camera.  Its as if somebody forgot to tell gravity that the hill isn't going up anymore.

Read more about gravity hills (also called magnetic hills)

Vergelegen in pienk

Die Weskaap is wêreldwyd bekend vir sy wynplase, party van hulle wat soveel as drie eeue terugdateer.  Een van die oudste wynplase in die Kaap is Vergelegen in Somerset-Wes.  Willem Adriaan van der Stel het sy pa, Simon van der Stel, in 1700 opgevolg as goeweneur van die Kaap.  Kort voor lank het hy 'n groot stuk grond aan die voet van die Hottentots Hollandberge vir homself geeien net soos sy pa met Constantia, die oudste wynplaas in die Kaap, gedoen het.  Dit het drie dae geneem om by die plaas te kom met 'n ossewa en dit is hoe die plaas sy naam "Vergelegen" (ver geleë uit die Kaap uit) gekry het.  Met my laaste besoek kon ek nie help om in die tuin pienk blomme in te klim en die foto te neem met die Vergelegen herehuis in die agtergrond nie.