S1 - Ep 490 - Op-die-Berg, Eselbank, Wupperthal, Western Cape! 

Thanks for the drone footage. Such nice small towns and they persevere. Fantastic drive and scenery. Some times Sonia kept her breath hey! But you made it. Well done. Tha ks for all the effort that went into this trip. I enjoyed it so much. I am on board next time

Wupperthal looks beautifully rebuilt after the devastating fire that destroyed most of the precinct and surrounding buildings in 2018

Hi guys I must take my hat off to both of you at the lengths you go to in making these videos. Gravel all the way what amazing drive real pioneer stuff in a 2 wheel car .op de Berg speaks for its self loved it this is how I remember SA lawns down to the road and no fences and what a surprise space ship church. Eselbank definitely out in the sticks thatched roofs the sheep in town so cute .spotting the donkeys always makes me smile. Wuppertal blows my mind it's like the equivalent of Shangri-la but in so SA. The charm used from every buildings and the history amazing loved the shoe factory you couldn't make this place up and surrounded by the spectacular Cederburg mountains unbelievable video thanks for taking me along cheerio till the next one

The housing on the sports field was to accommodate the people whose homes were destroyed during the fire. Seems people have settled in there now

Good driving Curtis. What a spectular road through the mountains. I have so much enjoyed this video. Thank you.

My mothers hometown❤ Havent been there since before the fire. House was completely destroyed and was finished being rebuilt in 2023. Thank you for this stunning video

What a wonderful drive this was. The drone footage is amazing. You got into a church again 😊 the donkies all the little river crossings. These people live a wonderful life. Really beautiful places in the mountains. Lotsa love to you two ❤🎉❤

Lovely area, so glad you have been to see Wupperthal. At 20:10 you passed that sign by the Cape Leopard Trust on the left of the road. On one of my travels I stopped there, got out and was having coffee when I saw a vehicle slowly approaching from the north. When they reached me they told me they were following a leopard that was in the veld coming this way but has now disappeared. Well needless to say I immediately got back in the vehicle and then tried to find the leopard using my binoculars but nowhere to be seen. That cement road down to Wupperthal is quite steep but you ...and Sonia...did very well.lol. See you in the next one..

Those palm trees are black.....and all buildings are painted shortly ago...the video is beautiful with stunning mountains....thanks❣

Best one you have done since inception. Seen them all.

My kind of journey - just spectacular! I loved every moment of it. The beauty and the peace the Cederberg holds is all-consuming. I now understand why you choose to travel those roads in a Renault Kwid Curtis. The car handled those sump-destroying rocks like a 4X4 RV! Sonia's somewhat anxious comments at 43:13 ("I would like Wupperthal to show up now") and especially at 45:24 ("Don't look anywhere ... but in front") had me in stitches. I deemed it fit to enjoy an extra glass of wine tonight in celebration of Sonia's comments (and resilience). As always, it was a pleasure travelling with you. Thank you to the both of you.

Smart, stunning werk soos altyd, dankie erg baie!

I'VE BEEN THERE IN EARLY 2009. WHEN WE HOT THERE IT WAS TO DARK TO ACTUALLY ENJOY IT, BUT YOU MADE IT POSSIBLE TO SEE WHAT I MISSED, THANKYOU. WE GOT THERE ON A DOFFERENT RD AND PASS, AND LEFT ON ANOTHER PASS ONTO CLAN WILLIAM. ON THE TOP OF WHICH I VISITED LEOPOLD'S GRAVE, THAT WAS THE NEXT MORNING. THANKYOU FOR THE ADVENTURE.

Hi Curtis Sonia and Dusty ❤❤❤, you are a trooper Sonia, even my toes were curling for those gravel stretches, Curtis you are a cool cucumber hey, thanks for another nail biting journey, safe travels 🥾🥾

Ja, ek het nie so gebid in my lewe nie, my heart was pumping overtime, I am afraid of the heights and that pass, the gravel road I just say, Baie dankie julle, I will not go there, not now not ever, you did it for me, I now know that place through you guys, Baie Baie dankie for this informative and interesting journey.

Madiba tree👌🙌🙌

We came up that cemented part of the road, coming from Wuppertal, and a vehicle came from the front and we had to backup all the way down so they could pass us! That was very nerve wrecking! 😱😱

Thank you for the great video! We were there in 2022 and was fascinated by the friendly people and the peacefulness of Eselbank.

Book this one as the best one you have done since inception. I have been with since day one and will only stop when you do. Thank you for choosing this part of the world, just proves WP is still the best!

I won't even comment on the scenery today. All I will say is well done Curtus on your driving. I thought I wad about to get a heart attack with yhe road high up there anf no barriers. O couldn't wait for you all to get to the next town. Be safe.

I am so glad to have seen this place . Thank you 😊

We visited Wuppertal and Several other places to see the flowers .It was beautiful there.

Sonia , i am with you all the way those road and fall down the mountains.

Thank you for the interesting video! We visited Wupperthal before and again after the great fire of 2018. Many of the buildings and most of the houses that you filmed had to be rebuilt after the fire. It was very sad to listen to people's stories about the fire. They were busy renovating the church when we visited the town. We still want to take the route past Eselbank. Thanks for the preview!

What an episode that gave me too much stress.😄😄 That drive yooohhh. But again I watched the episode with hubby, I was like you have to see this... Thank you so much guys....❤❤❤

Amazing drive, thanks for the upload 🏆

Never fear when Curtis is near😅🚙

Hi guys Sonia I felt for you on this trip I was just as scared for you both just watching this video well done for making love both of the towns very interesting thank you both. ❤❤

Stunning video.amazing outcrops and you two are very brave to tackle these roads in your vehicle.❤

Lovely video, thanks😎👍🏻

Op die berg hometown of Breyten Paulse. Noticed that blackened palm trees in Wupperghal? Caused by the major fire they had.

Enjoying the ride with you - much love to both of you❤

Fantastic trip, thank You! Pretty scary in places, rather you than me driving! Was last in the Cedarburg 64 years ago, still remember those amazing landscapes. Keep on truckin 😅 Kiwi Jim.

Looking at the title, the first thing coming to mind is “Die Berggans het ‘n veer laat val van die hoogste krans by Woeperdal….” (Boerneef - I W van der Merwe). Beautiful area you’re visiting this time.

My nerves were shot when you guys were driving with those steep drops right next to your vehicle. Gosh

Good afternoon Dustbugs, not sure if anyone commented on the beautiful church in Op-die-Berg? It is the Dutch Reformed Church, inaugurated on 31 July 1966. Another breathtaking journey, thank you so much for sharing. Lots of love and stay safe.

18:40 al lê die berge nog so blou🎷🎹🥁🎸.

Done and _dusted_ ! I see what you did there. Most important, but sort of irrelevant observation: If a flood over a drift is 0.8m deep, I suspect that you'd be putting your life at risk taking a chance on it. To know, just get a measuring tape and measure up how high the sill of your vehicle's doors are above the road surface. A flood is surprisingly powerful, and there's definitely a point at which your car would float enough to have zero "side traction" for even a mild float to cause you some inconvenience. Even shallow water is dangerous. That's the point. As for thatch being redone, that's one of the main reasons people avoid using it for roofing these days. Grass thatch needs to be redone approximately every 15 years. I think in the Cape they might use _hardebiesie_ reed thatch, which is a lot more durable, but even with that, a house dating from the 1800's will have been redone several times since. (It also pushes your insurance premiums up. A nice compromise is to put Marley tiles - or is it Harvey tiles? - over the thatch. That lets the thatch keep much longer, and some insurance companies will accept the roof as fireproof enough for a lower premium if you do that.) Wupperthal was beautiful. Again, yes, Authentic. That's what makes it so. Also seemed to be very much a living community, which makes it double beautiful. The spellings probably differ due to German spelling reforms. German isn't government regulated the way French is, but there's a semi-official "Taalbond" there that makes recommendations people tend to follow, that changes things every ever so often. So in the 1830's a dale (or "thal" in olde German, of "dal" in Afrikaans, nogsteeds?) would've been spelled with the "th", and then in more recent times, there might've been a spelling reform that simplified away all the "th" 's to make the spelling more regular, and easier for everyone, so "thal" was changed to "tal", and the sound stayed the same. A recent spelling reform some people follow is the removal of some special characters, like the "es-tsett", or "double-s", ß , replacing it with "ss", which quite a lot of spellings use, anyway. They also seem to be getting rid of ümläütën (those "kolletjies"? - I forget the right name in Afrikaans), so for instance Düsseldorf can now be spelled "Duesseldorf". Without the umlaut the "u" has an "oe" sound (in Afrikaans), and with it, it has the "u" sound (as in the Afrikaans word, "U"). If you say it with an "oe" sound, you're calling the place "Idiootdorp", so the new spelling might remove some nice insults from the language if it becomes the general usage. There's one more thing. (Sorry, this is going on a bit, but there is one more thing, so .. ) There's a city called Wuppertal in Germany (but there wasn't one in 1830), just the valley (or dale, or dal, or thal) of the river Wupper, in which there were several towns, becoming ever more unreachable, the further up the tal you went. And then the railways changed that, and the valley become a single conurbation. The way they did it was to build the world's first Schwebebahn. I think I'll leave that as a mystery for the railroad enthusiasts round here who've yet to hear of it. Look it up, and I think you'll find it entertaining. It's still running to this day, even now the bahns that connect everything up are like Autobahns. What might "Schweben" mean? I think you'll find the answer goes nicely with the sound of this word.

Thanks! ❤

When I read Wuppertal I immediately thought Pakhuis Pass. Or maybe I am confused with something else. When I was little I thought Pakhuis was a place where you got lots of hidings. 😅 Never heard of Oppieberg before. What a beautiful place and lovely church. Gravel roads are the most scenic and this one is beautiful. Mountains are fantastic! I had an idea you would save some supper for padkos. For me i would need a thermos of coffee too 8 hours? Yes, definitely enough coffee Eselbank looks like a place that developed from a farm into a community. I would love to live there. Roger and i were on some hairy roads too, in an Opel Kadet. But take it slowly and carefully and you will get through. What a view!

Moenie worry nie, watch net!!!!🙃😂😂🙏💕

I'm sure you have the car's wheel alignment checked regularly. After a drive similar to yours between Golden Gate and Harrismith in 1990 I should have had the alignment of my car checked, which I did not do. Only 20 000 k's later I had to replace the tyres due to uneven wear.

😌❤

thanks for a wonderful trip - i think Renault need to invest in you - if they haven't already - my next car would definitelty be a Renault Kwid -

That mountain upfront looks like table mountain

Love your videos. You should incorporate Geocaching into your trips. That will be exciting :D

Hi guys, i enjoyed yiur trip to Wupperthal, but you forgot to mention the huge fire in which most houses were destroyed... and then rebuild and the recents floods. Yet the town look good. Regards

Incredible scenery and such an interesting episode! Your car did you proud on that road. Time to ask the manufacturer for a sponsorship?

Baie dankie vriende.

OMW that was an exciting but nerve racking trip shooo. I felt every bump on that narrow rocky road. My heart was pounding, my throat was dry until we reached Wupperthal, then I could breathe again 😳🤪🤣 I expected to see Cowboys 🤠 and Indians pop out from behind those big rocks 😂 It was a very interesting trip chaps thank you❤ Dusty was extra quiet on this trip 😅 Sonia I could feel your anxiousness in the car, don't blame you at all. Wouldn't like to travel there when it's storming! Where does that sand come from? Take care 🙏❤

Eslebank and Op-die-berg are very descriptive names of these town! Wonder how long the donkeys have been around! When you went up that steep gravel road with the potholes, I was so nervous that it felt as if I was watching a horror movie! Glad you made it safely to the other side!

My longest wait was hour and 20 min

OH I FORGOT TO MENTION, THE NIGHT WE GOT TO WIPPERTHALL WE SLEPT OVER ON A FARM B&B NEAR THERE.

Koue Bokkeveld is where Breyton Paulse grew up.

Hi julle wat n pad het my oè n paar keer toe geknyp.

all food tastes better when cold especially pork chops and chicken

Yea that town so small drive to hard pass it unever new of that small town

at these new places, do you stop for munchies and coffee?

and look for food

Are here any Zimiri's watching?

Do you study these places before you go? There was a massive fire in 2018 which nearly destroyed the whole town. Those little houses are what they built to accomodate the 200 people misplaced in the fire. Also its the Rooibos country where they grow and pick rooibos.