The story of Baviaanskloof
Fascinating glimpse into the culture and history of a community
THE magnificent Baviaanskloof, virtually on Nelson Mandela Bay’s doorstep, leaves visitors from around the world – and closer to home – gob-smacked by its immense beauty. But many who visit will be unaware of the fascinating stories of the people who live, and have lived, in this enchanting though once very isolated part of the world.
The Baviaanskloof is today a mega-reserve and World Heritage Site and, while its plant and animal life – and its geology – are widely studied, it is the history of the people known simply as the “Klowenaars” that is worth exploring too.
These are the people who farmed the kloof’s habitable areas for generations and whose numbers have radically shrunk over the years.
Colijn Scheltema and Naomi Haupt, who both have ancestral links to the Baviaans, collaborated a few years ago to pen a small but engaging book on the kloof, which they went on to self-publish in Afrikaans in 2015.
That book has now been updated and re-released, not only in Afrikaans, but also in English for the benefit of the many visitors to the area.
The 164 pages of Baviaanskloof: A Culture-Historical View: Nuwekloof to Kruisrivier detail the history of farms in the area, quite a few of which are now owned by the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency.
Scheltema, a retired agriculturist, and Haupt, a genealogist, lovingly documented the stories of farms with quaint names such as Uitspan, Rondeklippies and Apieskloof.
There are photographs of the farms and their inhabitants, including some who still live off the land here.
The book also touches on the agricultural practices of old, farm schools and human relationships over the years. There’s an overview of the incredible geology and richly diverse fauna and flora, and even the medicinal plants, that occur here.
Another chapter details the well-known personalities, such as author PH Nortje, who have had ties with the kloof.
“One story worth singling out is that of the 1916 flood,” Scheltema, who also penned Baviaanskloof Stories in 2007, said.
“This devastating flood saw a huge mass of water pass through the Kleinpoort gorge. Four members of the Campbell family died in a tragedy that the Baviaans community commemorated, 100 years later, on May 7 last year.”
Baviaanskloof: A Culture-Historical View is available from the Baviaanskloof Tourism Association or contact Hestelle at damsedrif@gmail.com. Both English and Afrikaans editions retail for R230. It is also stocked by Fogarty’s at Walmer Park.