Wonderful to see all these beautiful places with you, thanks so much.

Lovely people of Willow

Hi Both. It's me again ! Just picked up on this episode and your comments about being cold in the Willowmore area made me chuckle. My late mate Brian and I stopped overnight in the Willowmore Hotel, in June 1976, it was so cold at night that we put the floor rugs on our beds to keep warm ! The hotel waiter was a really old fella' by the name of Albert, poor old chap he was so old he could hardly move along, but he did move like lightning when serving us our evening meal. Having been been an age in the kitchen he returned with our vegetables, religiously he gave both me and Brian equal amounts of sprouts, peas and carrots. Next he placed two roast potatoes on my plate before placing the one remaining spud on Brian's plate; turning to leave he noted the imbalance, quick as a flash and to preserve the status quo Albert whipped one potato off my plate and back into his serving dish then returned to the kitchen. We were told by the proprietor they kept him on as he had been employed there all his working life. When we returned in 1979 we asked after Albert and was told he had sadly passed away, but I'll never forget him. .... As for your three halts on the Oudsthoorn to Kliplaat section of railway i.e. Skerpkop, Solitree and Oven, in the 1970's and 1980's you could travel to them daily on the Cape Town to Port Elizabeth service, but only Oven was a booked stop at 03.45 (toward PE) or 19.23 (toward CT) , on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday the Johannesburg-Mossel Bay service stopped at Oven at 20.11 or 02.58. Both Skerpkop and Solitree were by request only, but you could use the guards van on freights or mixed trains along the line (about 10 each way per day) So sad to see what was once a busy station and railway disused. Once again, great memories re-kindled, thank you and Cheers from the UK

Stunning trip..I enjoy

The front of the church like a bull looking at you and ready to charge😃😁 Beautiful though

My Uncles farmed in the Baviaanskloof at Studtis. We used to go there for holidays. I stayed for a year in 1947. The train used to arrive at Willomore station at 2am in the morning. We we left it was just after midnight. My brothers and my self spent many hours playing on that station with the trolley while waiting for the train. A little sleep in the waiting room. So long ago and such good memories.

I remember travelling this road as a child. Solitree always made us laugh and remark on bad spelling as our mum was an English teacher. But back then, the railway used to run, and there was a little station building. Sad to see what has become of it. Watching this makes me feel very old. Lovely to see Willowmore again, in spite of the dreeeezle. Too much prickly pear can get you running to the lavatree! Never mind the solitree.

I love your small town tours.places you drive by and always wonder how they look like.

Fantastic video! Those small stations were most likely what are called "haltes" (halts) in Afrikaans. It was where the train stopped briefly to pick up milk urns and the like, not really for passengers. The line between Klawer and Vredendal in my day (late 60s) had many of them, which is why the local train took forever to cover the small distance between the towns. It was lovely, and yet sad, to see the twon where I started std 4 (Grade 6) in 1963. We stayed the the boarding house now called the Willow Guest House for a few weeks, then my parents rented a house on Wehmeyer St, on the site of which there's now a massive Post Office complex. Fond memories of walking to school across a little wooden bridge across the donga (the Noord Sloot) behind our house. I think the red bridge was a later addition to enable pedestrians to cross the sloot which often flooded across the road bridge (it did in my time there and everyone went to watch the brown flood water stream across the road bridge. I don't recall a foot bridge there at the time) .

How sad all the lonely stations. Strange road first time I ever saw something like that. Glad the old jail that is being used as a quest house. The houses and buildings are so neat and tidy . Just love the wonder tree quite extraordinary. 🐗

Well we travelled to Willowmore stopped of at Kapoet to have lunch and were told the story of this house. Best Karoo lamb and koeksisters. And you passed it at the end of your video

I love your program.. In my imagination I'm driving with you, and discovering the beautiful places of our land.... From Erika fs...

These videos must be kept safe for the future 🙏

Love the Willowmore station

My wedding reception was in the barn on the farm Sandkraal ! My wife’s family farm back in 1976 !

Love Willowmore. Have been there a couple of times.

Thank you for the interesting info on the Wonderboom!

Cute town, just looks very cold. I still can't get over the railway infrastructure being so desolate. What a waste

Thanks for the very informative video 🛣️👍

Pretty town hall! Lovely to go to work there!

Never knew the Karoo is so cold in winter.

This was actually built for the Jewish community in 1907 (foundation stone laid on 8 April 1907) . In 1017 there were 30 members . I can make out a few words on the corner stone only .

I think that red bricked building, was for keeping produce cold. Hence the occurense at about every station. It had a concrete slab on top to help with temperature.

This reminds me of the old days when I used to travel with my late father from Uitenhage to Willowmore to visit my Granny

I would imagine that the building with the Hebrew written on it was a synagogue. The upstairs balcony is where the woman sat

If you take another look at the building , you can see the star of David on the top in front ,slightly damaged . Regards,

Your video was very informative I have driven through Willowmore upteen times and stayed over a few times,. You just need to work on your audio or more subtitles Best Wishes

Sad to see such vital and useful infrastructure laid to waste. With the costs of petrol going up these places will be needed in the near future.

My Israeli friend says this about the inscription on the plaque at 9:48 - Looks like Corner Stone Established Hebrew date Nisan (which generally is around April) the exact date isn’t clear. We presume a Synagogue was built there.

It is indeed Oven as the Afrikaans name for the station is Bakoond 5:59

My place of birth..Pity you couldn't check out the old graveyard and historical "kruithuisie"where ammunition and gunpowder was kept.And Oven is actually the correct name,we know it by its Afrikaans name Bakoond.

It was so interesting to see more of Willowmore - that you showed us.I visited it in 2004 with my Mum, but she hadn't enjoyed the trip to get there. It was a bit dry and dusty for her and she couldn't just enjoy the trip for the fun of it. We'd come from De Rust, so no sooner than we had arrived than she wanted to go home again.She was about 80, so one gives in to the frailty of the elderly! I didn't get to see much of the place that time. Its another place I intend to visit, to make up for what I missed out last time. The first building you thought was a defunct church was actually the synagogue. The erf was purchased for the building of the synagogue in 1906 and the foundation stone was laid on 8 April 1907. The Jewish community applied for a loan for the building in 1908 and by 1917 the Willowmore Hebrew congregation had 30 members. The well-preserved Jewish graveyard can be visited, providing a glimpse of this industrious community long since departed.(according to Karoo-Southafrica.com) You were right about the DRC church building, And I would have agreed with you without looking up any info about it... but this is what is said about it: Eight years after it’s establishment in 1856 Willowmore was growing at a rate that justified a Dutch Reformed congregation. Yet before even considering a proper church, a spacious parsonage was erected for the first minister, Dominee P.N.Ham who arrived on the ship Brasilië from Holland. He only stayed for two years, and was superseded by Dominee George Murray, brother of the famous missionary Andrew Murray. He at least got a church, building work started in 1974 and the the church was inaugurated on 12 October 1878. This church was demolished making way for a church of modern design in 1963. The steeple is a curious shape but I have seen other steeples built like that, in SA and I wondered if they are also used for communication masts.But I can't find any documentation on this, all I found was the top of it snapped off in a storm last year! As for that power station and its last remaining working engine, it drinks 5 litres of Diesel every 15 mins, so not very cost effective really.

There is a similar narrow concrete road between Hanover and Noupoort

Solitree railway station, extention to the Port Elizabeth line for export of wool.......ek geniet julle reeks

Have you ever been to Philipolis I believe it's a lovely town in the Free State

Have you been to Indwe Lady Grey Barley east?

What car you driving

You missed all the history.the place has the best history museum for rugby in country.also missed best cover shop and pegasus's motor museum.

Hebrew. = Sinagog

What your aunt doing with you where is your wife