Today did not go as planned but that’s alright. It was still a good day. We expected it to rain all day and, well, that’s just about what happened.
It was threatening rain when we left our little chilly cottage - it’s a beach cottage that really isn’t right on the beach but we can see a portion of the ocean and there is no heat except a heating panel in the bedroom that really doesn’t provide any heat. I’m sure it’s pleasant in the summer.
As we were walking to the car, there were several Southern Masked Weavers making a lot of noise, and we noticed there were several nests so I attempted to get some photos. They were a little too far for me to get it full frame but I got one photo I’ll share. I’m going back tomorrow morning in an attempt to get a better photo. As you can see their nests look like hornets’ nests, hanging from the trees, and they enter from the bottom of the nest.
Our first task was getting gas, and we read that gasoline in South Africa is the highest price in the world so we were bracing ourselves. I needed about three-quarters of a tank because the little Ford Fiesta we have is sort of like a hybrid and is very good on gas. It was only $30 in US dollars to fill the tank which isn’t much, although I suspect that if I look more closely at how many litres I got, I might think it’s expensive – so I’m not going to look. I’m just going to pay the $30, knowing it would take about that much to fill my Rav4.
Beth was extremely cold and uncomfortable last night so after we bought gas, we wandered around Hermanus looking for clothing stores so she could get a better jacket. There is a chain here called Pik ‘N Pay – and, well, you can get everything. There is Pik ‘N Pay Liquor, Pik ‘N Pay groceries, and we found a Pik ‘N Pay clothing store. It would be like Shopko but availability is limited. She got a fleece-lined hoodie and two pair of leggings. That might keep her warm and comfortable for the remainder of the trip.
Since we’re going out on a boat tomorrow, I figured my fleece might not do the job so we had to search a little to find a store that had jackets that would fit me! Found it in an active sportswear store (ha!) so I’ve got something heavier than my fleece now. It’s bright red so I don’t think I can wear it on safari (bright colors scare the animals) so I’ll have to maybe put my fleece over the coat.
It was raining when we left Hermanus to visit Arniston, a fishing village on the other side of the Overberg area that is on the Indian Ocean. I had read about it so I wanted to stroll around and take photos. Then we were going to stop at Cape Agulhas, which actually is the southernmost location of the African continent. Cape Agulhas is Portuguese and translates to “Cape of the Needles,” a reference to compass needles. We wanted to visit it because it’s the geographic southern tip of the continent but also because it is the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. We visited Cape Reinga in New Zealand where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans mixed so we wanted a twofer. Ha!
Before we got outside the Hermanus city limits, we stopped at Grotto Beach because I remembered having read something about it. It’s a Blue Flag beach and is well known for its massive stretch of stunning sandy beach (almost 18 km. in length) and, of course, the ocean. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by the Foundation for Environmental Education, which is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization consisting of 65 organizations in 60 -member countries. The criteria include standards for quality, safety, environmental education and information, the provision of services and general environmental management. The Blue Flag is an indication of high environmental and quality standards.
There were not a lot of people there but I suspect it’s rather crowded in the summer. We walked a portion of the beach before just standing there for a while, hoping to see a whale. And we did! It was a Hump-Back Whale that was breaching. I got a photo but it was too far away to fill the frame so I’ve cropped it a bit. I’m thinking I’ll get some photos tomorrow during our whale watching trip. We watched it breach many times!
We hit the road, and it was pouring down rain but we were optimistic it would pass. It didn’t pass so after about an hour and half, we decided not to continue to Arniston or Cape Agulhas because 1) we didn’t want to be walking around in the rain and 2) we probably wouldn’t see much from the Cape.
Just some brief information about what we didn’t see (ha! Arniston is a small seaside settlement previously known as Waenhuiskrans, an Africaans name meaning literally “Wagon house cliff” after a local sea cave large enough to accommodate a wagon and a span of oxen. The name is used interchangeably with Arniston, which refers to a British ship that ran into the rocks at Waenhuiskrans in 1815. Only six of the 378 people on board survived the wreck. The fishing village is characterized by lime-washed and thatched houses that have gained the village the designation of a national monument. The fisher people apparently still go to sea in boats of the style that would have been familiar to locals in the early 19thcentury, although now they’re under contract to larger commercial enterprises.
Speaking of ship wrecks, we bought a map in Gansbaai for our venture, and marked on the map are hundreds of shipwreck sites along the coast. South Africa has a coastline of some 2500 km. that is dangerous in parts and which has claimed thousands of vessels over the centuries. The most famous wrecks include the Arniston as well as the Grosvenor, the Waratah, the Birkenhead, the Sacramento, The SS Thomas T Tucker and the Oceanos. Here’s a partial list of South African shipwrecks: http://sahistory.org.za/article/list-south-african-shipwrecks
Cape Agulhas is notorious for winter storms and mammoth rogue waves that can range up to 100 ft. high and can sink even large ships. Over the past few hundred years, it has been believed that around 150 ships have sunk around Agulhas. Apparently, the Cape has a spectacular coastline (that we could not have seen with the cloud cover) that consist of a gradually curving coastline with rocky and sand beaches.
So, having decided not to continue in the rain for another hour and a half to reach our destination, we stopped in a small village called Elim to eat our lunch in the car in the pouring rain. Driving into Elim, we knew it was something special because there were neat cottages lining the road, many of which were white-washed and some with traditional thatched roofs. I took a few photos, most of which have rain drops in them because I was shooting through the windshield.
We began reading some literature we had about Elim and recognized it was worth our time to check it out.
Elim means “place of God.” Biblically, Elim is the place the Israelites rested after crossing the Red Sea. The village is in the middle of a particularly sparsely populated area, and it is one of the few surviving South African mission station. It was founded in 1824 as the third Moravian mission station in the Cape. It is the only monument ever erected in Africa to celebrate the emancipation of slaves. The monument is located across the road from the church, which dominates the village.
We wandered behind the church into the “The Werf,” which was where the missionaries lived and which included seven dwellings. The bell at the church tolled each morning to indicate when workers were to assemble in The Werf to report to work.
The Moravians are interesting. The name Moravian identifies the fact that this historic church had its origin in ancient Bohemia and Moravia in what is the present-day Czech Republic, according to a Moravian Church history. The church was established after Czech reformer John Hus led a protest movement against many practices of the Roman Catholic clergy and hierarchy. The church has been officially known as The Moravian Church or Unitas Fratrum (Unity of Brethren) since 1457. It was organized 60 years before Martin Luther began his reformation and 100 years before the establishment of the Anglican Church. It is a denomination within the Protestant religion, and Moravians share the same core beliefs including that Jesus Christ was born, died and was resurrected. Although it is an independent church, it has historical links to the Lutheran church going back many years. The Moravians that established the Elim mission were from Germany.
The Elim mission church was built in 1787. The clock was imported from Germany. It is the style of Cape Dutch architecture, as is most of the architecture in the Western Cape. Can we say the colonizers’ architecture? Anywho, it’s a traditional Afrikaaner architectural style that was prominent in the 17thcentury, and the name derives from the fact that the initial settlers of the Cape were primarily Dutch. The style has roots in medieval Netherlands, Germany, France and Indonesia. The prominent feature is probably the grand, ornately rounded gables reminiscent of features in townhouses of Amsterdam built in the Dutch style. It is not the defining feature. The style is defined by white-washed walls, thatched roofing, large wooden sash cottage panes and external wooden shutters, some of which you can see in the photographs. They are long, horizontal structures and often have dormer windows.
So the Moravians in Elim provided a haven for freed slaves, and they gave the freed slaves houses and land to farm but in return, the freed slaves had to follow strict Moravian religious practices. The missionaries also taught the villagers a variety of trades and skills. Elim’s thatchers continue to be renowned for their craftsmanship. Because the town has retained its historical character, it too is a national monument.
The population is about 2,500 and consists of farmers, farm workers and artisans. All remain Moravians. AND the village is privately owned by the Moravian church which, according to one of the women in the heritage center, makes it ineligible for state money or assistance - something she bemoaned, as many of the buildings in The Werf need maintenance.
We spent some time in the Elim Heritage Centre, viewing photographs and consuming information. WE also learned about the Slave Route Project, which is a UNESCO initiative launched in 1994 in Ouidah, Benin. The project aims to break the silence surrounding the slave trade and slavery that have concerned all continents and caused the great upheavals that have shaped our modern societies. It is an awesome project, and you can read more about it here: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/slave-route/
The sun came out as we drove back to Hermanus, and the area was agriculture with some farming. We had to stop twice to let cows cross the road. They were heading to the barn to be milked. Besides the large milking operations, there also were beef cattle and sheep, and several acres of some kind of crop.
It was a good day, even though we didn’t do what we had planned.
This is a Southern Masked Weaver on its nest. I'm going to get a better photograph of it tomorrow.
Walking the white sandy Grotto Beach as the rain approach.
Our first, up-close spotting of a Humpback Whale breaching. It was about 150 feet from shore so I couldn't make it full frame. We're going whale watching on Saturday and hope to get some better photos.
Some of the landscape of the agricultural portion of the Overberg through which we drove, mostly in a pretty good rain.
This is the Moravian mission church, built in 1787. Behind it is The Werf where the missionaries lived.
This is one of the original dwellings in The Werf. It had no signs indicating its original purpose. Elim is privately owned by the Moravian church so it doesn't get anything from the state to maintain these historical buildings.
This building actually was built in 1947 but it is characteristic of the Cape Dutch architecture.
Probably one of the original cottages outside The Werf. Note the satellite dish on the right side of the house.
Possible as old as the cottage pictured above but more colorful.
A man going to his home.
A woman with her baby in a carriage and the dog walking through Elim in the rain.
The Slave Emancipation Monument in the middle of town. Elim initially was a refuge for the indigenous Khoi people until it was taken over by hundreds of slave. Most of Elim's 2,5000 residents are descendants of those slaves. The monument was first built in 1938 and was "re-unviled" in 2004 after paling into disrepair in the 1990s. It was rebuilt in time to mark the United Nations declaration that 2004 was the year to celebrate the victory of humanity's struggle against slavery. It is the only monument ever erected in Africa to celebrate the emancipation of slaves.
Beth got this on her phone - cows crossing the highway to the milking barn.
A farm of white buildings in the rain, an image that exemplifies our day.
This is a Common Fiscal, also known as a Fiscal Shrike.
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