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The Langkloof is a valley in
The kloof was given its name by Isaq Schrijver in 1689, and more thoroughly explored by a later expedition under ensign August Frederik Beutler in 1752.
The valley has been farmed since 1760 and developed into an important fruit-growing region during the 1900s, specifically prized for its apples and pears.
Joubertina is the largest but also the youngest town in the Langkloof, and was founded in 1907 as a Dutch-Reformed community, named in honour of the Rev. W.A. Joubert of Uniondale. The reverend prohibited the sale of alcohol in the town, a ban which was never lifted but is nonetheless no longer enforced.
The Langkloof is also home to early
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, lying between Herold, a small village northeast of George, and The Heights – just beyond Twee Riviere.
History
The kloof was given its name by Isaq Schrijver in 1689, and more thoroughly explored by a later expedition under ensign August Frederik Beutler in 1752.
The valley has been farmed since 1760 and developed into an important fruit-growing region during the 1900s, specifically prized for its apples and pears.
Joubertina is the largest but also the youngest town in the Langkloof, and was founded in 1907 as a Dutch-Reformed community, named in honour of the Rev. W.A. Joubert of Uniondale. The reverend prohibited the sale of alcohol in the town, a ban which was never lifted but is nonetheless no longer enforced.
The Langkloof is also home to early Bushman
The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged from other humans 100,000 to 200 ...
paintings and the Kouga mummy – the only mummy ever found in Southern Africa from a cave in the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area. The remarkably well-preserved mummy is relatively young - estimated to be buried approximately 1930 years ago. These buried human remains were found wrapped in '' Boophone disticha'' bulb tunics, appeared to be of the Khoi
Khoikhoi ( /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ ''KOY-koy'') (or Khoekhoe in Namibian orthography) are the traditionally nomadic pastoralist indigenous population of South Africa. They are often grouped with the hunter-gatherer San (literally "foragers") peop ...
people, and was subsequently transferred to the Albany Museum in Grahamstown
Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...
.
Geography
On its north side the Langkloof is bounded by the Kammanassie and Kouga Mountains, and on its south by the Langkloof,Tsitsikamma
The Tsitsikamma National Park is a protected area on the Garden Route, Western Cape and Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is a coastal reserve well known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail. On 6 March 2009 it was ama ...
and Kareedouw Mountains. A low range of hills running parallel to the Langkloof and lying inside it, divides the kloof into northern and southern sections. The southern section is called the Klein Langkloof and is a prominent apple-growing area. The valley is crossed by numerous streams that arise in the Tsitsikamma Mountains
The Tsitsikamma mountains form an east-west mountain range located in the Garden Route region of the southern South African coast in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. Tsitsikamma means 'place of much water' in the Khoekhoe language.
...
before flowing inland to join the Kammanassie and Kouga Rivers. The road down the Kloof passes through the hamlets and towns of Herold, Avontuur, Haarlem, Misgund, Louterwater, Krakeel, Joubertina and Twee Riviere.
Transport
The R62 road runs the length of the valley, connecting the N2 road near Humansdorp with the N9 road near Uniondale. The Avontuur narrow-gauge railway follows the same routePort Elizabeth
Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
to Avontuur.
See also
*Andrew Geddes Bain
Andrew Geddes Bain (baptised 11 June 1797 – 20 October 1864), was a Cape Colony geologist, road engineer, palaeontologist and explorer.
Life history
The only child of Alexander Bain and Jean Geddes, both of whom died when Bain was still a ...
* Baviaanskloof River
* South African Class 91-000
References
Valleys of South Africa {{SouthAfrica-geo-stub