Baviaanskloof – A world apart, compiled by Liesl Hattingh
Price: R119.95
ISBN:9780620509473, Paperback, Baviaanskloof Tourism
Introduction by Ewald Loock, Mayor, Baviaans Municipality
The word Baviaanskloof, derived from the Dutch “valley of the baboons”, no longer in any way reflects the modern image the name conjures up. Today the Baviaanskloof is associated with a vision of pristine nature; the winding road carved through the valley by Thomas Bain often the only sign of intrusion.
Kudus forage on the slopes next to the road, mountain zebras play at Bergplaas, and black rhinos graze on the thicketed banks of the Kouga River. Add all this to the fact that some of our earliest ancestors lived in the Baviaanskloof, leaving behind an area full of their mysteries. To include all aspects of the Baviaanskloof in one book is an impossible task. The area is too diverse.
The aim of this book then is to give tourists an idea of the Baviaanskloof’s uniqueness, from the exceptional people that live here and used to live here, to the massive variety of plants and animals.
People with deep roots in the Baviaanskloof have been made unique by their long struggle for survival in this area. So too has nature taken its course over thousands of years to create what is today universally recognised as the Baviaanskloof World Heritage Site and which has so much to offer to any tourist.
It is a wonderful privilege that such a unique area is part of Baviaans Municipality. Indeed, everyone who lives here or is associated with the area on a daily basis is privileged, and with this privilege comes the knowledge that the responsibility of protecting this uniqueness rests on our shoulders!
This excellently researched book is essential reading for any tourist who wants to visit the Baviaanskloof.
Thanks go to researcher, compiler and writer Liesl Hattingh for the high quality of her work.
Ewald Loock
Review by Magriet Kruger – Sandvlakte Guest Farm, Baviaanskloof
Ek dink ons kan vir Liesl Hattingh geluk sê met ‘n monumentale taak briljant gedoen!
Dis die beste boek sover van die Baviaanskloof. Die beperkte ruimte in aggenome, is dit ‘n visuele kragtoer. Die fyn balans tussen wetenskaplike feite en die alledaagse is uitstekend gehandhaaf. Dis ‘n toeganklike boek – iets soos “The Baviaanskloof for dummies” (soos ek).
Binne die beperkte ruimte is baie goed daarin geslaag om ‘n werelderefenisgebied te verduidelik. Kort en kragtig. ‘n Uitstekende boekie vir ‘n toeris wat deur die gebied ry en net so ‘n bietjie meer wil weet, maar dan ‘n mondvol ‘bietjie’ inkry.
Van al die geskrifte wat in onlangse tye oor die gebied verskyn het – die wetenskaplike entiteite ingesluit, is hierdie die een wat tel -in my boek, omdat dit die ware karakter van die plek, veral die menslike impak, vanuit ‘n empatieke oogpunt bybring, veral deur die opmerkings deur verskillende mense in hulle daaglikse leefwyse gemaak, te laat rondsweef op die bladsye.
Dit maak die Baviaanskloof se storie volledig.
Welgedaan!!!!!! En ‘n groot dankie aan die Baviaansmunisipaliteit vir die inisiatief! Dis ‘n bate vir almal wat met die Baviaanskloof geassosieer word.
Hierdie plek is besig om te gebeur!
Magriet Kruger
Introduction and Review – from http://www.baviaans.co.za
