D

If you have any photographs of the entries in this blog that are not illustrated, or better pictures of those that are, and you are willing to let us have your minimum-res 800 x 600 pics, please contact us.
Daggavleikloof : “dagga valley ravine” [Afr]; the ravine north east of Algeria that leads down from the peak described below. ‘Dagga’ usually refers to marijuana or Cannabis sativa; it is possible that the ‘daggavlei’ was a place high on the mountain where this illegal crop was cultivated
Daggavleikop : “dagga valley hill” [Afr]; the 1345m peak at the head of the ravine above

Daisy Cottage at Traveller’s Rest

Daisy : one of four cottages that form part of the accommodation facility at Sevilla, part of Traveller’s Rest farm in the Agter-Pakhuis

Damp Floor Shelter; Uilsgat path below, Tafelberg in the distance

Damp Floor Shelter : A small but useful rock shelter west of the Welbedacht-Uilsgat footpath, but wet in winter
Damplaas : “dam farm” [Afr]; rather unimaginative name for a farmstead on the banks of the Klipopmekaarrivier, on the northern side of the Pakhuisberg

The ‘dam plaas’ (Pakhuis) near the Damplaas Busstop

Damplaas Busstop : In earlier times the railway bus that served the Clanwilliam district stopped here. The stop is next to a part of Pakhuis farm (see pic) where the house is next to a dam, not the farm in the entry above. It was used by the Heuningvlei community – a 14km walk away – as the stop for the nearest public transport to Clanwilliam
Danckaert : a farm on the Olifants River south of Citrusdal, named after the Company official who led the first expedition from the Cape to this area in 1660, and who named the Olifants River – see below

Daniël se Swemgat

Daniël se Swemgat : “Daniël’s swimming hole” [Afr]; Daniël (his name was pronounced ‘Dial’) was a well-known woodcutter and donkey-driver from the Langkloof area. His swimming hole is a tiny but perennial pool in the upper part of the otherwise-dry Gabriël’s Pass, and is where Daniël always stopped for a dip. Daniël, a broad-hipped man, was always a bit anxious about getting stuck in the very narrow pool, and that he would not then be able to escape from the mountain leopards
Dankbaarheid : “thankfulness” [Afr]; a small farmstead near Kunje, in the southern Cederberg

Dassie (Procavia capensis)

Dasklip : “rock rabbit or hyrax hill” [Afr]; a prominent rocky hillock in the Kromrivier valley, much frequented by dassies or hyraxes. Dassies (Procavia capensis) are small, rodent-like mammals that are more closely related to elephants than anything else

The northern part of Dassieberg

Dassieberg : “rock rabbit or hyrax mountain” [Afr]; a peak of 1539m south of Grootlandsvlakte and just to the north of the Uilsgat Needles; named for the considerable presence there of dassies
Dassiebos : “rock rabbit or hyrax forest” [Afr]; an enormous area of boulders, broken rocks, gullies and caves to the north west of the village of Kleinvlei; the name is figurative, the ‘forest’ being the huge forest of rocks which teems with dassies
Dassieboskloof : as above, a major ravine to the south of the Dassiebos
Dassieboskloofrivier : as above, the river in the ravine
Dassiehoek : “rock rabbit or hyrax corner” [Afr]; a basin or corner in the hills just south of the Klipfonteinrant pass
Dassieklip : as above, a cottage for hire on Petersfield farm, west of the N7 near Citrusdal
Dassieklippe Trail : as above, a poorly-marked trail between Rooiberg and Visgat, north of Nuwerust; also known as the Visgat trail
Dassiekop : as above, a rock frequented by dassies near Middelwerf, in the Kromrivier valley
Dawid se Gang : “David’s passage” [Afr]; a small ravine near Amon se Poort named for a friend and mountain man of repute
De Eike : “the oaks” [Afr]; a farm south of the R303 near Citrusdal
De Kom : “the basin” [Afr]; a small hollow valley west of Petersfield farm, off the N7 near Sonop Motors; also the name of a cottage for hire on the same farm
De Kom Dam : As above, the dam in De Kom
De Pakhuys : “the pack-shed” [Afr]; a farm well known for its accommodation and bouldering sites, on the Agter-Pakhuis side of the Pakhuis Pass; the farm is marked on maps from 1900 as ‘Brandewynrivier’

Ken Howes-Howell’s astonishing pic of De Rif farm, from 1934; there is now nothing there at all but a few stone ruins. Untouched wilderness?

De Rif : “the reef”, also a “ledge” or “edge” [Afr]; site of a ruined and now-abandoned farm perched on the shale band north of Dwarsrivier; the footpath to Gabriël’s Pass passes through it, and there is a small cedar plantation there

The mummified cow ...

Dead Cow Copse : A small gum wood in Vermeel se Kloof, near Vleituin farm, where there are the mummified remains of a cow
Dennehof : “pine garden” [Afr]; a farm on the Clanwilliam Boskloof road, between Bovlei and Krakadouw
Derdekloof : “third ravine” [Afr]; the third ravine, counting from east to west, in the upper part of the Kromrivier valley

The Devil’s Playground, from the Biedouw Valley in spring

Devil’s Playground : a common name for an area of huge, jumbled boulders resembling an enormous child’s game of blocks; in this instance the slopes west of the Biedouw Jeugkamp, between there and Heuningvlei
Die Baken : “the beacon” [Afr]; house near the southern boundary beacon of Keurbosfontein farm [see ‘Bakenskloof’]
Die Bank : “the bank” [Afr]; a narrow ‘pass’ high above the Rondegat River, between Rietvlei and Keurbos on the Clanwilliam-Algeria road; also a steep section of the Wupperthal 4 x 4 route, south of Beukeskraal
Die Beer : “the bear” [Afr]; a large boulder that stands next to the Breekkrans Trail, at Traveller’s Rest
Die Breek : “the break” [Afr]; the highly visible rockfall itself at the Breekkrans near Kromrivier is known as Die Breek. The name may similarly be applied to the rockfall near Traveller’s Rest
Die Gang : “the passage” [Afr]; a small ravine south of the Mountain Trail at Bushmans Kloof
Die Gat : “the hole” [Afr]; the head of the deep ravine that emerges at its western end at Uitkyk, near Algeria; for much of the winter days it remains in deep shadow, hence the name
Die Gat se Kloof : “the hole’s ravine” [Afr]; the ravine itself that runs down from the above to Uitkyk

Cottage at Die Hang

Die Hang : “the overhanging slope ” [Afr]; tiny settlement of two thatched cottages next to Wupperthal road as it rises towards Kouberg on the northern side. One of the cottages is scarcely visible beneath the road; the other, across the valley, used to have a very attractive arched-thatch doorway, but remains attractive even though it has been rebuilt
Die Hoek : “the corner” [Afr]; a large indentation in the shaleband on the path between Sneeukop and Vaalfontein; it is where the schoolchildren’s path over Vuilpoortjie (see below) meets the shale band
Die Hoekie : “the little corner” [Afr]; a lonely cottage that stands on the last corner, near the end of the public road up the Clanwilliam Boskloof before it reaches its terminal gate at Karukareb
Die Hok : “the cage” [Afr]; a ruin and abandoned farm at Suurvlakte, south of Platberg in the southern Cederberg

Sign to Die Kamme in Sas se Kloof

Die Kamme : “the combs” [Afr]; series of parallel rocky ridges in the bed of the Tra-Tra River near the Bobbejaangat in Sas se Kloof [see above], presumably so named for their resemblance to combed hair. The name is painted on a nearby rock
Die Kampe : “the camps” [Afr]; enclosed lands at the northern foot of Klippoort on the Oupad, the road from Wupperthal to Heuningvlei

Die Kat en die Muis ... cat on left, mouse on right?

Die Kat en die Muis  : “the cat and the mouse” [Afr]; prominent rock formation north of the Boontjieskloof Hut that is said to resemble these animals
Die Kloof : “the ravine” [Afr]; at Traveller’s Rest, the ravine of the Boontjieskloof river between Sevilla and the Meidegat waterfall is known as Die Kloof
Die Kom : see ‘De Kom’ above

Die Koppies

Die Koppies : “the little hills” [Afr]; a series of small, pointy hills that stretch northwards from the Eselbank-Wupperthal road, just before it enters Skoenmakerspoort

Die Lelike Klong in the rising mist

Die Lelike Klong : “the ugly guy or chap or youth” [Afr]; a prominent rock in the Groot-Koupoort valley that is a landmark for persons descending that way
Die Meul : “the mill” [Afr]; a farm a couple of kilometres north of Citrusdal

A donkey cart on Die Noodpad

Die Noodpad : “the emergency road” [Afr]; rough road widened in the 1950s between Heuningvlei and the summit of the Pakhuis Pass to serve the old, now destroyed forest station at Heuningvlei. Because it provides a quick link to Clanwilliam from the village of Heuningvlei the residents there were told that they could use it for vehicles ‘in an emergency’. Now a popular hiking route, it is also the Heuningvlei donkey cart trail and part of the Cederberg Heritage Route. The original route was set out by Thomas Bain in the 1870s when he built the Pakhuis Pass; it is marked as a track passable for wagons and carts on a map produced by the Field Intelligence Dept of the British Army, in 1900, see Noodpad
Die Oornaggrot : “the overnight cave” [Afr]; a shallow cave next to the Algeria-Clanwilliam road, at the foot of the short Rietvlei se Hoogte pass, that was used by foot-travellers to overnight in. Also known as ‘Ou Jottie se Grot’, see below
Die Plaat : “the plate or place” [Afr]; a wide, flat area on the ridge that lies between De Pakhuys and Bushmans Kloof

Die Poort; Vaalheuningberg behind

Die Poort : “the pass” [Afr]; a shallow nek between Singkop and Kerskop at Wupperthal, where the Kerskop road turns sharply up the hill
Die Punt : “the point” [Afr]; the south western corner of Middelkop, where it brushes the Kleinvleinek, is known as Die Punt; on the Cederberg 100 route, about 1 km out of Kleinvlei

A riethuis similar to the last one in the Cederberg, that was burnt in December 2012. This one is at Moedverloor on the Doringbos-Nieuwoudtville road. The smooth vleiriet – Cannamois virgata – is used for the walls, and sonkwasriet – Willdenowia sp. – which has many branchlets and so locks together well – is used for the roof; in the old days wild olive poles were used for the frame but today these are probably bluegum poles. Houses like this one were once common throughout the Cederberg

Die Riethuis : “the reed house” [Afr]; a house built of reeds according to the traditional methods of the Khoi; there were once many such houses in Cederberg, but this was the last surviving such dwelling until 2012, when it was destroyed by fire. In the Bokkeveld hills north of the Doring River examples of such houses may still be found; they are sometimes known locally as ‘stroois’, a contraction of the Afrikaans for straw + house

Howes-Howell’s 1931 picture of the five-ton Thornycroft ‘combi’ Railway Bus – note the ‘S A S’ for ‘Suid-Afrikaanse Spoorweë’ on the side, and the riethuis behind [see above]. This was the bus that stopped at Die Set in those days, but this pic was taken at Kriedouw, near the Olifants River drift

Die Set : [Afr] – there is no clear translation; this appears to be a colloquialism possibly derived from the Afrikaans word ‘setel’ meaning ‘seat’; at the summit of the Kouberg Pass the Heuningvlei road leaves the main road out of Wupperthal. At this point there used to be a railway bus stop used by the inhabitants of Kouberg, Grasvlei etc., and known as Die Set; it was the terminus for the bus until the Kouberg Pass down to Wupperthal was built to a suitable standard for motor vehicles
Die Siphon-Bult : “the siphon hill or rise” [Afr]; a hill on the Elizabethsfontein road off the R364 which is close to where the canal from Groentuin to Lorraine crosses the valley through a siphon

Die Skeurkrans

Die Skeurkrans : “the torn cliff” [Afr]; a huge cliff on the Grootberg, facing down on Algeria from the west, which has separated from the main mountain leaving an enormous crack behind it. It looms above a spectacular day walk from Algeria

Die Sluis, with Apollo Peak, across the Kromrivier Valley, in the distance. The pic is courtesy of Pieter Malan; the bearded figure is John Yeld

Die Sluis : “the gate”, “the lock gate” or “the key or bolt for the lock gate” [Afr]; a very large, curiously-shaped rock pillar that is a feature of the view from the Kromrivier valley to The Pup, directly north of Apollo Peak
Die Stasie : “the station” [Afr]; the railway bus stop at Traveller’s Rest was known as Die Stasie, and the name persists for the area (see also ‘Damplaas’ and ‘Die Set’ above)
Die Strate : “the streets” [Afr]; a part of the Karooberg road from Matjiesrivier to Bakkrans where it passes between high rock walls, hence resembling city streets

Die Toring, from the summit of Groot-Krakadouw: it’s the ‘spitskop’ 2 o’clock from Matt;
Clanwilliam Dam in the distance

Die Toring : “the tower” [Afr]; a freestanding peak in the Clanwilliam Boskloof before the Krakadouw pass is reached; 679 metres high
Die Trap : “the step” [Afr]; a popular and common name for the characteristic Cederberg shaleband, where it forms a giant step-like divide between the different sandstone formations
Die Uitkyk : “the lookout” [Afr]; a point on the old Uitkyk Pass where on the descent the whole Grootkloof valley beyond Algeria becomes visible for the first time; also a point on the Hoek se Berg pass with the first and most impressive view of the Biedouw Valley to the south, when approaching from the R364
Die Veepos : “the cattle post” [Afr]; a cottage for hire at Petersfield farm

Die Venster, viewed from the west

Die Venster : “the window” [Afr]; a giant, square-shaped gap between Grootberg and Vensterberg North, west of Algeria, resembling a window-opening; its characteristic shape can be seen from as far away as the N7

Die Vlei, looking south from Rondeheuwel near Driehoek

Northern end of Die Vlei, near the top of the Uitkyk Pass

Die Vlei : “the marsh” [Afr] [the Afrikaans word is a shortening of the word ‘vallei’ or ‘valley’, and can refer to a valley, a marsh or even a lake]; the very large marshy area stretching from near the summit of the Uitkyk Pass, south-eastwards to beyond Driehoek

One of Die Vleie in spring, with grazing cows

Die Vleie : “the lakes” [Afr]; a series of natural, shallow non-perennial pans on the north east side of the Klipfonteinrant, the ecotone between the Agter-Pakhuis sandstones and the Karoo shales
Diepholte : “deep hollow” [Afr]; a deep dip in the Clanwilliam-Algeria road, between Lelakloof and Grootklip
Diepkloof : “deep ravine” [Afr]; a very deep ravine west of Platberg and an important side-ravine of Blomfonteinkloof, in the southern Cederberg
Dikklippe : “thick stones” [Afr]; a jumble of large, heavy boulders immediately to the north of Bakkrans; these are Witteberg series sandstones and some contain ancient, pre-Cambrian fossils
Dikrug : “thick ridge” [Afr]; a wide ridge traversed by the Wupperthal road before it descends via Hoek se Berg into the Biedouw Valley

An old newspaper photo, reputed to be of Dirk Ligter

Dirk Ligter se Hoog : “Dirk Ligter’s heights” [Afr]; Dirk Ligter was a real person but has become a semi-legendary figure in the region. He was a sometime-bandit and sheep stealer who lived a semi-Robin-Hood-like existence amongst the poorer communities of the area. He was reputed to be extremely fit and fleet of foot, and once after he was arrested deep in the Cederberg for stock theft he, while being led tied behind the patrolman’s horse through the Grootkloof, begged to be released so that he could run to Clanwilliam. He wished, he said, to spend the night in a nice warm cell rather than out in the cold on the Clanwilliam road. He was released and duly gave himself up at the Clanwilliam Gaol that evening. Dirk Ligter se Hoog is reputedly where Ligter was released to run to Clanwilliam. He died at the Somerset Hospital in Cape Town from TB, in the 1940s

The Disa Pool falls

Disa Pool : Deep pool with a reasonably spectacular double waterfall, high up the Kromrivier Valley; a favourite stopping point for hikers, named for the presence there of the red disa, Disa uniflora, the floral emblem of the Western Cape Province

Charles Merry’s pic of Doc’s Rock

Doc’s Rock : A large rock east of Apex Peak and north of Arch Peak, with a shallow shelter beneath large enough to shelter a party of two or three. Thought to be named after Doc Watson, a school teacher who was prominent in the Mountain Club and who introduced many young climbers to the Cederberg

Doc’s Rock Arch – pic by Nicky Lombard

Doc’s Rock Arch : A natural arch on Arch Peak, named for Doc Watson [see above]
Donkerkloof : “dark ravine” [Afr]; a generic name for any particularly dark, deep ravine; this one leads off the shale band to the west of Donkerkloofkop [see below]

Donkerkloofkop: the view north up the Heks River Valley, with Sneeuberg on the right. Photo by Graham Bellairs

Donkerkloofkop : “dark ravine peak” [Afr]; the westernmost peak in the Kromrivier Ridge, it looks down upon the Donkerkloof itself; 1745m
Dons se Kloof : “Dons’s ravine” [Afr]; Dons [pronounced roughly ‘daunce’ or ‘dawnz’] was a woodcutter and subsistence farmer whose farmstead was nearby on the Heks River; his ravine leads eastwards up the peak known as Wegwaai (see below)
Dons se Werf   : “Dons’s farmyard” [Afr]; Dons (see above) farmed here in the pre-State Forest days; his family were amongst those dispossessed of their lands in the 1890s. No trace of Dons’s farmstead remains; it probably consisted of ‘riethuise’ or huts built of reeds, and has long since succumbed to veld fires
Doornrivier : “thorn river” [Afr]; [the word ‘doorn’ is old Afrikaans or Dutch; the modern spelling is ‘doring’]; the original farm name of the accommodation establishment now known as the Biedouw Jeugkamp [=‘youth camp’]; named for the thorn trees, Acacia karroo, that occur there

The bridge over the Doring River, at Doringbos; photo taken when the river was alarmingly high and the bridge itself was ‘thrumming’   ... we don’t think the brave Landy driver realised that!

Doringbos : “thorn bush” [Afr]; a farm situated where the R364 crosses the Doring River, and crosses from the Western Cape into the Northern Cape Province; named for the thorn trees, Acacia karroo, that occur there
Driefontein : “three fountains” [Afr]; a farm south of Citrusdal, situated on the old road to Ceres

The Driehoek farmyard in Autumn; Tafelberg behind

Driehoek : “triangle” [Afr]; a farm and resort near Welbedacht, and below Tafelberg on its western side. Driehoek was one of the earliest farms in the district; by 1750 it had been granted to Jan Matthys Kok, a German settler, after whom Kok se Vlei and Kok se Poort are named. These names imply that his farm stretched over the whole Sneeuberg area, and probably Dwarsrivier/Kromrivier as well

Survey beacon at Driehoek, 1819; survey by J. Schutte; pic by George Van Der Watt

Driekhoeksrivier, with the view towards Welbedacht and Uilsgat

Driehoeksrivier : “triangle river” [Afr]; the river that originates at Uilsgat, flows down past Welbedacht and Driehoek and then becomes the Sandrivier. Somewhere below Sanddrif it morphs into the Matjiesrivier, and it remains that until it joins the Grootrivier and the Rietrivier much further downstream, at Die Mond
Driekop : “three heads” [Afr]; a 488m hill near Die Vleie, north of Klipfonteinrant. The name may be a reference to animal or even human remains there. It could be translated as ‘three hills’, but in this case there is clearly only one
Droëfontein : “dry spring” [Afr]; a cemetery near the Rondegat River, just below Jamaka; the graves of many of the earliest workers of the Grootkloof are here
Du Preez House : a restored thatched cottage on the Bakkrans reserve, the home of the Du Preez family who were subsistence farmers there in the first half of the 20th century

The little house at Duikerfontein

Duikerfontein : “duiker spring” [Afr]; a small house and former subsistence farm just off the main road to Dwarsrivier. A duiker is a small antelope, Sylvicapra grimmia, widespread in central and southern Africa

Duiweklip; a surviving cedar to the right

Duiweklip : “dove rock” [Afr]; a prominent rock on the path between Boontjieskloof and Heuningvlei, possibly named for its shape or for the presence of doves there

The shelter-overhang at Duiwel se Kruis; no, that’s not old Amon himself, it’s the distinguished friend after whom the nearby Dawid se Gang is named

Duiwel se Kruis : “devil’s crossing” [Afr]; where the Amon se Poort path intersects the old wagon road through Rocklands. “Amon” is a synonym for the Devil, who is reputed to be seen sitting on a rock at the crossing on moonlit nights, playing seductive melodies on a violin. Hear him once, apparently, and you’re hooked ...
Duiwelsgat : “devil’s hole” [Afr]; very deep ravine that leads off the Sneeuberg – Algeria path, west of the Koerasieberg, and connects through a densely wooded cleft to the Heks River valley. In earlier times a well-made path led through it; it was the route used by buchu-gatherers from Elandskloof and elsewhere, who in season were so numerous that the Algeria Forest would establish a temporary permit office at the head of the Duiwelsgat in an attempt to regulate the harvesting
Duiwelsgatkloof : “devil’s hole ravine” [Afr]; the wooded cleft mentioned above is so named

Duiwelskop, from Bakleikraal; photo by Rudolf Andrag

Duiwelskop : “devil’s peak” [Afr]; a 1472m peak flanking the Citrusdal Boschkloof, west of Syferfontein. The reason for the name there is unknown, but in recent years the peak has been surmounted by a plastic cross, presumably in an attempt to mitigate the effects of the Devil ...
Duiwelskopkloof : “devil’s peak ravine” [Afr]; a short ravine leading south from the peak above
Duiwelsleegte : “devil’s valley” [Afr]; a normally-dry, shallow valley north west of Papkuilsfontein, in the arid and, in summer, extremely hot area north of Klipfonteinrant
Dwarskloof : “across-ravine” [Afr]; a generic term for any ravine which cuts across another; in this instance it refers to a part of the Beesgat river valley, where it joins the Breekkrans valley; also a ruined subsistence farm up the kloof, last farmed by the Visser family in the 1960s

Dwarsrivier farm, from the Maltese Cross path

Dwarsrivier : “across-river” [Afr]; a generic term for a river that cuts across and joins another river at a right or acute angle. In this instance there are, confusingly, two Dwarsriviers in the Cederberg: 1. leading off the Clanwilliam Boskloof and hence a tributary of the Jan Disselsrivier, it is the stream that leads up Krakadouwpoort; the resort of Krakadouw is on the farm called Dwarsrivier. Its Khoi name, ‘Koignas’, means [you guessed it] ‘across-river’ – it is a direct translation; 2. a tributary of the Sand- or Matjiesrivier which originates near the Maltese Cross and flows down through the central Cederberg farm which bears its name
Dwarsrivierberg : “across-river mountain” [Afr]; probably named after Dwarsrivier farm rather than the river, this is the 1342m peak that separates the farms Dwarsrivier and Kromrivier