S1 - Ep 219 - Vanderkloof - The Highest Dam Wall in South Africa!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ธ.ค. 2022
- When we left Orania we decided to go and see the highest dam wall in South Africa at the Vanderkloof Dam. We were not expecting to see this magnificent structure. We took a slow drive through the small town of Vanderkloof and also visited the Holiday Resort at the dam. Unfortunately it looked as if the resort was not functional anymore although there were a few people enjoying the place. We then left the resort and town and headed for the dam wall. What a privilege it was to drive over this magnificent piece of engineering! On our way to our next destination we crossed an absolutely stunning single-lane bridge which crossed the Orange River just below the Vanderkloof Dam. The natural beauty in this area is simply breathtaking! #DustBugs #adventuretravel #southafrica #southafricavlog #vanderkloofdam #northerncape #damwall #bridge #orangeriver
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Friends...I promise I will stop blasting you with comments and emails, but you saw the picture of pre-stroke Greg standing atop the Van der Kloof dam. My buddy Omar from Orania took the picture!!! Yall are killing me. I went to this pub, right across the street from the SAPS building called Riebek (SP) for a pool tournament with the locals and HAD A BLAST!!! Since this was an Afrikaans speaking community, I was so amused by the puzzled look on their faces with my deep Southern accent..The afternoon turned into night with a community Braai (sp). I LOVE SOUTH AFRICA....From a hot, foggy, Louisiana night (Curtis we in America call it put,put golf too. Love you guys, totseins, Greg
It's always great to hear from you! We loved the pics you sent and it's wonderful that you have such great memories of this area. Your spelling of Afrikaans words is improving by leaps and bounds! 😁 The 'Ribbok' Restaurant (Rhebok in English, an antelope) is, I think, the one you're referring to. We were in town late on a Saturday afternoon and we could hear the vibes in the street as we drove by, so your braai (perfectly spelt 👌🏻) must've been just such a jolly occasion. I remember how the Americans reacted to Sonia's and my accents when we first arrived, so have no trouble believing that the Vanderkloofers must've wondered what planet you're from! 🤣🇿🇦
Come on peeps give this channel a like as it helps it to grow and keep producing the excellent documentaries that we are all enjoying so much! And they certainly deserve our support.
Thank you so much for your support of our channel! We're happy to hear you enjoy our videos! 😁🚗
Very nice tank you from Italy 👍
You're very welcome! Thank you for watching all the way from Italy! 🇿🇦🇮🇹
Wow!!! The dam wall….amazeballs👏👏👏👌👌👌👌👍👍👍
Well here we are at Vanderkloof, the place I spent nearly 7 years of my life…a very happy seven years. Pity you were there as I see at end October because last week the dam was overflowing again. That is always a magnificent site to see, but you will find a lot of photos on Facebook.
The village was established to house the labour force that worked on the PK le Rouxdam. After the dam was finished the authorities wanted to demolish the houses but a politician, I think a Mr Havenga made his voice known and Province decided to establish Vanderkloof Municipality. Vanderkloof is named after the original farm on which the dam was constructed and to avoid confusion the dam was also renamed Vanderkloof dam.
So Province advertised for a Town Clerk/Treasurer and on 1 October 1980 I ( yes me…haha) started in the position as the first Town Clerk of Vanderkloof. The houses were already advertised for sale before and the signing etc of the contracts could now take place. As far as I can remember some of the prefab houses were selling for less than R10 000. Many new houses were built afterwards as you can see. Vanderkloof really prospered as a holiday town with quite a few sporting activities with watersport the main attraction. Later on we built a bowling green and we had a clubhouse with a liquor licence. And yes the Olympic standard swimming pool was also a great attraction. Somewhere in 1983 work was started on the Caravan park and in Aug 1984 we had a great write-up in the caravan magazines…and New Year’s Eve parties were well attended there. Now the park is a disgrace.
The campers now use the great facility next to the Orange River about 3km out of town called Sandgat…you will find it on facebook. Our LandCruiser Club of South Africa is going there for our 2023 Saamkuier at end of April 2023.
The church you saw is something that came sometime after I left in 1987 I am not sure when. We use to go to the church in Petrusville. Yes and as somebody mentioned Vanderkloof featured in Deon Meyer’s book Fever, a book I enjoyed tremendously….for obvious reasons.
At the end of the video, on the bridge, you mentioned 1994. It could not be the date the bridge was built as it was there before the dam wall was built. And just to mention, there were rhinos in Rolfontein if I remember correctly. And the dam itself is 94km long and at its widest point 22km. You have to have a map before you decide to go explore the dam…some people got very lost there in the past.
Well, thank you for all that amazing first-hand info, Mr Town Clerk! 👌🏻 Fascinating how the histories of Gariep Dam and Vanderkloof have so many similarities in how the towns were started around the building of the dams. I would've absolutely bought a prefab house there for R10k, that's for sure! For us first-timers, it was a fantastic visit to this spectacularly beautiful area. We would've loved to see the water gushing over the spillway, but in October the dam levels in the Free State were still reducing and we clearly had no idea that just two weeks later the Gariep and the Vanderkloof would be overflowing! I'm sure that is an absolutely awesome sight! 🤩🌊 We later read that there are indeed white rhino in the Rolfontein Nature Reserve and, since it's my favourite land mammal, I wish we were in time to at least take a drive through in the hopes of spotting one. 🦏 The Holiday Resort is still in fairly good shape though, but we realised later as we were driving through, that it is no longer a fully-functioning facility, which is sad with such a magnificent body of water on its doorstep. Sonia also read 'Fever' and enjoyed the book tremendously as well. We appreciate you watching our video of a town you clearly hold many special memories of. 🚗😁
Your namesake is a brilliant author, "Karoonag" is also brilliant...
@@funkdunk Yes he is really brilliant, I have read quite a few of his books.
Hi guys awesome video! Me and my family stayed at Vanderkloof from1972 till 1977! My dad worked for department of Water affairs and did the construction of the dam. The pool was our main pastime weekends and school holidays!! I just got the fondest memories of the town! Have visited again about 5 times again and will whenever I get the change😍😍
Great video Vanderkloof looks great.
Indeed, the natural beauty in this area is phenomenal! Thank you for coming along! 🚗🌊
in the previous dispensation the Van Der Kloof caravan park was lovely, busy most weekends and really a pleasure to visit. The chalets, rooms were moderately priced and many people came here for boating weekends.
Yup, I can very easily believe that! What is left of the accommodation side of the Holiday Resort still looks in fairly good nick, so it must've been very attractive facilities in its heyday. Sad that it's no longer operational as a resort. 😏 It was good to see though that people still go out there to enjoy themselves in nature and on the water's edge. 👌🏻🌊
Thank you for a beautiful video of a really beautiful area. I’d often heard of it and knew a few people who once lived there, but they failed to mention how stunning it was and that it still appears to be so. I think I’ll make it our next trip. Thanx again.
Ja, PK le Rouxdam onthou ek. So beautiful! Love the Japanese music. Unfortunately a lot of municipal run institutions have had to close because of lack of funding. I love putt-putt. Still being played in Cape Town. I was never any good, but still had fun. Love the rain music. So special! The thunder clouds are stunning. Wonder how Rolfontein got its name. Miskien het die mense te veel gesmul en vetrolle gekry! The dam is truly stunning. Thank you! Actually the pot of gold is the sheer beauty of the dam.
I agree with you, the dam and this whole area are just phenomenally beautiful! 🤩🌊 The Rolfontein Nature Reserve got its name from one of the original farms, on which part of the Reserve is situated. How the original farm got its name, I don't know. 🤷🏼♂️ So happy to hear you enjoyed our visit to Vanderkloof, it's always great to have you join us! 😁🚗
Sad to see dilapidation of the pool. Must have been a special place in its hey day😢
Interesting video the area looks quite affluent it attracts the yachting crowd sad the campsite is closed could imagine kids on the put put the dam was amazing lovely scenery cheerio till the next one thanks for another great video
We appreciate you joining us again! The dam and surrounding area were in one word spectacular! 😍 Some of those views were truly awe-inspiring and we loved our visit to Vanderkloof. If the putt-putt course were operational, we wouldn't have minded a quick game ourselves! ⛳
PK was minister of "Waterwese en Landbou" in the cabinet of John Vorster. More to the east, the confluence of the Orange - and Seekoei Rivers was the farm "Kuilen aan het benede Zeekoe River" who belongs to b7c2d2e3 Johannes (Hans) Brits. Was the stop over for the Sarel Cilliers Trek late 1835 before joined up in the Free State with the Potgieter Trek. Hans lost his farm after the government of the Cape Colony put the Griekwa under their "protection". Hans then moved to Heidelberg Tvl
Thanks for the historical info. 👍🏻
I love this channel and the content. It rminds me of my younger days when I traveled most of South Africa. What a wonderful country we have.
Thank you so much, we really appreciate that! You're correct, we indeed have a magnificently beautiful country. We hope you'll travel to many more places with us! 🚗🇿🇦
Just breathtaking views of nature, beautiful houses/accommodation establishments!!!! 👌👌👌👌
Wow it is a beautiful seanary and amazing how high the Vanderkloof dam wall is 180 meters very nice video
Thank you, I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed this video. The area is spectacularly beautiful and we're so glad we visited. That dam and its wall is in one word amazing! We appreciate you coming along! 🤩🌊
Love to see this!
Been I'm VDK since 2020 on and off and full time since March this year.
Have never had a way to properly show my friends from other parts of the country what Vanderkloof looks like.
Thanks for this!
Wow, how privileged you are to live there full-time now! We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed our video, please feel free to share it far and wide with all your friends. The area is truly magnificently beautiful and we enjoyed every moment we were able to spend there. Give our very best regards to that gorgeous dam and its wall. 🌊🤩 Thank you for watching. 🚗
Thanks for the reply!
You just missed my house in Gansie street😂😁
Got the link from a VDK whatsapp group but have shared the link since.
Keep well!
Stunning, thank-you for taking us with to see Vanderkloof, a place that I have always wanted to see for many reasons, and now definitely on my bucket list, I agree with Sonia saying that one should at least visit it once. I never knew that the place enjoyed similar vistas and a setting similar to that of Arizona or even Nevada, the Hoover dam drawing on similarities to a certain extent. There's Lake Havasu in Arizona, which is soulless in comparison to the beauty and soul of Vanderkloof, however it is very popular for Californians, especially the boating and outdoor fraternity, the place is booming. Perhaps, if not all stolen, the shale gas (aka fracking) industry could lead to a similar economic boom for towns such as Vanderkloof, however one shudders to think that it too could become a soulless place.
😭
@funk dunk A bucket list destination this must be indeed! The beauty here is quite overwhelming in places and blew our minds! 🤩 We often regret that we just worked all the time while in the US and never took the time to visit all the states, and especially sorry that we didn't get to Arizona, Nevada and even Utah since those landscapes really appeal to us. You even mentioning the Vanderkloof Dam in the same sentence as the Hoover Dam, really says it all. Let us know when you go and visit this stunning area! 😁🚗
I have to admit that I have never been to Lake Havasu, an ex is building a second home on the lakeshore, I have just seen the place in TH-cam videos out of interest, coincidentally an ex comes from Vanderkloof too 🙂
@@elenagrobler9407 😡every time just to think of gas and oil in our nature- or sealife is prove that the don't care feeling and loving for money is talking. Tourisme is the answer.!
Wow, i have such wonderful memories of my first ever adventure motorcycle bash at Vanderkloof dam. You two rock, how you travel and show our amazing country to others. Im literally rerouting my next trip based on many of your videos 😊
Loved the Jackaranda trees flowering, the dam was beautiful. Thank you.
We loved those deep purple flowers of the Jacaranda trees too! We're so happy that you explored this beautiful area with us, there were some stunning scenes of the dam all around. We loved every minute! 🤩🌊
Wow! Amazing, I had never even heard of this thing. It’s like the Hoover Dam!
Yup, we didn't even know about it either until I started planning our route. What an incredibly beautiful place this is! We're happy that we could share it with you! 🌊🤩
This footage must have been done before the recent rains. The dam is now more than 100% full and the sluices are opened regularly. Thanks for the upload😊
We visited Vanderkloof on Saturday, 29 October 2022 and our footage was taken during this visit. About two weeks later, we heard that the dam was overflowing. We so wish we could've seen the dam full and the sluices opened, that must be an awesome sight, especially since the dam levels were still decreasing in early October. We appreciate you watching! 🚗😁
Hi you two. An interesting trip as usual with beautiful music, Thank you!
Rain and shine, stunning scenery, but hardly a soul in sight. Can you imagine how quiet it must be in the middle of the night?
I'll be with you next time.
Keep safe!
It had to be beautiful music to accompany this exceptionally beautiful area! 🤩 We saw a few folks sitting on their covered porches. The rain, thunder and lightning had driven everyone else inside! I can indeed imagine the silence at night, I would just love that so much! We'll see you in the next town! 👌🏻🚗
I am really enjoying your channel. I did a project of the building of the 3 dams Van der Kloof and the Hendrick Verwoerd Dams, when I was in matric, years ago. It was a geography project. Hope you do the Western Cape as well!
Thank you so much, we're happy to hear you enjoy our videos! You must know so much about these dams after all your research! We're just fascinated by them and absolutely love visiting them whenever we can. I'm not sure if you saw Episode 202 of when we visited Gariep Dam. 🌊🤩 We've done a fair bit of the Western Cape already if you have a look through our videos. You don't mention a specific town or place you'd like to see, but hopefully you like what you find! We look forward to you visiting more places (and hopefully gorgeous dams!) with us! 😁🚗
Thank you. Excellent video. I sit at home and share this wonderful experience with you. Keep it up
We're glad to hear that you enjoyed your armchair travels through this beautiful area with us. We'll see you in the next town! 😁🚗
What a stunning place.The dam is amazing and very beautiful area indeed.The dam wall gave me a Hoover dam vibe.Just found ur channel.Great videos.Got a sub frm me.Found ur channel when i searched for Britstown.We used to own a farm 60 km outside Britstown.
Thanks!
I know this place will forever hold a special place in your heart. Thank you for supporting our channel, it means the world to us. 🚙😍
Beautiful 😻 thanks guys!! Wow you could’ve given a “spoiler alert” 😅 since this is my next stop when arriving back in South Africa 🇿🇦
Oh, you have a lot to look forward to! I'm not sure whether you've been there before, but we found the natural beauty and of course the dam absolutely breathtaking. I know you will have a fantastic trip. 🚗🇿🇦
I wonder if private home pools have killed off municipal pools everywhere? If so that's a pity.
That's an interesting thought. I am of the view that the main reason is the lack of funding available in the local municipalities for emergency and essential services, let alone recreational facilities like swimming pools. 🤷🏼♂️ Pools take a lot of money and man hours to maintain, especially Olympic-size swimming pools. 🏊🏼♂️
You are so right ....always the swimming pools that go first....such a disappointment and so sad ...Whats up with that
My thought is that there are two reasons: the high cost of maintaining a pool puts a further strain on already-limited resources and recreational facilities are usually the first to go when times are tough. 🤷🏼♂️😏
No, it goes because most black people cant swim, many schools closed their pools after drowning of b learners
ek bly daar
Die verwaarlosing is maar oral sigbaar! Wat stel die groot blom voor?
We actually thought the town looked great! It was sad to see the swimming pool and the Holiday Resort no longer functional though. As far as the big flower is concerned, we read the following on the Facebook page of CasaMere: "Bennie Liebenberg started the project shortly after his wife, Thirza, died of cancer in 2017. It was her idea to have a daisy or sunflower in the centre of the circle. She had a vision that the desert would bloom again. Things will once again go well for our people - the town and the country." What a lovely sentiment. 🌼 Thank you for watching our video, we appreciate it. 🚗🌊
Another stunning episode... The natural beauty is awe inspiring.... Thanks again🤝🏼
You hit the nail on the head! It's actually overwhelming at times, the beauty. So happy that you could join us again! 😁🚗
Just another place not maintained. Was there in the early 90s on Eskom work and it was beautiful clean and well maintained place.
In Sonia’s voice, “Loved this!”
Just a pity about that elusive pot of gold 😂
She loved this place big time! 🥰 That rainbow was next level, the sight of the dam was worth more than any pot of gold! 🌈 Glad you came along!
This must be very old footage, because Vanderkkloof has been overflowing for months now, pity you missed that. Also great pity you could not give us some drone footage of the flower and the dam wall, I could hear them scream for this!
I never include old footage in our videos. When our videos are uploaded, they are of our visits one to five weeks prior to uploading. This particular footage was taken by myself on Saturday, 29 October 2022. 😁 I would love to send the drone up in every single spectacular location we get to visit, but it's not always possible. A thunderstorm was brewing and it was windy. I wasn't going to take a chance losing my drone in such weather. Thank you for watching. 🌊
Wat is die ou Verwoerd dam se naam nou?
Gariepdam
@Marianna Skontorp You can watch the video of our recent visit to Gariep Dam in Episode 202. I hope you enjoy! 🤩🌊
Gariep, the biggest dam in SA
Gariep dam. Grootste in SA
Like a ghost town
That wasn't our experience of Vanderkloof at all! 🤩🌊
@@DustBugsTravel sorry I didn't mean to be rude, but what I was trying to say is the roads were almost empty
Lekker. Wish I could watch when you post. But Eskom doesn't allow. Work interferes too. :-) Enjoy day dreaming as I watch your travels.
As long as Eskom and work allow you at least some time to catch up, all is good! We try to fight against those two forces too, but lose every single time! 😏 Glad you could eventually check out Vanderkloof with us! 🌊🚗
Hi, when did you visit here?
Hello there! We visited Vanderkloof on the afternoon of Saturday, 29 October 2022. 🚗🌊
Who starts all these bush fires and why😳
As I understand, certain types of vegetation has to burn every few years in order to regenerate and for new growth to be stimulated. I would imagine lightning is also a cause and not only arson. It's always sad to see though, especially when I think of all the animal lives that may have been lost. 😥🔥
why dont we never see sonja
Sonia is super camera-shy and not keen on being filmed. Until she hopefully changes her mind one day, I'll respect that. 🥰
Kom Antie wys daai kuite en mooi smile 😂 @@DustBugsTravel