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Somerset West

Somerset West The setting of Somerset West is one of the loveliest at the Cape. The towns attractiveness lies not in its one street business centre but rather in its rural atmosphere; graceful old homes and estates in a valley protected by the Helderberg and Hottentots-Holland ranges.

Historical interest in the area dates from 1700 when the farm Vergelegen was granted to Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel by the visiting Commissioner Wouter Valckenier. The governor thereupon took upon himself to indulge in the greatest extravagance ever to be seen in the Cape. he set about the construction of the luxurious Cape Dutch residence and numerous ancillary buildings; enlarged his farm to 527 hectares by purchasing adjoining farms that he had only just granted to his subordinates and planted the land with grainfields, orchards and a half-million-vine vineyard.

The burghers, believing that the governor's farming activities threatened their rights, petitioned the Dutch East India Company. Van der Stel reacted by imprisoning the petition leaders but finally lost the battle and was dismissed in 1707. The directors of the Company ordered that the homestead be demolished but the order was never carried out. In the course of time it has undergone numerous alterations. Five enormous camphor trees stand in front of the old farmstead.

Another fine old farm house in the area is that of Parelvallei, occupied by the governor's brother, Frans, who was also compelled to quit the Cape. A number of settlers had followed the Van der Stels to the district and a number of their lovely Cape Dutch homes have been preserved; perhaps the best known of these Morgenster and Weltevreden.

Helderberg Nature Reserve occupies 245 hectares on the slopes of the Helderberg, a spur of the Hottentots Holland. It is a beautiful sanctuary for the preservation of local indigenous flora and bird fauna. At the entrance to the reserve there is a picnic place near the parking area and herbarium. Marked walks have been plotted and these range from 35 minutes to 4 hours. The trail to Disa Gorge links up with the old mountain roadto the cliff-face where magnificent old specimens of stinkwood, yellowwood and rooi-els are to be found and where disas bloom from December to February. From the reserve it is possible to reach Helderberg Dome, a breathtaking viewsite. The reserve is open from 7.15 am to sunset.

Cape Winelands Directory

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