Kaapschehoop

After my very eventful birthday, we woke up the next morning, showered and packed our bags in the car. A part of me was sad to be leaving, but I also just wanted to get away from there after the baboon incident.

We started making our way back home, but not without a little detour. I had been so excited to finally show Graham Kaapschehoop - a very old town founded in the late 1800s during the South African gold rush, situated 1640 meters (5380 feet) above sea level. The miners deserted Kaapschehoop years later due to the discovery of richer gold deposits elsewhere. There are speculations that they left their horses (or some of them) behind, or that the horses were abandoned by British forces during the Anglo-Boer War.

Although there are currently people living in this small town, the wild horses can still be seen there today, and that was what I was most excited about. After about 2 hours’ drive, we finally arrived. We drove up the mountain and my excitement grew. The previous time I was there, the horses were seen just outside of town. The road was quiet and we maybe passed 3 or 4 cars. We reached Kaapschehoop, but there was no sign of the horses. We made our way down the mountain on the other side, but still no sight of them.

We stopped on the side of the road to take in the beautiful view of forests which surrounded us. We took some photos together, and it reminded me of the time we stopped next to the side of the road in Wales, on our way home from Barmouth, to take photos.

We made peace with the fact that we weren’t going to see the horses. I was disappointed, because I so badly wanted Graham to see them. We made a U-turn, and made our way back up the hill. We entered the town and it was as beautiful as I remembered it. It was a warm and sunny day, which was so different to what the weather was like the previous time I was there.

The old houses and their gardens are so well kept. Graham said it reminded him of pictures of houses his seen of New Orleans. We drove past a few shops and a pub and just down the road, we saw them. The wild horses. They were grazing on the side of the road. There were about 8 of them. I could not contain the childlike excitement within me. I was so happy to see them and for Graham to see what I had been telling him about. I was in awe.

We drove further up the hill, into the old town, and got out of the car. We took photos of the old houses, and walked back down towards the horses to take photos of them. What an incredible moment to spend in such a beautiful town, on the perfect day, with my amazing husband, surrounded by wild horses.

We made our way back towards the car and decided to have some breakfast at the hotel at the end of the road. We stepped inside and it looked like we took a step into history, untouched by the modern world. We received a warm welcome and were seated at a small table next to a window.

During our meal, we saw the horses pass the hotel. One of them entered the verandah right next to us, scratching his hind legs against one of the benches. We were so privileged to have seen so many wonderful and majestic animals during our honeymoon.

After breakfast, we went back outside towards where the horses were grazing, to say our goodbyes, before we got back on the road.