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TRAVELTIME - Special Report |
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L'AGULHAS
REVISITED
December '09 |
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Brian
& I have just returned from a visit to the
Overberg where we visited Derek
Burger, our very charming guide who went out
of his way to show us around during our
short stay in L'Agulhas early in April 2008. |
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A fire started in the Die Dam area on 24th
December and whilst having been contained
shortly afterwards it flared up again and
continued to burn in a number of areas. In
all nine structures including three
homesteads were destroyed..
We arrived in L'Agulhas on 27th December and
on 29th we accompanied Derek on a visit to a
few of the effected areas.
Hardest hit were the areas recently part of
a R17M upgrade in the L'Agulas National
Park. Homesteads dating back to the early
1800's have now been completely destroyed.
Derek believes they are now beyond
restoration. |
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Derek with Piet van As, the artist and overseer
of Springfield Estate where Dianna Durant hosted
a tea for the ladies during the 2008 tour.
Dianna sadly passed away six months ago. |
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This is all that remained of the barn at
Springfield which was situated behind
the main homestead. One of the tortoises
which were caught in the inferno. |
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Two homesteads which escaped the
fire at Ratelrivier farmstead. For interested
parties, full historical information can
be found by clicking on the link below:
(It takes a few minutes to download from the
SANPARKS website, so please be patient as it is
of great historical interest.).
http://www.sanparks.org/groups/tenders/2007/agulhas/Annexure%202%20-%20Historic%20Information%20on%20the%20farmstead.pdf |
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The
grass surrounding these two burnt out buildings
was virtually untouched, leading us to believe
that the fire was started in the thatch by wind
borne embers. |
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Total
devastation! A thick layer of ash
is all that remained of the grass and fynbos in
this area. The heat was so intense that glass
from the windows shattered and the pieces fused
together. |
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Beside being totally shocked by the
destruction caused by the fire, we did
manage to have a restful period in
L'Agulas and Stamford where we stayed at
Bezuidenhout House which was one of the
guest houses used in 2008. Cathy & Tony
are still resident there. |
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During this
time away we investigated a number of
interesting TimeOut & Traveltime
destinations
and have returned full of enthusiasm for the
year ahead. |
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Published 2nd
January 2010 |
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