Day twenty one - Griquatown,
23rd October 2007

Another big day in Africa. I slept well and woke at just before 8 to the happy sounds of Jim de Villiers making breakfast. Jim is the Dominee (Priest) for the local Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerk and his wife Karien runs the local guest house. Jim and Karien have always put me up in the lovely home - thus the sounds of Jim in the kitchen! (Unfortunately Karien is studying at UNISA and only returns after I leave).

After breakfast I went down to the Mary Moffat Museum (image right) - a one minute drive - set up the posters and slide show with the help of Hetta Hager.

It was a very small launch with less than ten people attending but amongst those who attended were the three local Griqua chiefs - Adam Kok V (Campbell), Johannes Waterboer (Griquatown) and Pastor Ivan Beukes Secretary of the local Griqua People's Organisation.

The launch, held in the main room of the Mary Moffat Museum went very well with a reporter from the Afrikaans publication "Volksblad" asking most of the questions. I remember Volksblad (People's paper) from my days at boarding school! I spoke under the famous missionary bell and we then retired to the back room and ate cake and cool drink kindly supplied by Hetta Hager the Mary Moffat Museum's curator for the last 20 years.

I presented each of the three Griqua leaders with six copies of "Children of the Mist" for use by their community and the Mary Moffat Museum took four copies for their initial stock.

I then drove to the point that the great African explorer Burchill had once sat 200 years before and drawn what was then called Klaarwater... but I was on the 30 meter high watertank!

Click on the large image below for 360 degree views of Griquatown from the top of the water tank. Burchell's June 1812 drawing from this point facing to the right of the water tank at this link. The drawing was one at the request of the London Missionary Society Missionary Anderson (page 243 volume two)

The challenge had been to climb up the 75 vertical steps, to the top of the nearly 30 metre high water tower - something I was scared to do last year (I only climber half way up). The view from the top - the metal roof of the water tower - was amazing but windy.and within minutes the presence of a white man wobbling around drew a large audience of Griquas who watched as I tried to take photos of the view of Griquatown Burchell would have died to replicate! (Burchell drew Griquatown from this same point in 1811).

After successfully making my way back down I set off to find the mystical "Hardcastle"  (images below) about 60k to the south of Griquatown... but still north of the Orange river. Not even Hetta knew its exact location but suggested that some Griqua at Niekerkshoop on the road to Prieska might be able to help.

I arrived at Niekerkshoop but had little success - eventually an old man ventured forward and told me to take an old farm road that led east of the small coloured township.

I set off and within 15k drove into the most remarkable valley with asbestos-like cliffs rising on either side as the road led down an old dry river bed. The landscape was just as Campbell nd Burchell had described Hardcastle in the early 1800s and the location was right - even to the small spring.

I drove down this little used farm road littered with signs warning of violent armed action if caught tresspassing. Then I stopped and just walked into the crags of the rocky face finding my way up a steep crevice that took me up to the top of one of these extraordinary layered rocky crags that rose above the valley. Here I took photos not realising that my lookout was very fragile indeed! In fact it is remarkable that it did not break away - see photo roght. After enjoying the view I drove out the other side of this kilometer long geographic anomaly... then plunged back through it again as I set off home.

It was just before 5pm when I got back to Jim and Karien's home.

Jim and I went out to the local pub for dinner meeting with the locals, having a glass of wine before returning home to watch my new DVD "Enemy of the State".    

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