S1 – Ep 488 – De Doorns, Western Cape!

[Music] the durin yes is a town I know only because of us driving through it stopping for fuel and snacks either from home up country or on our way back home yes and for them selling fruit along the road yes and for all The Vineyards yeah that's what it is and the snow on the mountains around them yes so now we're going to go check what else there is uh yes it's about we left Robertson now and it's about 68 kilm to reach the Durance okay and now we're going to head around get back onto the N1 and then go up I think we're going get to verer and then go up to the Durance around that way uh I'm looking forward to it yeah I think it's a beautiful area I think so we are going this way young ones over hex primary can we just look at the mountains yes we can all shades as they come closer and further by yep it's incredible and your Kettle beautiful Kettle F yeah it's a rail Bridge yes it is new and old or what there's two of them a new one and an old one and now we're going over the N1 we must be getting closer then yes we are and we're going to drive on the N1 we have to drive on the N1 the only way to get to the Durance okay we've been on this part of the road many times before on our way North yes and back down lots of citrus Orchards here hi yes many many are you's struggling to get in now with the busy and one yes and lots of covered citrus trees oh yes they look like nais to us yes they do that's not only Vineyards yeah are Vineyards though look at these mountains no but we do notice them every time we come past every single time but when we on our way home it's more often than not in the dark yes when we reach this point yes yes and train lines all sorts yeah yes must be amazing to go on the train line through these mountains must be must be there's a port I love this look at the formations though it's crazy see how much they had to break through to get this road through here a oh beautiful Patchwork Farmland especially this time of the year now the brown and the yellow and the green just too beautiful that's them selling their grapes along the side here but we've seen signs where they say you shouldn't buy from them because it might be stolen fruit are you're just being polite the signs say don't buy stolen fruit yeah because the origin is dubious we don't know where it comes from we've never stopped here to buy fruit I never will um yeah rather buy from a farm store something like that everything is grapes here yes the Farm's logo is grapes there are grapes in the rot iron on the gates security company's Lo grapes we have a r the D yeah we are this is the engine we know so well yes we normally see it in the early hours of the morning yes either for petrol or coffee or snacks yes or all of them don't you just love the flowers with the Autumn Vineyards definitely 1975 this bridge was built over the rail line quite a long way ago I know oh right do s oh Bowling Green that looks awesome this is the Hicks F High School okay since 1898 wow that's some Legacy eh sure some sports grounds here rugby yes all buildings yeah can see yes squash cours yes the buses are waiting for the students okay school right next to the vineyard yeah we've just come out now past year because when the school comes out it's going to be crazy yeah it's quarter 1 it's probably an hour or so yes oh this is the high school Hicks Valley but the Primary School Division okay so the premises are basically one oh fire department yes B Valley municipality fire rescue and disaster management now I think with all the farms in the mountains they may have their hands full at certain times of the year I'm sure think a lot of workers might be on punch looks like it police station yes urance very much agriculture I would say in you that's all it's about oh look at this so this has got to do with the municipality sure that's the municipal building oh I see a compactor yes is that what told you that yes a cement road we don't often see those eh no more gripes for you painted on the wall yes we love you and I because whenever in the past we've gone to a tourism office and we've asked what is there to see in town yep without fail I mean obviously in wine producing regions they tell us the wine forms that's it yeah and we're not wine drinkers look at those in T it's a pretty buling I'm telling you if I didn't know better would have looked like a church to me look yeah 1906 [Music] 1922 and this too would you say I would say the this was a church yeah it does look like it eh there's a lot more to urance than just the little village eh yeah look are they now planting new Vines here looks like it yes cuz these putting in new Splinter system and are completely Bay yes yeah and this looks like another school of some sort it does the name is behind the bus Bon esparon Primary School cool can you see this no no I can't see a name yet cway Primary School okay the lby posts are a bit damaged well I can SC still score a try yes aong Goose across the road yeah he was sitting in the middle of the road and then he just ran out I think we must turn back now let's do that this is the red FL private Nature Reserve okay the board wasn't visible from that side [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] daer electrical has a telephone number 2253 that top vented into the roof there the design just looks like a church to me so it might have been a church the gentlemen don't know but the roof is Timber on the inside and it's a big open space I'm convinced because of that wall I'm convinced now the next one well I'm even more convinced there it is the seat Bel thing screams quickly yeah 1922 that is a Community Church this one definitely looks as if it was a church in my opinion this was a church yeah they just built this on oh oh for sure oh no doubt definitely a church don't you want to go in so the gentleman inside says that this was the church he suspected was the Dutch Reformed Church but the Cornerstone has being removed look look how pretty this is you can see with the windows that light over there is affecting my picture making it shake like that I turned that light off [Music] now they're looking for photos to show me what it looked like before so interesting that this apparently was the an Church okay and um the gentleman that came in a little later he told me that they was going to go look for photos he thought the photos were still inside there but he says they have photos they had photos but they don't have them anymore because apparently the lady who works with the historical buildings in the Durance came driving past you and saw them working on the building and she told them that they're not allowed to change the facade or anything like this they got to keep it looking the same they got to paint it that white on the side it has to look like that and she took the photos with her to keep the the the record of the old church oh God but apparently he tells me that this was where the town was going to get developed he says that's what he heard that the town was going to get developed around this church in this area that's why there's a lot more other buildings down this way right but there was a big flood and this whole area got flooded out so they moved the town up higher away from the flood plane how interesting is that no look I mean there's just no mistaking exactly so there's this is where the town would have be no wonder that's why there's the other church building no doubt that makes so much sense 1906 exactly and this is the other one I'd like us to turn in here this is the 19 here yes the 1922 om Dr St Community Church yes so there's like three Church buildings like in such a close uh area so it definitely shows that this is where the town was going to get developed how interesting is that and they very similar in Styles very similar the one where they have the agricultural stuff is is a little fancier but this is also got the same shape wall I don't know what you call this wall yeah no know exactly what you mean 1922 I'd like us to just turn in here because they definitely still operational as a church I think so a special Care Center probably also utilized as that I do get the Church feeling store and it's well looked after okay all right yeah now I just wanted to see very interesting H yeah who would have known oh that one is the first for me actually the two here yes although we have seen one other Church before that was used as a as a commercial Enterprise we've seen two more now but this was this one is the most elaborate yes that we've seen being turned into a commercial establishment so yes I was correct this is the municipal building Bria Valley nice and that's like a cherry picker for I'm sure for the electrical apartment lamp post and stuff street lights and stuff yeah detective Branch detectives oh this is like full on Industrial yes it's become a little warmer TS eh yes from chilly this morning to like a warm now this is the traffic department yep lot of people in town yeah all right Bria Valley Public Library what do we have here a face Brick Church yes o it's locked up with a big chain it is yeah it looks pretty nice it's quite pretty look at the the the steeple is built with brick too yes cornerstones are deep in let me see oh it's all locked up no way in there yeah it's too far okay let's go and see what else we can find we found the original Dutch Reformed Church yes if those gentlemen are correct yes this is church street so perhaps we're lucky yet to find a gate open okay so this is oh that looks nice eh it's quite a pretty building please use little gate there's a vehicle inside shall I go try the Monday to Friday 8 to1 but there's a vehicle shall I go press the buzzer so they allowed Us in y look at this this is the church Hall 1960 so the church Hall built on 26th of March 1960 is look at the beautiful stained glass windows you can see that's a white dove has beautiful designs even the I love the grapes above the door look at [Music] that even on the church building all the little grapes 1905 to 2005 so it seems like the congregation was started in 1905 and uh this church was built in 1949 for [Music] so this is where you come into the church yes the memory wall I just want you to see that this is the um church that we stopped at first that said was the church and they took it into um it was the first Cornerstone yeah you can see the first Cornerstone was laid in on the 2nd of December 1908 at that church that we stopped at that they're using as a warehouse now and they it was inaugurated on the 28th of April 1909 and then you can see all the people there with this photo and then over here is the inside of the church it looks totally different now but the roof is still the same wow wow check out this original boundary wall how low three rows of bricks must have been okay call it four must have been from back then in 1949 nothing more was necessary back there exactly how interesting is it that the lady says the Bell is the original Bell from Germany and how heavy it is and then the clock the clock she says the clock um used to run on time and then with load shedding they lost track and the gentleman was in the employee of the church and he had a book yes where he kept track of of the times and made sure he wounded up and stuff but he doesn't work here anymore and they've now given up basically because they can't keep up um when lad shedding happens it really throws out the clock apparently so that's probably a reason why we see so few clocks run on time exactly Church clocks that is this looks like yes it does yes it does and yes it is yes it does and yes it is man oh man thean Bridge looks like we can take a drive next to the tracks what do you think looks like it as close to the tracks as possible tracks up top there too as suppose years ago the grapes were transported heavy by rail I would imagine hey but uh is absolutely nothing left here anymore there just the platforms and then of course The Pedestrian bridges that cross over but I suppose there are still trains running back and forth from Johannesburg down to Cape Town on this track right for sure interesting that you would pick the one with a island as opposed to that one I wanted to get as close to the track as possible oh was that your goal but you can see that track is shiny there is a train running on that one I can see it it looks like that's a school on the other side no oh definitely this line still runs through to cap down but of course one won't come now yes and they are no boards left as far as I can see no nothing oh loose gravel eh yeah yeah I'm going to turn around look at that 1975 right they by the tracks when they did this platform doesn't that correspond with a date we saw on the bridge earlier yes the bridge was also done in 1975 the bridge that went over the rail tracks yes yes it's a warm 27° inurance incredible how hot it's become I didn't expect it to be that warm this week Yep this looks like a good Street for me to share some of the history I found okay do that it says the town takes its name from the farm the Durance bin on the hexi the thorns on the upper Hicks River known as early as 1725 W 299 years ago the area was declared a subr day of Tobak in 1819 and the farm became the seat of the area's owned Ros day in 1822 the Doran Farm was bought by the government of Cape prime minister John Malo in 1875 100 100 years before the bridge and the platform were built exactly to build a railway station for the rapidly expanding Cape government Railways the line was immediately built through Doran connecting it to Cape Town on the coast and reaching montue road later toes River in 1877 on its way to Kimberly around the station the Hamlet of the Duran would later develop very interesting the area around the town became an important region for table grape farming it had the necessary infrastructure for exporting its produce and the longest Harvest SE seon in the world wow December to April which is 5 months during the second Anglo bu war from 1899 to 1902 the town and its Railway infrastructure played an important supporting role the stone block houses which were built to protect the vital Railway link are still found in the valley I don't know I don't know I've even seen them a village management board was instituted for dorance in 1933 and Municipal status attained in 1951 only in 1951 they got Municipal status that's incredible so I have no idea where the blockhouses would be well uh one will have to follow the rail tracks eh it will be interesting to know if they still exist though it's a neat Town away from the main road yes and the busy um industry well it's a very busy place because peaceful of the industry stop stop st Stevens Ean Church 1912 wow can you reverse a little St Stevens Anglican Church Hall was bought in 2015 all right also the municipality yes Boer rosenville the D and to River oh post office yep and it's a dead end down there I see look at all the little grapes yep everything is covered with grapes whoa yeah there aren't any actual grapes on the vines at the moment but there are plenty of other grapes where does this go oh I wonder if that was flat damage I don't know but it looks like a permanent closure to me not that it stops people from using it yeah interesting shall we go check I don't know let's see if another car behind me goes through says Road closed helicopter yep this is newly TD so it might have been washed out they just haven't removed the sign yeah that sign was planted there yes yeah this Valley is just grapes that's what all it is Vineyards and Vineyards and Vineyards and Vineyards and it looks like it's been like that for centuries yes you can see these are all export table grapes eh and you can tell that how by the the wooden structures to have the grapes hanging apart from each other oh to keep them pristine yeah you think this falls under the Duran still this is all the do spread out yeah it's huge the hix River Valley tin Street let's look at the Tiner in tin streets Gardens yes ma'am look at those pretty flowers beautiful boken vas and a bright red one H okay the Tina are pretty here in D Street I understand why was called guard the peac Ops no way three of them yes four of them four of them all these males and females I said a male yes but his tail feathers are gone oh I wanted to say pretty close is here yeah dead ends both sides everywhere at the little ones the cemetry oh yes if there's a way in I don't see an entrance here I just saw it all of a sudden there must be an entrance on the main road yes the little ones are flying we can go around the block and see yes before we head out quiv Tre oh wow I saw it too late this looks like Apartments he Mimosa we a retirement might be a retirement village yes it's a pretty town the suburbs yes with a lot of dead ends that trap us everywhere I was hoping this would get to the cemetery yeah it's incredible there are grapes everywhere on fences on Gates on walls it is very much the identity of the Durance that's for sure barinka casing point I think you're on to the right road now a little bit up yeah this is its wall but there's no entry into it I don't know how one gets into the cemetery yeah this is the wall oh yeah yeah oh but it's locked look at that oh a moon lock Moon lock yeah get okay I am thirsty and hungry let's go to our famous engine here at the grape Valley convenience Center I think we all gased up and the dorance wine seller you're going there I'm going to the engine shop to get us something to Chow and drink yes cool sh the D and [Music] Silla for it's called the corks engine OnePlus cheeseburgers correct and Coke Zer well I'm so hungry now anything will do it'll have to do the choice is limited let's eat this we're leaving grape Valley behind yeah the hex River Valley the Durance for me it was incredibly interesting to find those two old churches that have now been repurposed yes and to confirm that the one was the first Dutch Reformed Church yes that was nice that was really interesting now I'm happy we came to the Durance and of course the natural beauty here is next level incredible and it's just grapes grapes grapes and grapes so we didn't buy grapes we bought cheeseburgers instead thanks for watching give us a thumbs up subscribe down below and we'll see you in the next video [Music]

Channel: DustBugs Travel

Views: 11,642

Keywords: DustBugs, travel, adventure, explore, dustbugs travel, dustbugs explore, dustbugs adventure, droney, drone, travel on gravel, De Doorns, Western, Cape, incredible, exploring, charming, village, drive, reach, town, breathtaking, surrounded, stunning, mountains, picturesque, scenery, drove, evident, nestled, heart, grape, country, properties, showcasing, ornamental, grapevines, highlights, discovering, Dutch Reformed Church, repurposed, warehouse, learning, history

Id: Gko3FJVI_JA

Length: 48min 34sec (2914 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 17 2024