Wupperthal is a small town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, or should that be a village, 72km southeast of Clanwilliam and about 250km from Cape Town. The quaint, historic mission village of Wupperthal lies in the remote Tra-Tra River valley ('tra-tra' is a Khoisan name meaning 'bushy') on the edge of the Cedarberg Wilderness Area in the dry Karoo.
In the village of Wupperthal, donkey carts, hand crafted leather shoes and homely thatched buildings create a peaceful atmosphere where time virtually stands still. Often described as an "attractive oasis in a rugged wilderness", Wupperthal is a popular destination for mob-tired city dwellers. With Wupperthal's rich culture and history, combined with a tranquillity and great scenic beauty, Wupperthal is guaranteed to wriggle into a little cosy corner of your heart.
The way to Wupperthal
How to get to Wupperthal? Well, my map shows only one road. So, you will probably get to Wupperthal the same way you leave. From the R364, between Clanwilliam and Doringbos, you could take the turn-off to the southeast. Alternatively, you could continue on the road from Die Bos to Uitspankraal. These two roads converge, and Wupperthal will be right there, at the end of the road.
Wupperthal Population
The Wupperthal area has a population of around 3 000 souls, who still live by a morality and code of conduct introduced early in the 19th century. But only about 500 people live in the Wupperthal village itself. The rest of the population is spread out in the 14 satellite stations in the folds of the Cedarberg Mountains.
Wupperthal Climate
The Cedarberg's largely dry and sunny climate is ideal in winter and spring, when Cape Town and the Garden Route can be cold and wet. Wupperthal is hot to very hot in the summer. But there is always the promise of cool relief from the coast to the west.
Cedarberg Mountain
The Wupperthal area is truly rugged terrain. And for this reason, the Cedarberg Mountains in the Wupperthal area are still natural and unspoilt. The gravel road to Wupperthal contributes to the unspoilt beauty and tranquillity, as it winds in sharp bends down the steep Koueberg Pass, which makes it unlikely that big busloads of tourists will be streaming to Wupperthal.
The Cedarberg is a vast controlled area where millennia of erosion produced spectacular rock formations, caverns, ravines, and overhangs. Mountain peaks, waterfalls, mountain streams and crystal clear pools can be accessed via approximately 254km of footpaths. Hikers, climbers, backpackers, campers, photographers and nature-lovers come from afar to experience the rugged beauty of Wupperthal.
Wupperthal Flora
In springtime, the Wupperthal area comes alive with masses of wild flowers, after the winter rains. Carpets of daisies, vygies and other delicate species of wild flower will delight flower-lover in you.
The Cedarberg Mountains are covered in fynbos. The Snow Protea, Rocket Pincushion, and some other rare fynbos endemics are found here, as well as the Large Red Disa (Disa uniflora). The pure-white Snow Protea (Protea cryophila) grows above the snow line on the Cedarberg, and can not be found anywhere else in the world.
Some isolated Clanwilliam Cedar trees (Widdringtonia cedarbergensis) also still remain. These Clanwilliam Cedar trees have almost been driven to extinction by cutting and uncontrolled burning of the veldt. Those few remaining Clanwilliam Cedar trees on the upper slopes of the Cedarberg are strictly protected today. And there are high hopes that those few hardy plants will prove to be the nucleus of a "comeback" for a new Clanwilliam Cedar tree generation in the Cedarberg Mountains in the Wupperthal area.
Wupperthal's Early Days
Two German Rhenish missionaries, Baron Theobold von Wurmb and Johann Gottlieb Leipoldt, established the town of Wupperthal in 1830. These two missionaries arrived in the Cape in 1829, from the Wupper River valley in Germany, and settled in a valley among seven Khoi-khoi families, to spread the Word among the indigenous people of South Africa. They gave the valley a name that reminded them of home, and concentrated on the spiritual cultivation of the local people.
Slavery was abolished in the Cape Colony in 1838, but the slaves received no assistance to help them to start a new life for themselves. So, the population of Wupperthal swelled shortly after the abolishment of slavery in the Cape Colony, as many freed slaves arrived in Wupperthal from nearby farms. The mission stations gave plots to freed Christian slaves, who committed to obeying the mission rules. To create work for everyone, the missionaries encouraged farming in Wupperthal.
But missionary Johann Gottlieb Leipoldt was a shoemaker by trade, and the shoe factory in Wupperthal he established, to create work for the residents of Wupperthal, is still in operation. Wupperthal is famous throughout South Africa today, for the quality "veldskoen" or "vellies" produced here.
Johann Gottlieb Leipoldt also happened to produce another great South African treasure, although not directly. He was the grandfather of the famous South African poet and renowned Afrikaans writer, C. Louis Leipoldt. Leipoldt House is a must-see tourist attraction for visitors to the Wupperthal area.
Mission Life
In 1865 the Rhenish mission at Wupperthal became a Moravian mission. Although only one German Moravian missionary still lives in the village of whitewashed thatch cottages, Wupperthal is still firmly church land. The church, which occupies the heart of the village, is the registered ratepayer, landowner and ruler.
Wupperthal still has a local law which forbids the sale of hard alcohol, but because there is more disposable income in the area nowadays, this law is becoming more difficult to enforce. It's still very safe though. Residents of Wupperthal say that they can still sleep with their doors open, and sleep on the stoep on hot summer nights.
The insulated Wupperthal community is determined to keep life as pure and simple as in the past, even in the new South Africa. But only time will tell whether Wupperthal can open up to tourism and visitors, while remaining a closed, safe haven.
Wupperthal Today
The village of Wupperthal today consists of an old thatched Church, a store, and terraces of neat little thatched-roofed cottages and a meandering street, with water flowing in furrows.
The local community has been working hand-in-hand with LANOK, to create a sustainable sanctuary, tucked away in the heart of the Cedarberg Mountain range. Wupperthal is fast becoming a model programme for upliftment of disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape.
Since 1995 Wupperthal has been receiving development aid in the form of grants, interest free loans and donations from various sources. LANOK is an implementing agency involved in the management of donor funding for various development projects at Wupperthal.
Projects such as the 4X4 route around the district, the Khaki Park caravan park, two guesthouses, the Rooibos tea production facility, a hair salon in Wupperthal, a community library and information technology centre, and a needlework centre has benefited from this development fund.
The water reticulation system for Wupperthal was also repaired and upgraded with this development fund, to help the farmers at the Martiensrust satellite station. A broiler house and abattoir was built also built, which partially satisfies the community's poultry meat requirements and provided much needed job opportunities.
A great deal of productive activity takes place in Wupperthal, which surprises many visitors to the valley. Excellent veldskoen are made, tobacco is dried and worked into rolls (roltabak), fruit is dried, beans are grown and Rooibos tea is cultivated in the Wupperthal area.
Rooibos Tea
The Wupperthal people are believed to be descendants of the local people who first discovered that the fine, needle-like leaves of the wild Aspalathus Linearis plant made a tasty, aromatic tea. Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is indigenous to the Cape mountains, thriving in course, low-acid soil where the summers are hot and dry. Not surprising then, the Wupperthal area is well known for its top-quality Rooibos tea.
Rooibos tea has a mahogany colour, deep aroma, full-bodied taste, and many health benefits. It has become a very popular drink in South Africa and the drinking of Rooibos tea has spread successfully to international markets.
Rooibos tea can be enjoyed hot or iced, with milk or without, and this versatile tea is even baked into sweets.
The area surrounding Clanwilliam, including Wupperthal, is the only place in the world where Rooibos is cultivated as an agricultural crop. More than 2 000 metric tons of Rooibos Tea is processed, packaged and despatched worldwide, of which Wupperthal contributes between 80 and 130 tons.
The annual turnover from Rooibos sales for Wupperthal has increased from approximately R200 000 in 2000 to more than R2 million in 2004. International demand for Wupperthal's Rooibos tea is continuously outstripping annual supply, despite the upgrading of production facilities.
Tea farmers from the Wupperthal tea cooperative currently participate in a program, moving toward sustainable cultivation of Rooibos Tea, suitable for export to the world market. Membership of the Wupperthal tea cooperative has also grown from 40 to about 160. Many of these Wupperthal farmers used to harvest and gather Rooibos from the wild.
Growing Rooibos organically is not particularly difficult and brings farmers a better price for their product. And as a result, all Wupperthal tea farmers are now growing Rooibos organically.
Wupperthal Attractions
Attractions in the Wupperthal area include the Rooibos Tea Farms, Leipolt House, The Church in Wupperthal and the Wupperthal Shoe & Glove Factory.
Activities like hiking, bird watching, mountain biking, rock art, sightseeing, the 4X4 Tra-Tra Valley Route and the wild flowers & fynbos routes draw many tourists to the Wupperthal area. Two guesthouses and a camping site provide accommodation.
At Christmas time there is a festival of carol singing at the mission and the mountains echo to the voices of the people of Wupperthal.
The Wupperthal Tourism Bureau is located on Church Square in Wupperthal, 8138, and can be contacted at telephone number +27 (027) 492 3410.
