The Land
When we came here in April 2000 the place was stiff with weeds.
The original cactus garden was hardly visible and reeds were growing up to the main house. There was also an abundance of seeffwater from the mountains. Together with the excavator contractor we decided to make some test holes in the compact potclay-soil. Than it turned out that the groundwater level at some spots was less than 30 centimeters under the surface.

Excavation works April 2000;
Tango of Bulldozer and Excavator
At that occasion also some typical grey/blue river stones were discovered. So we decided to dig up an old river as part of the new drainage system. Than old farmers and farm workers told us the almost forgotten stories from generations ago that there was, 'once upon a time' a river crossing this land. Representives of the new generation of farmers told us that this 'new' river should dry out in three months, if not; within three weeks. But, until so far, the water continues to stream and the ground waterlevel has come down significantly to more than one-and-a-half meter.

We are Dutch and grew up in water and water works.This does not make us better 'waterworkers' than people with other nationalities but since centuries country-folks along the Rhine-delta in The Netherlands know that one can 'never trick an old river'. Even if mankind creates a new canal running next to an old river which is levelled with the adjacent land; the old river will continue to flow under the surface and will flow there for thousands of years unless the source dries out.
The 'hills' along the river are planted with a variety of mainly indigenous plants. During 'Labour Day' 2001 Herman and Maart (both feeling the privilege to 'labour') digged a pathway over one of the hills along 'our' Klonki River (named after the operator of the excavator). This path is now known as the Botterboom Trail; with approx. 40 metres being the shortest hiking trail in the West Cape. This trail leads visitors along shrublike succulents with a characteristic green 'bark'. South Africans with the Afrikaans as mother language call this succulent 'botterboom' but botanists pur-sang prefer 'Tylecodon paniculatus'.
  

Botterboom Trail
On top of the trail one has a nice view onto the surrounding gardens.

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