Hans van Lamoen

South Africa Safari 2014

Winelands and Garden Route

Historic map showing the Dutch names of settlements and landmarks of the Cape (and the False Cape) region.

Dutch settlement in South Africa started in March 1647 when the sailing Ship 'Nieuwe Haarlem' shipwrecked and its crew built a survival settlement on the shore. In 1652 an official first permanent settlement was establised by an expedition of the Dutch Verenigde Oost-Indische Companie (VOC), under the command of Jan van Riebeeck including ninety settlers. The VOC ruled settlers community became a colony of settlers and (imported) central African slaves which remained under Dutch rule until 1795 when it came under british rule after the VOC went bankrupt in 1794.

Babylonstoren farm manor house

The 'Babylonsche Tooren' farm was established in the Drakenstein valley area in the year 1692. The farm land being granted to settler (Cape colony burgher) Pieter van der Byl by the then Governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel.

Babylonstoren farm manor house

'Babylonstoren' garden and mountain view

The Avondale Winery front yard garden

Avondale Jonty's Ducks winery

Avondale's Jonty's Ducks at work between the vines. Keeping the snails in check. (Youtube footage)

A surviving old oak of Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch street view

Stellenbosch, old Dutch style architecture

Bosch en Dal at Franschhoek. The farm was fouded by Dutch settlers in 1685

The name Franschhoek relates to the arrival in the Cape area in 1688 of some 200 French huguenots who settled in this area (as well as in the areas of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Drakenstein) developing farms and in particular vineyards.

Boschendal - The 'Manor House' displaying elegant 17th century Dutch farm house architecture

Kogel Bay ('Kogelbaai')

Peaceful scenery with a chilling memorial stone commemorating the tragic death of 20 year young South African David Lilienfeld.
He was mortally wounded while body surfing being attacked by a great white shark on 19 April 2012.

Grootbos 'Forest Lodge'

The Grootbos private Nature Reserve is covered by socalled 'Fynbos' vegetation and part of the 'Cape Floristic Region'.

The 'Fynbos' is a mediterranean-type shrub vegetation which is extraordinary rich in species. The fynbos occurs in a 100-200 km wide belt along the coast stretching from Clanwilliam on the Atlantic Cape west coast to Port Elizabeth in the East.