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The land with legends of gold and horses have an exciting history which
dates back to 1721, in the records of Dutch East India Company establishments at
Delgoa Bay (now Maputo) where show gold was being traded. In 1882 Bernard Chomse claimed to have found gold in the bed of a
stream on a high, narrow plateau which projects like a finger
between the valleys of the Elands and the Little Crocodile rivers. Situated in the hills above
Ngodwana 32km from
Nelspruit
this picturesque village also do have a charming country atmosphere. A herd of
wild horses has roamed the hills around Kaapschehoop for many years, and is
reported to have originated from the release of pit ponies hundreds of years
ago.
The
diggers called the strange place Duiwelskantoor ('devils office'). An early
recording says: "No description could convey anything approaching an
adequate idea of the difficulties of a journey through this region. The
mountains are so rugged that only the devil could live here".
The
valley is often covered in mist and the plateau then resembles a cape in a sea
of clouds. It became known as De Kaap ('the cape'), and the centre of the gold
rush was named Kaapschehoop ('hope of the cape').
Today
this village offers the environmentally conscious tourist a number of options
and has a lingering atmosphere of the gold-rush days, and
prospectors still work in the area.
With
a little imagination one can see shapes in the rocks, identifying the character
“snoopy “ and seeing a lions head and a laden camel, set in the lovely hill
country with superb walking and hiking trails through extra ordinary rock
formations. The cycad here is protected in the nearby starvation creek
nature reserve, while the blue swallow, an endangered species, is
protected in the grass lands.
Search
LowveldInfo.com for more information relating to Kaap se Hoop
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