And they came to the end of another long hot day under the African sun, forging their way over the hilly terrain of the Eastern Cape, towards an unknown destination.
Hundreds of others would follow in their wake, and generation upon generation would look back and know that lives had been lost, hardships borne and blood spilled into the hot African ground. For many of us, they were our ancestors who were amongst the first pioneers to come to Africa.
After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain experienced a serious unemployment problem. Therefore, encouraged by the British Government to immigrate to the Cape Colony, the settlers were sent to Algoa Bay, now Port Elizabeth.
Approximately 4 000 settlers arrived in Cape Town.
Life was harsh.
Leaders of the Natal Settlers requested permission from King Shaka to stay on the land. When King Shaka witnessed the settlers technological advances, permission was granted in return for firearms.
Towns such as Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth grew rapidly, many of the settlers were traders by profession, and this was of great benefit to Africa and King Shaka saw it as an opportunity for his people to learn.
Some of the Voortrekkers trails can be seen today. Grahamstown, above, was a frontier town. There is a fort outside Grahamstown in it's original state. One cannot safely walk through all of it, there are steps leading up to the "turret" tower. My sister in law and I made the journey to the top once, where we saw the holes in the wall where the rifles had once protruded in wait for an unsuspecting enemy. The fort was well positioned. Any travellers of any kind could be seen as soon as they crested the mountains surrounding the fort and the town.
We saws a trail. Wide and meandering, coming down the hill, navigating boulders and rough terrain. No vegetation has ever completely covered it.
My imagination flew back over the years and I could see the wagons amidst a haze of dust, slowly making its way down the hill in its arduous journey inland.
This monument is a reminder to those brave pioneers who had had to leave their country due to a severe depression and venture into an unknown future. What turmoil surrounded their lives! They had left a civilised country which had a long and established history to venture into the unknown.
Take a look at that wagon. A far cry from the wagons we see in movies! Just a guess, but they could be travelling through the Karoo, which has very little to this day except some service stations for travellers.
South Africa is a poor 3rd world country today, but has much to be proud of. the first heart transplant was performed in Cape Town, South Africa. The world soccer was held in South Africa in 2010, and who knows, maybe the Olympic games will come to South Africa too one day!
Beautiful Africa!!
Wow! What progress....colourful, cultural diversity, it advances in leaps and bounds. What an amazing history. May it never lose it uniqueness!
I am a descendant of an 1820 settler, who became involved with the French Heugenots...but that is another story for another day!!!
JOHANNESBURG BY NIGHT
THE UNION BUILDINGS
PRETORIA
And beautiful Table Mountain in CAPE TOWN, recently voted th new 7th wonder of the World.
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