Furthermore extracts from some other media-exposures.

UPI hears
(December 5, 2003, The Washington Times )
The CIA went on "red alert" earlier this year when a U.S. spy satellite spotted a suspicious site the near Robertson in the Western Cape, South Africa. The suspect installation appeared to be a defense complex. A webmaster for the location's website concluded using tracking-and-tracing software that the website had 362 visits from the U.S. military over the past year. The spooks finally concluded that they were not looking at a covert defence complex, but rather, the Klaas Voogds garden maze of Soekershof. A Canadian army supplier commented, "It's a simple story. The satellite spots the maze with all those funny objects, some of which, on first sight, indeed look like pieces of heavy anti-aircraft artillery." The error has a up side, though, as "student recognition experts" are honing
their photo interpretation their skills at the website.

(The Gardener, October 2006)
Can you just imagine a maze causing international mayhem? .... Try to take some time out to visit this remarkable place........

(Maria King in Wind Calls of the Christian Community in Cape Town)
.... And this path leading us into the maze: are we not the path ourselves? Is the physical path not a symbol of our inner reality? ...... From a simple but enjoyable excursion I was left with lots of questions as food for thought .......... (Maria King in Wind Calls of the Christian Community in Cape Town)

World class cactus garden just up R62
(Jane Mulder in Weekend Argus, July 1 2006)
......... Herman and Yvonne aren't ordinary people and this was not te be an ordinary experience ........... From being a humble street vendor Joey now has his own stodio in Soekershof's visitors centre ................. Their commitment, dedication and passion is an inspiration especially as thgeir work extends to fostering local art and uplifting the less fortunate ..................... As I said - no ordinary people, these! ..........

The Sunday Times, June 18, 2006
..... For a walk on the wild side Klaas Voogds Valley is a natural .............. The Soekershof website ( www.soekershof.com ) is a mine of information about the Klaas Voogds Valley........

Get aMAZEingly lost!
(June 2006, Your Family, SA)
……. Offering so much, this unusual destination is a full day's outing …. Less than 2 hours from Cape Town …..

Unusual destination
(May 2006, Itchy Feet, UK )
….the most beautiful and divers succulent garden in the Southern Hemisphere…

Soekershof An Unusual Destination
(May 2006, Wine Tourism News, SA)
……The Soekershof Maze is a quest for life, a problem to ponder, a chance for some fresh perspective, and the opportunity to discover the quirkier side of nature. ………. …… One of the feature qualities of Soekershof is that there are over 2400 different succulents planted here, each in their own soil type and in a way that is both natural and sustainable to the environment. ………

Herman van Bon se vreemde wêreld
(May 23 2006, Jan Taljaard in Die Burger, SA)
…… Dit is nie soseer ‘n traditionale doolhof waar die doel juis is om besoekers verlore te laat raak nie. Die Klaas Voogds Doolhof is ‘n wandelroete wat op die Australiese inboorling beginsel van die walkabout gebaseer is en jou gedagtes los moet maak terwyl jy loop……

Cactus makes perfect
(May 18 2006, Pete Slingsby in Cape Argus , SA)
“The place where Klaas Voogds, James Bond and Albert Einstein meet”, sets the scene for a truly unusual, if not actually weird, walking experience at Soekershof. ………. Soekershof is a show that hugely entertains and exercises you. …….. Each sculpture is, in fact, a genuine Joey original and if you are not sure who Joey is, you will be able to meet him in person and learn his unique handshake………

Study tour South Africa
(April 2006, The Professional Gardener,
journal Professional Gardener's Guild UK )
Soekershof is a unique establishment, consisting of mazes and botanical gardens …..Apart from the immense collection of succulents outdoors, the sheer enthusiasm of the owners and their gardeners make this another place not to miss………. The Soekershof Nursery, for it's part, distinguishes itself from other specialist nurseries by providing visitors with customised cultivation information in line with local environmental conditions…

De verborgen schat van Zuidafrika
(April 2006, Succulenta, magazine of the Dutch Succulent Society)
…..Soekershof omvat niet alleen ‘s werelds grootste doolhof maar ook een succulententuin die door de American Horticultural Society is erkend als “one of the finest collections of specimen plants worldwide”….. Op Soekershof kregen leden de kans om planten te ‘voelen' en te ‘ruiken'; kortom om planten te beleven en niet om droge theorie aan te horen……….. Veel planten zijn nog klein maar de gevarieerdheid aan soorten en variëteiten in de onbeschermde open lucht is ongekend……..

Drei neue Mitglieder bei Fair Trade in Tourism
(Travel Inside, Switzerland; Feb. 3, 2006)
Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) hat in Western Cape die drei Firmen Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, The Backpack Cape Town und Soekershof Walk-About (Mazes and Botanical Gardens) in Robertson zertifiziert und ihnen damit eine umweltgerechte, nachhaltige Tätigkeit attestiert.
Seit 2003 hat FTTSA bei nun mehr 17 touristischen Unternehmen Südafrikas die entsprechenden Verfahren abgeschlossen.

Rød alarm.
DN Magasinet ( Norway ) 11/12 June 2005)
I desember 2003 ble unnselige Klaas Voogds verdensberømt,over natten ble
stedet løftet fra turistbrosjyrene til spaltene i Washington Post og Paris atch.En amerikansk spionsatellitt hadde «sett »noe mistenkelig i bygda,sannsynligvis var det en hittil ukjent militærinstallasjon,en base som kunne være en trusel mot USAs nasjonale sikkerhet. I CIA ble det slått «rød alarm ».Plutselig dukket det opp fremmede med mørke solbriller i vestre Klaas Voogds.
Det de ville sjekke,viste seg å være det nederlandske ekteparet Herman van Bon og Yvonne de Wits fantastiske hage med en av verdens største hekklabyrinter.Det CIA
mente kunne være antiluftskyts var kaktuser,nitid friserte hekker,fikentrær og skulpturer.Ekteparet emigrerte fra de laveste våtmarkene i Nederland til det Sør-Afrikanske høylandet i 2000 for å finne litt livsrom.Herman sitter gjerne på terrassen og fabulerer frem gode historier om bygda og eiendommen,av og til jobber han til og med i gen.Yvonne,som
opprinnelig er kunstner,steller de tusentalls kaktusene som er blitt en av turistattraksjonene langs Route 62.
Og kjøkkenet på Rosendal leverer piknikkurvene til turistene som roter rundt i den
enorme labyrinten.
–Livet i seg selv er jo en labyrint,det kan være veldig kort og veldig langt, med
snarveier og blindveier,sa Herman.
Men hvem var Klaas Voogds? Mannen som hadde gitt navn til stedet som plutselig hadde fått en sørlandsafrikansk vinfarm i sin midte? Herman van Bon hadde flere svar. –Hans originale navn var Claus Voigts, noen hevder han var en tysk slavehandler, men han var en 1700-tallets James Bond,en dobbeltagent,kanskje trippelagent.Han samarbeidet med hottentottene,Klaas Voogds regnes som stamfaren til det som her kaltes ‘bastaard
Hottentot ',fortsatt er det etterkommere etter ham i området.
To svenske botanikere som kom hit i 1768 fant ut at han var blitt trampet ihjel av en elefant –på en så brutal måte at skjelettet og skallen som ble funnet senere var helt flatt. En av de svenske botanikerne mente hendelsen var så brutal at også blodet var trampet ned i den steinharde jorda.Klas Voogds nedtrampede blod kan være noe av grunnen til kvalitet på rødvinene i området,sa Herman ………………

Robertson
(January 2005, Fair Lady)
……There are interesting stories to entertain the kids and a quest to fulfil in the huge Klaas Voogds Maze. You'll know you're in the right place when you see a beautiful life-size baobab tree made out of wire near the entrance ….

The Soekershof
(October 2004, Caerdroia; globally published magazine
about Mazes and Labyrinths)
…………… apart from its size, Soekershof's Klaas Voogds Maze has many other characteristics to be proud of. Where else in the world is there a Maze associated with so many nice stories and the alleys all named? Where else does a Maze have two labyrinths inside it? Where else can such artifarcts as a kayak belonging to an aboriginal who sailed to South Africa , and a pole thrown by Lazy Old McDonald all the way from Scotland , be found? Where else can you find a Maze with its own ghost? ……………. Unlike many other Mazes, which were strictly built according to a pre-arranged design, this one largely came about as a result of the whims of the bulldozer operator who was hired in October 2001 to scrape the ground…………….. The result is a Maze that you can get lost in, but not for the traditional reason. The hedges are low enough to allow you plenty of vision, but precisely because of that, you will be able to see many of the artifarcts sticking out between them, attracting you to come closer for inspection …

Magical Walkabout in entertaining garden
(September 11 2004. Ronnie Glass in The Weekend Argus)
……..It can seldom be said that a visit to a garden can be both entertaining and educational. But this is certainly the case with Soekershof Walkabout. And not many gardens in South Africa can offer such a wealth of plant life combined with passion, real hospitality, wisdom and entertainment. Soekershof is a true exception worthwhile to be experienced……… Soekershof is created around stories and, besides the incredible number of different plants, these stories give the garden and maze walk an extra entertaining dimension………..This magical place should be on your must-see list………..

It's a maze thing!!!
(November 2003 Alex Cremer in Country Life Magazine)
....Wonderful outdoor puzzles on a Western Cape farm are designed to reflect the complexity of life. .....
The sign at the entrance of Soekershof Farm at Klaas Voogds West near Robertson reads "Find your way in Life", and this was exactly what Herman van Bon and Yvonne de Wit had in mind when they planned three different mazes on the property ....... This has resulted in a magical place where vistors can relax and also learn while they wander the four kilometers of pathways ............... There is the tale of Maarten Malherbe, father of Soekershof and creator of its beautiful cactus garden. His spirit still roams the property and on many a full-moon night the clicking of his walking stick can be heard. Some say they have also seen the ghost of his wife, Molly, seemingly looking for him.

Website creation & Maintenance: Robertson Valley Technologies
Photo-assemblings: Inez Lenders, Nijmegen, Netherlands, www.inezlenders.nl
Photo's: Pete Slingsby, Cape Town, SA,  www.themaps.co.za
            Stéphane Haesaert, Belgium,
            Soekershof Walkabout, Robertson