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adriaan pienaar
Samba Member
Joined: February 17, 2003
Posts: 692
Location: Sedgefield, South Africa
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 Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:49 pm Post subject: Montagu Pass by buggy |
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Went camping with the Lolette near the town of Oudtshoorn, Klein Karoo last weekend
On my return home I went via the old unpaved Montagu Pass.
Isn't this the coolest road sign EVER?
My mission for the day was to find the exact same spot this pic was taken more than 150 years ago:
After some searching I found it!
Same spot, pic taken from different angle:
Old railway bridge:
Old toll house:
Home sweet home!
Some historical info on the Pass, from Wikipedia:
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Montagu Pass is situated in the Western Cape province of South Africa, on the unsigned road between Herold and George. It parallels the newer Outeniqua Pass designated the N9/N12
The pass was named after John Montagu, Colonial Secretary of the Cape in the 1840s, whose enthusiasm for good roads resulted in the first ambitious program of construction in Southern Africa. This pass was damaged by floods in November 1996, and was closed for most of 1997. It has been repaired and is now open. Driving time of about one hour will take one over the Outeniqua Mountains, through the village of Herold to the N9.
In 1844, some 250 convicts started with the construction of the pass and it was opened for traffic in December 1847. The passage over the Outeniqua mountains, which used to take a full three days over the Cradock Pass, could now be accomplished within three hours. Today it takes 15 minutes by car.
Henry Fancourt White, an experienced road engineer from Australia, was in charge of the work. His name is perpetuated in the lovely Fancourt Estate and in the village of Blanco (originally called White's Village). On the ascent, one passes the Old Tollhouse where once the toll of one penny per wheel and one penny per ox had to be paid. This historic building, declared a National Monument, is currently in a bad state having been vandalised. "Keurrivier se brug" further on has also been declared a National Monument. The original stone wall still exists all along the pass. The name boards tell interesting tales. The narrowest part of the pass with overhanging cliffs was called "Die Noute". Here wagons could not pass abreast. Further on is "Regop Trek", the steepest part of the road. Where the road passes underneath the railway bridge, is "Stinkhoutdraai" where stinkwood trees used to grow in profusion. In this way the pass continues, until reaching the hotel at North Station. The oldest part of the building dates back to 1840.
This building is built of local stone and it is a proclaimed heritage site. The toll was 2 pence per wheel and one penny for each pulling animal, 2 pence for a horse, cow, ox or mule and 1 half a penny for a sheep, goat or pig.
The first toll keeper was John Kirk Smith who was born in Nottingham, England, in 1818.
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Last edited by adriaan pienaar on Sat Nov 22, 2014 10:58 am; edited 1 time in total |
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BL3Manx
Samba Member
Joined: August 29, 2006
Posts: 6767
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 12:09 am Post subject: |
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| Thank you for sharing those, but you've made me very envious |
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Letterman7
Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2004
Posts: 3198
Location: Downingtown, PA
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 7:35 am Post subject: |
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That's very cool. I love how the fishing pole goes everywhere  |
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joescoolcustoms
Samba Member
Joined: August 08, 2006
Posts: 9054
Location: West By God Virginia
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 8:09 am Post subject: |
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Thank you for the pictures! I would love to be there with you driving it and enjoying the beauty of the views.
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Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone |
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tgodber
Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2004
Posts: 410
Location: Okanagan Falls B.C. Canada
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 8:40 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for sharing pictures of your country. Too bad we are so far apart, would love to see it in person.
The two pictures 150 years apart are very cool.
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Wetstuff
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2010
Posts: 700
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 10:23 am Post subject: |
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Adriaan, They could use about 2 million of those very decent road signs in Central America.
Nice pics. Thanks for posting.
Jim
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manxvair
Samba Member
Joined: January 11, 2011
Posts: 231
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:59 am Post subject: |
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| Great pictures! looks like some beautiful buggy cruising. Thanks for sharing. |
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