Thursday, June 12, 2008

Kanon...

After a great night's sleep at the ocean's edge at Cape Vacca guest house www.capevacca.co.za last night, then breakfast this morning, we retraced our steps about a kilometre to the hamlet of Kanon. We'd hurriedly walked past it the day before 'cos we were exhausted, and a storm was threatening.

Daan van Rensburg, originally from Nelspruit (he recalls often playing rugby against the Waterval-Boven's then high school!), has lived in Kanon for over 20 years.

I was dead keen to see the three canons his uncle Louis van Rensburg and friends had transported for about 14 days via mule wagon (in 1912) after salvaging them from the wreck of the 'le Fortune'.

'le Fortune' was the French Man-O-War which was wrecked between Fransmanshoek and Forteintjies in September 1763 with no casualties.

Daan has made a great memorial of the three preserved canons (it's even possible to see where the gunpowder was inserted on one of them), with the following plaque (in Afrikaans) which explains the founding of the hamlet of Kanon:

"Die drie kanonne is deur uiters haglike onstandighede hierheen gesleep en die gebeurtenis gee die oorsprong aan die Kanon."

Daan, brimming over with passion, showed me some magnificent khoi fish (one of them was the biggest I've ever seen), some zebra, and his other guesthouse, a magnificently renovated cottage (with many beds) that was built in 1912 and has been in his family ever since.

Call Daan on 083 647 5279 or 044 699 1327 to find out more about both guest houses.

From personal experience I'd highly reccomend the Cape Vacca one because of its remoteness, the history of the location and the exceptional views. Not to mention the proximity of the ocean. This coastline is spectacular. And the people are down to earth and friendly....

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