Page 367 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - South Africa

SOUTH OF THE OR ANGE  365

Cottages with striped awnings and painted stoeps (verandahs) line the streets of Cradock
7 Gariep Dam } Forever Resorts Gariep painter Thomas Baines, who
Gariep Dam. Tel (051) 754-0045. passed the “Hogs Back” while
Road map D4. NE of Colesberg on Open daily (day visitors must call
R701. on his travels deeper inside
ahead). & 0 Ó D I s  South Africa in 1848. The
In 1779, when Colonel Robert ∑ forevergariep.co.za Amatola Forest is often claimed
Gordon reached the banks of as J R R Tolkien’s inspiration
a watercourse that was known for The Lord of the Rings, in
to the Khoina as Gariep, he 8 Hogsback particular for his fictional forest
renamed it the Orange River, in Road map D4. * 1,030. of Mirkwood. Tolkien was born
honour of the Dutch Prince of n Main Rd, 045 962 1245. in South Africa.
Orange. Little did he know that Open 10am–4pm Mon–Sat, The village is made up of
a dam would be constructed at 9am–3pm Sun. ∑ hogsback.com a string of cottages, guest-
this point nearly 200 years later. houses, tea gardens and crafts
In 1928, Dr A D Lewis The quiet village of Hogsback shops. It is well-known for its
advanced the idea of building a lies at an altitude of 1,200 lovely English-style gardens
tunnel linking the Orange River metres (4,000 ft) in the beautiful of flowering plants such as
to the Eastern Cape. Although a forested surroundings of the rhododendrons and azaleas and
report was pres ented to the Amatola Mountains. Its name its orchards of soft fruits such as
government in 1948, it was derives from one mountain blackcurrants, blackberries and
only in 1962 that the prime peak that resembles the back of gooseberries. There are
minister Hendrik Verwoerd a hog when viewed from a delicious jams for sale in
gave the ambitious project the particular angle. Hogsback’s shops. Local hikes
go-ahead. Work began in 1966, The earliest known written from 30 minutes to two hours
and in Septem ber 1970 the last reference to “Hogsback” was lead up to some pretty
gap in the wall was closed. found in the journal of the waterfalls in the forests.
The Orange River is South
Africa’s largest and longest river,
and the Gariep forms the
country’s largest body of water.
The dam wall rises 90 m (297 ft)
above its foun dations and has a
crest length of 948 m (3,110 ft).
At full supply level it covers an
area of 374 sq km (144 sq miles).
A corridor of bushveld
surrounds the Gariep Dam,
and is home to a few spring-
bok, blesbok and black
wildebeest. The Forever
Resorts Gariep, at the dam wall,
offers comfortable chalets, a
camp site and a range of
activities such as fishing and
boating. There are also tours
of the dam wall. Chalets built on the water’s edge at the Gariep Dam
Spandau Kop Mount in the Karoo plateau near Graaff-Reinet

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