a bit about the Valley . . .
When one of Jan van Riebeeck’s corporals, Pieter Cruythoff, summited the neck of the mountain he was to name Kasteelberg in his mentor’s honour, he would have gazed over a plain filled with wildlife, and early inhabitants.
These early peoples had resided in this ancient area for millennia – a painting above Riebeek West records the view of the wildlife for posterity.
It was only in the region of forty years since Cruythoff’s incursion before the first settlers arrived, and with it the inevitable conflict, in 1701, as the parties spread out as far as Tulbagh and Riebeek Kasteel. Some of these early pioneers were Huguenots, like Gauillame du Toit who acquired Zonquasdeurdrift and Daniel Hugot whose lands extended through the present day villages.
The prominent wine farms of Kloovenburg and Allesverloren were first established during this period, giving the Riebeek Valley a long history of viticulture.
Today the villages are surrounded by wheatfields, verdant green in winter, golden in summer. A relatively new crop is the nutritious olive, which has successfully led to an annual olive festival on the first weekend of May.
The inhabitants are descendants of all the original peoples, the early settlers and a new generation of city dwellers tired of the rat race, and immigrants from abroad. This has created a vibrant cross culture – a veritable united nations.
Visit our stimulating Valley and sample some of our enviable lifestyle!
Text by Chris Murphy
