“I will buy a beer for the first person to guess what caused those dips,” teases Dan Cornick as he shuttles us up to the Eastern Cape village of Hogsback. We eagerly study the ten-foot-wide, two-foot deep dips by the roadside. “Meteor craters?” I suggest. Aliens, trenches from the Frontier Wars, elephants and dinosaurs are among the other increasingly absurd proposals.
Dan shakes his head. “I’ll give you a clue. It’s an animal, but it’s not a mammal. It’s not a reptile. It’s not an insect. It’s not a bird or fish.” Another clue ten minutes later should solve the puzzle. “The biggest specimen in the world was found crossing this road. It was 3.2 metres long, reaching a whopping six metres when stretched.”
“Millipedes,” someone blurts out. “Nope. They are made by the world’s biggest earthworms, members of the Microchaetus rappi family,” gloats Dan. “By eating in one place and pooing in another, the worms create that distinctive dip and mound landscape.”
The journey passes quickly as Dan gives us a running commentary on the history and attractions of the area. JRR Tolkien never lived in the village, we learn, but his nanny was from Hogsback, and she told him of the legendary serpent Inkanyamba, which was the inspiration for Smaug. “There was no such thing as flying snakes in the UK (to where Tolkein moved from South Africa aged four) but there were dragons,” Dan explains.
His summary of the Frontier Wars includes the story of the Burnshill Wagon Disaster, when a five-kilometer British wagon train, armed at the front and the rear, was attacked in the middle by the Xhosa. Apparently, the raiders got away with a year’s supply of guns, ammunition, medical supplies and, “most horrifyingly”, the officers’ wine store.
Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av SA Country Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av SA Country Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Family Stays
Make some beautiful memories at one of these countryside getaways
Art from the Heart
Watching blacksmiths at the forge, painters at the easel, cabinet makers at the chisel, and wandering the woods with a famous calligrapher in small, bespoke gatherings is what the Prince Albert Open Studios project is all about
Lighthouse Over Yonder
A shipwreck road trip from Bredasdorp to Danger Point is a fine way to spend a day drifting over the Agulhas plain
The Salt Shepherd
ALAN VAN GYSEN finds out how a farm boy the Vleesbaai skaaplande became as dedicated to big waves as he is to sheep
The Place Of Roaring Water
In Augrabies Falls National Park, cultural projects are creating a thunder akin to the mighty Orange as it plummets into its famous gorge
Farmstyle Fairytales
A romantic, elegant country wedding doesn’t have to break the bank if you get married on a Karoo farm
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
On a whim, OBIE OBERHOLZER starts up his old Isuzu bakkie and sets off through the Tsitsikamma for Storms River Village, where Elvis and Marilyn live
Romance Dance Of The Plume
More than a century after the Feather Boom, the mansions and legends it spawned in and around Oudtshoorn are being spruced up as part of an enduring and diverse ostrich industry
Heaven At The Hog
The gorgeous open gardens of the Eastern Cape village of Hogsback put some serious spring in our step.
Eating With Andrew, Naturally
Forget fussy if you’re at chef Andrew Giles’ Tweedie restaurant, but you’ll fall in love with everything on your plate.