Gamkaskloof
Encyclopedia
The Gamkaskloof is a narrow isolated valley about 20 miles long with a maximum of 600 feet wide located in the Swartberg
mountain range.
or Calitzdorp. Later a school was formed, with the teacher also leading the Sunday church.
They farmed their own grain, vegetables, fruits, tea and tobacco. Along with also distilling their own witblits and brewing their own beer made from wild honey.
The residents had for many years been championing the government to build a road into the valley. Eventually in 1962 a road was completed which was probably the beginning of the end for the community. The children attended high schools in the nearby villages and most of them did not return to the subsistence life in the valley. The elderly retired to retirement villages outside the valley and the number of residents diminished until the last person (Piet Swanepoel) sold his home to Cape Nature Conservation in 1991.
The valley was declared a national monument in 1997 and was included into the Swartberg Nature Reserve. Subsequently the cottages in the valley have been renovated and equipped with solar power and bathrooms.
The residents have never liked the name and prefer to referrer to themselves as 'Kloovers'.
Swartberg
The Swartberg mountains make up a mountain range that runs roughly east-west along the northern edge of the semi-arid Little Karoo in the Western Cape province of South Africa...
mountain range.
History
The Gamkaskloof was presumably discovered in the early 19th century by farmers, but the first permanent settler was Peter Swanepoel, who settled in the valley during the 1830s. After him the Marais, Cordier and the Joubert Nel Mostert families also settled in the valley, growing to a community of a maximum size of around 160 individuals. The residents used horses to cross the Swartberg mountains to reach Prince AlbertPrince Albert, Western Cape
Prince Albert, South Africa lies on the southern edge of the Great Karoo, nestling under the majestic Swartberg mountains.- History :...
or Calitzdorp. Later a school was formed, with the teacher also leading the Sunday church.
They farmed their own grain, vegetables, fruits, tea and tobacco. Along with also distilling their own witblits and brewing their own beer made from wild honey.
The residents had for many years been championing the government to build a road into the valley. Eventually in 1962 a road was completed which was probably the beginning of the end for the community. The children attended high schools in the nearby villages and most of them did not return to the subsistence life in the valley. The elderly retired to retirement villages outside the valley and the number of residents diminished until the last person (Piet Swanepoel) sold his home to Cape Nature Conservation in 1991.
The valley was declared a national monument in 1997 and was included into the Swartberg Nature Reserve. Subsequently the cottages in the valley have been renovated and equipped with solar power and bathrooms.
Die Hel
Nobody is sure where the 'Die Hel' name came from. One popular story is that a Piet Botha (an animal inspector) visited the valley in the 1940s and used a particularly difficult route known as the 'die leer' into the valley. He described the experience as "hell".The residents have never liked the name and prefer to referrer to themselves as 'Kloovers'.
Links
- IOL Originally Published in the Cape TimesCape TimesThe Cape Times is an English language morning newspaper owned by Independent News & Media and published in Cape Town, South Africa. The first edition of the newspaper was published on 27 March 1876 by then editor Frederick York St Leger...
19 May 2003