Place of Refuge

As we slog up a steep slope towards a small cave on the northern flank of the Katberg peak to look at some rock paintings, the view of the valley below gets better and better. “Normally it’s a bit like the Scottish highlands up here,” says Dr Carl Kritzinger, owner of Waylands Farm. “There’s usually a small waterfall or at least a trickle of water cascading over the ledge above the overhang.”

Four years of severe drought have taken their toll, even at these altitudes. But it’s easy to see why this secluded corner hemmed in by tall mountains makes a good hideout. And the delicate rock paintings are still there – a red eland emerging from a crack in the rock, and a faded procession of people following an animal.

“The Bushmen got a rough deal when the trekboers and the Xhosa converged on this area,”