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November 17, 2004
On a clear day .....
The small Karoo town of Graaff-Reinet, established by a Dutch expedition in 1795 as an Administrative Centre to govern the settler families and farmers moving into the Little and Great Karoo escarpments, nestles in the oxbow of the river below the towering mountain that marks the transition between the Little Karoo and the Great Karoo plateau to the North of it.
Standing atop the mountain above Graaff-Reinet and looking East, the clear, dry air gives the illusion of a horizon stretching into tomorrow. A great tower of eroded rock just out of frame to the right of this picture is called "Spioonkop" - Spy Hill - but it is not the one made famous by the massacre of British Troops which is located in Natal. This one has a much more benign history - it served as a lookout point which allowed the military garrison of Graaff-Reinet to have ample warning of any hostile force moving to attack the town in those far-off "frontier" days.
From up here it is almost as if, on a clear day, you could see forever! This is much more apparent in the photograph below.
Not quite the roof of the world - but the view is a good 100 kilometres from here! This view is to the South from the mountain above Graaff-Reinet - and, as you will have guessed, it's close to sunset!
Posted by The Gray Monk at November 17, 2004 10:45 AM