By Roxanne Reid
I can jabber on about the chalets on stilts in the Agulhas National Park like a lovesick teenager (read my guide to Agulhas National Park here). But if the sights and sounds of the sea aren’t your cup of tea and you want a totally different experience, you can book a renovated old farmhouse a few kilometres inland.
I can jabber on about the chalets on stilts in the Agulhas National Park like a lovesick teenager (read my guide to Agulhas National Park here). But if the sights and sounds of the sea aren’t your cup of tea and you want a totally different experience, you can book a renovated old farmhouse a few kilometres inland.
Agulhas National Park, at the southernmost tip of Africa, is currently 21 859.8748 hectares. This figure, to its pedantic four decimal points, is one that park manager Ettienne le Roux is anxious to get right because he says it has been misquoted in the past. For a park still in the development stage, it’s not hard to understand that this often means bits and bobs of land here and there, not necessarily all in one tidy lump. Addo, Marakele and Mapungubwe, for instance, are in a similar situation.
But for me, the most interesting thing is how varied the landscapes at Agulhas are. From the coastal plain with its rocky shoreline (where the new rest camp is), it’s a journey into another world when you drive just 20–30 kilometres inland. First you pass vleis that still reveal evidence of the salt-mining that used to take place here until a few decades ago. Then you reach flat farmlands and the old farmhouses of Rhenosterkop, Bergplaas and Rietfontein.
But for me, the most interesting thing is how varied the landscapes at Agulhas are. From the coastal plain with its rocky shoreline (where the new rest camp is), it’s a journey into another world when you drive just 20–30 kilometres inland. First you pass vleis that still reveal evidence of the salt-mining that used to take place here until a few decades ago. Then you reach flat farmlands and the old farmhouses of Rhenosterkop, Bergplaas and Rietfontein.
Renosterkop cottage
We visited the three historic cottages at Rhenosterkop, which lie on one of the oldest farms in the Strandveld. The first grazing rights here were granted to a fellow called Lourens way back in 1757. That’s round about the time that Ryk Tulbagh was governor of the Cape and ‘mad’ King George III was hopping onto the throne in England, wearing a white wig and silly trousers. The oldest of the houses probably dates back to around the mid-18th century too, but they’ve all been modernised with solar panels instead of candles for lighting and gas instead of wood fires for cooking and hot water. Just the sort of comforts we 21st-century visitors demand.
The atmosphere at Rhenosterkop is entirely different from our sea chalet, less restless and more olde-world farmy. A strategically placed small tree provides shade so you can sit and relax over your braai, and the houses’ thick walls and thatch roofs help with insulation too.
I’m told that the idea for the thatch roofs with rounded end gables that you see here was brought to the Strandveld by the many Scotsmen who were shipwrecked along this coastline and made their lives here. The purpose of the design was to reduce the effect of the strong winds. Because trees were scarce in this barren landscape, locals used wood from shipwrecks to make window frames, doors, rafters and other items.
The name Rhenosterkop comes from the skull of a black rhino that was found here many years ago and is still preserved in a museum nearby. It’s an interesting peek into the animal life that once occurred here, even though nowadays grysbok, steenbok, caracal and honey badger are about all that’s left, unless you count the marine species like seals, dolphins and whales. In time, once this relatively new park reaches maturity, the plan is to reintroduce some of the species that historically occurred here.
Who says you can't have it all? I can't wait.
More about the area
Agulhas walking trail
Ghost corner
Agulhas lighthouse
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
The atmosphere at Rhenosterkop is entirely different from our sea chalet, less restless and more olde-world farmy. A strategically placed small tree provides shade so you can sit and relax over your braai, and the houses’ thick walls and thatch roofs help with insulation too.
I’m told that the idea for the thatch roofs with rounded end gables that you see here was brought to the Strandveld by the many Scotsmen who were shipwrecked along this coastline and made their lives here. The purpose of the design was to reduce the effect of the strong winds. Because trees were scarce in this barren landscape, locals used wood from shipwrecks to make window frames, doors, rafters and other items.
The name Rhenosterkop comes from the skull of a black rhino that was found here many years ago and is still preserved in a museum nearby. It’s an interesting peek into the animal life that once occurred here, even though nowadays grysbok, steenbok, caracal and honey badger are about all that’s left, unless you count the marine species like seals, dolphins and whales. In time, once this relatively new park reaches maturity, the plan is to reintroduce some of the species that historically occurred here.
Who says you can't have it all? I can't wait.
More about the area
Agulhas walking trail
Ghost corner
Agulhas lighthouse
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
