Clanwilliam & Cederberg

Originally called Jan Dissels Valley, Clanwilliam (215km from Cape Town) is positively vibey compared to many country towns, with a surprisingly active cultural life and several good restaurants. It could also be the only South African town with a jail instead of a Dutch Reformed church at the top end of main street – got a feeling Clanwilliam’s original town planner didn’t think much of humanity. The jail now functions as an active information office, processing a swelling intake of foreign tourists who use this fetching tree-lined town as a springboard to the surrounding Cederberg and beyond.

Things To Do
  • Most people head to the Cederberg to walk. Armed with a CapeNature permit the possibilities are huge. The most popular day hikes are concentrated in the southern Cederberg around Algeria, the Maltese Cross and the Wolfberg Cracks. Walking aside, the dirt roads are good mountain bike fodder. Hiker or biker, Peter Slingsby’s, Cederberg – The Map, is your indispensable reference to the area. You can get it at Exclusive Books.
     
  • The Cederberg has a rich heritage of San rock paintings that you should try view before they’re all but obliterated by modern artists such as “A. Arendse 2007”. A number of the getaways that follow have sites on their property – these are generally only open to guests. 
     
  • Clanwilliam is a good base to explore the dusty roads and craggy landscape of the northern Cederberg, which incorporates the Bidouw Valley and Wupperthal. The Bidouw Valley is a favourite spring-flower hangout, but the season apparently lasts longer at the Ramskop Nature Reserve outside Clanwilliam.
     
  • Question humanity’s place in the universe as it is dragged back and forth behind a 200hp engine on the Clanwilliam Dam. Accommodation, in the form of a caravan park and chalets, is also available.
     
  • With several arty shops, a few good restaurants by night and pleasant coffee shops by day, Clanwilliam has become somewhat of a cultural centre.
     
  • Pay a tribute to Louis Leipoldt by visiting his grave on the Pakhuis Pass.
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