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Words and pictures by Steve Killick
Searching for the San man
SA4x4 reader Steve Killick took a trip to one
of the Western Cape’s most popular get-away-
from-it-all destinations, the Cederberg. Besides
offering enough scenic vistas to fill a stack
of coffee table books, this area also presents
the perspicacious traveller with a fascinating
glimpse into the lives of those who travelled
this area before us.

S
ome time ago I had bought a
copy of Peter Slingsby’s map of
the Cederberg with the intention
of exploring the area further. The
blurb that caught my attention reads:
“Named for the Cape Cedar, the area
was the home of the San. The San were
tragically eliminated from the area but
their legacy remains in thousands of
rock paintings – the greatest legacy
of rock art to be found anywhere in
the world.”
Upon closer inspection of the map
we noticed that the majority of the
rock art is concentrated in the northern
Cederberg in an area called Agter-
Pakhuis, the area lying over the Pakhuis
Pass from Clanwilliam. Normally this
would be a three-hour drive from Cape
Town along the N7 and over the pass,
but we decided to explore the route
up the eastern side of the Cederberg
mountains from Ceres, a route that will
take the better part of a day if you’re
out to enjoy the drive.
The San people were the original
inhabitants of Southern Africa.
Archaeological evidence suggests that
their way of life remained unaltered for
thousands of years. Linguists determine
their language as one of the oldest of
any, and one which developed one
of the richest varieties of sounds of
any language. A study of their genetic
makeup suggests that they are very
close to being the blueprint for modern
man. Today, all that remains of this
ancient culture is their art, and a
few marginalized communities in the
Kalahari.
We bundled our camping gear into
the Hilux one Friday afternoon and
wound our way over Bain’s Kloof Pass
towards Ceres. From Ceres the road
north climbs steeply up the Gydo
Pass, giving a spectacular view back
over the valley and onto the Hex River
mountains. If you decide to stop at
one of the road cuttings on this pass, it
won’t be long before you find fossils of
sea creatures in the rock – a testimony
that these rocks were formed beneath
an ancient sea before being thrust
up again by titanic forces to form the
mountains we know today. Up over the
pass the rocks themselves start to look
like dinosaurs frozen on the landscape;
these are sandstone rocks sculpted by
weather and time to create the myriad
formations for which the Cederberg is
famous. The formations also created
countless overhangs and caves which
offered shelter and a canvas to the San
for the last 8 000 years. At Op Die Berg
we turned right and a few minutes later
arrived at the farm Houdenbek where
we were to spend the night.
Sonja van der Merwe welcomed
us and showed us to an old barn
which has been lovingly restored and
converted into a self-catering guest
house. We settled down to the warmth
of the braai and watched the Hadedas
come home to roost in the gum trees
surrounding the homestead. The moon
rose full over the Koue Bokkeveld
and we drew closer around the fire, a
magical African moment.
The next morning we set out on a
hiking trail which visits an immense
natural rock arch and a few faded
rock paintings – a series of half
antelope figures and figures with
strangely shaped heads. We later
discovered that the arch is known as
the Heideveld Arch, not to be confused
with the better-known Wolfberg Arch.
We also discovered that the paintings
were nothing more than stains – the
actual pigment had been washed
off by centuries of exposure to the
elements. Certain pigments stained
the rock better than others, which
explains why the antelope and figures
appeared incomplete. White, black,
yellows, reds, and blues can be seen
at some of the better-preserved sites.
We were back at the homestead for
an early lunch and then took the road
north to Dwarsrivier.
Ten kilometres before Dwarsrivier we
took the turnoff to Wupperthal. From
this point to Wupperthal the road is
indicated as being suitable for 4x4
vehicles only. Perhaps the road

these rocks were formed beneath an ancient sea

before being thrust up again by titanic forces
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A sparkling waterfall on the Biedouw 4x4 route.
has improved since the map was
printed, but with a little patience, most
vehicles except the lowest would make
it to Wupperthal.
We stopped briefly in Wupperthal,
founded in 1830 by the Rhenish
Missionary Society and thriving today as
a Moravian mission. The rapid growth
of the mission immediately after its
formation is partly attributable to the
Cape Governor at the time’s policy for
the Koekoen to either seek residence
and work on farms, or to “remove”
themselves to the mission stations.
Today their descendants are Moravian,
a prerequisite for living in the town, and
probably the reason why this quaint
little town has remained so. The San
were not so fortunate and were widely
regarded as vermin and stock thieves
and were actively exterminated in the
area, a reward having been offered for
every San pinkie brought to the castle
at Cape Town. We stopped in briefly at
the church, the rooibos shop and the
shoe factory, which proudly claims to
be the oldest in the country, then we
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took a refreshing swim in Krokodilgat, a
twenty minute walk from the village.
From Wupperthal we headed over
the Kouberg Pass and down into the
Biedouw Valley to meet our hosts for
A steep, sandy section of the trail.
the evening, Barry and Mariette Lubbe,
on their farm Mertenhof. The farm was
also founded in 1830 and has been in
the Lubbe family for eight generations
since. The farmhouse ceilings and
floors are of solid cedar, worn down in
places by the passage of generations
of Lubbe feet. We were directed to Die
Huisie, a more recent addition to the
farm, where we awoke the following
morning to a magnificent curtain of
deep, autumn-red vine leaves framing
our view. We enjoyed our breakfast
while farm-life started the new day
all around us, then we took a drive on
the Biedouw 4x4 route which starts
langs die dam agter die huise. The
trail is grade 2 with a couple of grade
3 options. There are a series of pools
more or less midway, the perfect place
for a lunch stop and a swim in the river.
Allow four to five hours to complete
the route and take in all the sites at a
leisurely pace.
A short walk from Die Huisie near
the river is a cavernous overhang full
of rock art. The art was disappointing,
but it is a testimony to the history of
the Biedouw Valley. Layers of newer
stains overlay the original work and are
covered again by finger-painted images
and red handprints. The handprints are
thought to be those of pastoralists who
arrived in the area around 2 000 years
ago. It is thought that they were closely
related to the San, and were possibly
the descendants of San clans who
had learned to keep sheep. They soon
dominated the low-lying areas and
forced the hunter-gatherers into the
mountains. The newest of the inscrip-
tions date back over a hundred years
and were left by earlier generations
of the Lubbe family who would have
arrived when the Koekoen and the San
were present in the area. We gazed out
over irrigated fields on the flood plain
and imagined the game coming down
to the river in the early evening the way
San must have seen it.
The next morning we set off early
on Mariette’s advice for Traveller’s Rest
and the Sevilla Rock Art Trail. And
for good reason – by 10h00 the sun
 travel info
Traveller’s Rest for Rock art, hiking,
spring flowers
Contact (027) 482 1842 or
travrest@clanwilliam.co.za
Houdenbek Guest House for hiking,
biking, rock climbing, fly-fishing and
some rock art
Contact (023) 317 0759 or
sonjavdm@cybertrade.co.za
Wupperthal Tourist Info for village
life, campsite, 4x4 route, overnighting,
hiking, swimming
Contact (027) 482 3410
Mertenhof for hiking, rock art, 4x4
route, biking, spring flowers
Contact (027) 482 2845
Salmanslaagte has another series
of beautifully painted sites in a
magical setting. Ask at Traveller’s
Rest for details.
Acknowledgements: Factual infor-
mation contained in this article was
derived from John Parkington’s
Cederberg Rock Paintings and Peter
Slingsby’s Beyond the Cederberg.
This is big sky country.
was burning hot at our backs as we
walked across the barren sandstone
slabs towards the first site on the trail.
It is advisable to take a sunhat and
plenty to drink with you on this two
or three hour walk. The trail is easy
and well marked. Most of the images
are of the older fine-line type painted
by the San. Generally, they depict
animals or people in communal scenes
of sitting, fighting or dancing. Despite
the focus on large game species, the
scenes showing active hunting are
rare. From their form and some fine
detail, it is clear that whoever painted
these images were skilled artists with
a deep understanding of their subject.
The overall impression I had was
one of a series of random, disjointed
images in a dream. No one really
knows what the images meant to their
creators although all researchers agree
that they reflect some aspects of the
cosmos as understood by the San.
Understanding a little about how
the painters saw their world definitely
makes the trail a more rewarding
experience. Haffie Strauss has a few
good books for sale at Traveller’s Rest.
Amongst them is John Parkington’s
Cederberg Rock Paintings, in which he
says that, for the San, sharing was a
non-negotiable value and meanness
a universally discouraged behaviour.
Hunting was a spiritual process where
the life of the animal had to be won in
fair battle from “/kaggen”, the creator.
After a kill, the hunter would behave
with respect and recognise his and
others’ good luck. One could not own
an animal or the land. I pondered on
how the San had lived in harmony
with their environment for thousands
of years and how much we could learn
from their way of life.
There are thousands of paintings
in these mountains and more are
being discovered all the time. Many
of the sites are kept a secret for
their own protection. Thanks to people
like Haffie Strauss, John Parkington
and others involved with the Biedouw
Conservancy, the paintings are being
preserved and studied towards a
deeper understanding of how the San
understood their world.
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