Who knew there was a word to describe jollification, having a good time with friends and family, a feast? Yep, that’s a makiti and the annual Montagu Makiti was all that and more…
I had been missing the Cape after an extended period working in Joburg so it felt fitting that I should make a trip over the berg on a long weekend home and fit in a festival, several padstals and bonding time with #trustysidekick.
Bright and early on Friday morning we set off up Sir Lowrys Pass where I regaled said sidekick with my newly acquired tourist guide knowledge… like the fact that Sir Lowry Cole, after who this pass is named, insisted on having it built, despite objections from the British government. So when the pass cost £500 more than the £2500 he had told them it would cost, they decided to deduct it from his Governors pay. When the people of Cape Town found out, they took up a collection to raise the £500 and named the pass after good Sir Lowry.
We hadn’t gone far and stopped off to check out the Caledon casino and spa. Unimpressed we moved on to check out the little town of Bot River with its quaint hotel dating back to 1890.
The place was a veritable mine of antique treasures (including some already propped up at the ancient bar getting an early start on their drinking.). Definitely worth a stop and look see but we couldn’t find a spot for breakkies so we moved on.
At Riviersonderend we found a wonderful place on the main road for a delicious bacon and egg sandwich and stocked up on other yummy treats like the best looking bread and melktert I’d seen in a while (it tasted as good as it looked).
At Bonnievale we stopped for Tim Jan samples and despite the stuff’s awful taste we bought the hype about it being better than an enema to cleanse your system and two large bottles later we left feeling very proud of ourselves … until we realized we were headed in the wrong direction and had to make a u-turn on a dusty farm road to find the right route out of town in the direction of Montagu.
But not before stopping off at the Mooivallei dairy for the cheapest butter and cheese you can buy that side of the mountain! Stocked up with dairy goods, baked goods and trusty Tim Jan, we headed past the sheer granite mountains dotted with aloe trees, and through Cogmanskloof (also known as the hole in the wall) and into Montagu.
Montagu is famed for its hot mineral springs so we took a drive up to Avalon Springs set against the mountain side and checked out the hotel and springs. Definitely worth a visit with a bathing suit in summer but for today we made do with stocking up on a year’s supply of assorted dried fruit on our way back into town. At this point there was no longer room in #trustysidekick’s car to fit a prune!
Montagu history dates back to the 1700s and a farm. That was the start of a little village (Agter Cogman’s Kloof) that in 1854 was to become Montagu. The village was named for John Montagu, Colonial Secretary at the Cape from 1843 to 1852, seen as the father of the road system. He had a direct hand in the building of the Montagu Pass, Bain’s Kloof Pass and Michell’s Pass.
The cornerstone of the Montagu Dutch Reform church was laid on 1 November 1858. The church bought two sections of a farm, which they had cut up into plots, which were sold to raise money for the church. Later in the same year plots were sold on the other side of the river. Because these plots were sold at a lower price this section of the town became known as the “Vry-staat” (Free State). True story that.
The waters of Montagu had a great influence on its development. By 1860, 163 houses had been built. These houses were so well-built that some of them still stand. In Long Street alone five houses from this period can still be seen. This makes it one of three very important historical streets in the Cape.
History wasn’t on anyone’s mind during the annual Montagu Makiti- a fun weekend of markets and the locals finding an excuse to have a parade down the street, marching band and all!
I love the joy and jollification as everyone joined the colorful and loud morning parade which consisted of about three and a half floats, the local Harley Davidson club drive through, colourful ladies dancing on the back of bakkies and every school band, drummie troupe and dance troupe the town could muster up – but all in all a lot of fun and excitement for the small town of Montagu!
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