Aurora in the Swartland

So here I am, having driven around to the Western side of the Piketberg to see the tiny hamlet of Aurora with its under 700 inhabitants and its reputation of zero crime, zero police presence! I first heard about Aurora when it was claimed that city people buy places here to have a proper rest, write a book or recuperate in the cleanest air in the country. I will visit again to find the single shop, lunch at the single (very promising) restaurant and the one and only coffee house. And to look up the toy maker, and find some historic markers, and most of all hopefully find somebody with stories to share about the place!

Driving up and down at 12 noon, I hear no sounds but the natural whisper of a mountain breeze. There are no traffic sounds and as things seem, hardly ever lawn mower sounds to be heard either, because in a few gardens two or three sheep are keeping the grass short! After a while a lady comes out on her veranda, hands on the hips, no doubt wondering: "Now who is this "agie" (a curious person) driving up and down here"?

For my painting I chose a village home with a very distinct farmhouse aura. In the photos are some more peaceful scenes in Aurora.....I will go back one day!

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Piketberg - A Mountain and a Church

I can only present you with a preparatory sketch today! This type of sketch is what usually lies underneath my proper painting.

Like many small towns here and everywhere else, Piketberg started with a church building. Towering above everything else is this very impressive Dutch Reformed Church with splendid gardens all around and the mountain behind. It is already two centuries old and was designed and built in Neo-Gothic style by Carl Otto Hagen and has now been declared a National Monument. I took so many photos of the building and gardens and will send some of them to the Piketberg website. (I will leave the link in a comment below when I have done it.)

The days are getting busy here...I have almost finished the painting of a West Coast plant that I will post on Christmas day, but for the rest everything is suspended and my personal paints and brushes will be packed away as I "renting" out my studio to my 5-year-old twin granddaughters for their crafting and painting in exchange for lots of hugs!

Before leaving my blog, you might also like to read the 10 Questions I answered for Portfolio Collections, a wonderful domain who had won the South African Blog of the Year Award 2009. Click on my portrait in the right-hand column.

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Arriving in Piketberg

What more could a town ask for? Piketberg lies against a wonderful mountain and its streets are lined with enormous jakaranda and other types of trees! The mountain harbours two more towns on its opposite side, but long ago the Gonjemans tribe lived here, and many examples of San art can be found in the caves. Khoikhoi herdsmen also knew the place intimately and would hide russled cattle in the caves and valleys. It was decided in the 1670's to create a small military outpost known as a piquet (French) or picket (English), from there the Afrikaans name Piketberg.

A cannon placed on the mountain was used to warn surrounding farmers of trouble in the vicinity, or of ships arriving in Table Bay harbour to buy their products. It boomed happily when Queen Victoria had a birthday, and even more so when a telephone line was completed that linked the town with Cape Town. The cannon is filled up with concrete now, and kept in the schoolgrounds. You can just see the lovely old school at the end of the street.

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