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Taylored Trips – Out & About – KouebokkeveldIn this series of Out & About we travel through five passes of which two are done in both directions. We head inland beyond the mountains that surround Paarl, Wellington, Hermon and Gouda to the east. These mountains were first known as the Limietberge. Up until 1658 when they found a way through these mountains at Oudekloof Pass near Gouda, the Dutch settlers were unable to penetrate the “Mountains of Africa” as Jan van Riebeek called them, so the mountains were their limit at that stage, so to speak.On the way there we first traversed another pass, Bothmaskloof Pass, the first one of this trip. It cuts across the eastern edge of Riebeek Kasteel, a stand-alone mountain in the wheat fields of the Swartland. Riebeek Kasteel is the second mountain recorded to have been climbed in South Africa. Pieter Cruythoff being the man that did that in 1662, the year van Riebeek left the Cape. Peter van Meerhoff, one of the men in the party lead by Cruythoff, named it Riebeek’s Kasteel in honour of the first Commander of the Cape of Good Hope. Table Mountain was the first recorded mountain ever climbed in South Africa.Riebeek Kasteel taken from the west on the R311 to MoorreesbergAs you come over the cutting from the Bothmaskloof Pass, you have a truly breathtaking view of the Riebeek valley below. Nestled on the northern side of the mountain are the twin towns of Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West. They are only separated by about 5 or 6 kms and are both very touristy and arty with some extremely ornate buildings, churches and houses. On offer here are some of the finest restaurants, function venues, wineries, rusks, olives and accommodation. Be sure never to miss their Olive Festival which turns both towns into a carnival setting. This year, 2017, it is on the 6th and 7th May.Just outside Riebeek West, on the premises of the cement factory, is the birth place of General Jan Smuts. He was born in this thatched roof house and it is open to the public for viewing.Jan Smuts' birthplaceAdjacent to the house, in an old shed is a museum depicting the history of Jan Smuts.Jan Smuts MuseumFrom the Olive Festival towns we skipped into the sleepy railway town of Hermon and then on to the R44 which takes you up past the Vo?lvlei dam to Gouda. The R44 turns left at Gouda but we carried on straight on the R46 through the Nuwekloof Pass. The old pass and the railway line, which run parallel to each other can be seen on the right-hand side of the Klein Berg River. They were both laid out by Thomas Bain but only built much later by the road works dept., while the scar of the Oudekloof Pass, first discovered in 1658 by Pieter Potter, can still be seen if you look back as you get to the turn-off to Tulbagh. The Cape Epic MTB tour used that route a few years ago. The current Nuwekloof Pass is the fourth pass since they first crossed the Limietberge into the Roodezand as the Tulbagh valley was known in the early days.Tulbagh, besides being the epicentre of the devastating earth quake of 29 September 1969, was and is home to a few celebrities. Alfred Maitland Taylor, my grandfather, was Post Master there, Ginger Baker, legendary drummer for the rock band Cream lived there until recently and, staying with the music theme, Albert Frost and his family as well as his mother Maggie and step-father Rob Nagel of the Blues Broers all currently live there.Watch this space for the next feature in Taylored Trips – Places of Interest – Tulbagh, for a whole lot of interesting info on this very picturesque town.A by-pass on the R46, which cuts out the town of Wolseley, joins the R303 and runs straight into the magnificent Michell’s Pass on the way to Ceres. Michell’s Pass was originally built in 1848 by Thomas Bain’s father, Andrew Geddes Bain, the grand master of roadbuilding in South Africa. The Houw Hoek Pass and the Bain’s Kloof Pass were built by Andrew Geddes Bain. Thomas was an apprentice and stationed at Tweede Toll when his father was building Bain’s Kloof Pass and he later went on to build more than twenty of the most spectacular and difficult passes around the Western Cape.We pulled into Die Tolhuis, right in the middle of Michell’s Pass, for something to eat and a leg stretch. It did duty as the toll house after the pass was completed in 1848 and it is a national monument. Now it serves as a restaurant and curio shop/farmstall and it claims to be the “Home of the Roostekoek”!Die TolhuisDie TolhuisAfter lunch we continued through Michell’s Pass with lovely views on the right of the Breede River down in the valley, the now restored railway line and the railway tunnel, before entering the bokkeveld town of Ceres.Michell's Pass with the Breede River in the valley, the railway line and the road above. The railway tunnel is just not visible in the distance as the track turns left. Entering Ceres with the golf course ahead and on the rightWe continued on the R303, which turns left, right in the centre of town and takes you to the kouebokkeveld. The R46, which carries on straight at the intersection, takes you to the warmbokkeveld.About 10kms out of Ceres, with a very barren looking Skurveberg mountain on your left, you get the quaint little town of Prince Alfred Hamlet and soon after that you begin to climb the Gydo Pass. From the lookout point near the top of the pass you get a panoramic view of the fertile Ceres valley below.Ceres valley Gydo Pass view pointWe tootled on down the way we had come, back through Hamlet and Ceres and turned left just after Michell’s Pass, past Wolwekloof and Wolseley. The R301 turns right into the spectacular Bain’s Kloof Pass and we enjoyed the fifth pass of our trip. This one being my favourite. All too soon we were back where we started out that morning, in Wellington.Bain's Kloof PassWellington, the town we've called home for the last 23 years, basking in the sunlight at the foot of Bain's Kloof PassJust for the record, this day-trip encompassed five mountain passes of which two of them were done twice (in the opposite direction), with stunning views, lots to see and do and eat and it took less than 150 kms. What a drive!Until next time, “Keep on Tripping!” ................
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