Although the weather in Montagu is steadily improving as we leave, the further west we move, the thicker and more ominous the clouds are. For over an hour we are courted by a perfect, distant rainbow. As we pull into the nondescript town of Worcester—where we’ve been told to check the beautiful Karoo Botanic Garden, the heavens let loose, and it’s rain for the rest of the day.
In steady rain we arrive in the small town of Tulbagh, whose claim to fame is a devastating earthquake in late 1969. An old town, littered with exemplary Cape Dutch architecture, it was left with virtually nothing intact after the quake. The enterprising folk of the town decided to reclaim the town’s treasures and have a street—running parallel to the main drag—which is a restored run of about 35 different buildings. Most are now lodgings, restaurants or galleries of some sort. In their entirety, they make a delightful stroll back in time. Our first afternoon is spent ducking the cold rain inside our sumptuous room, but after breakfast the next morning, we take in the beauty of the small street—newly resplendent in the light of the early day. The small museum shows the devastation of the earthquake and spells out the history of each building and its various restorations. The small church and what was originally the walled area of the area magistrate—the Drostdy—is sadly off-limits as they had an attempted break-in-- (this is what happens in the rrrain, explains the caretaker apologetically). From here we’re off to see the famed spring flower explosion on the west coast.
Love the Cape Dutch architecture!
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