In 1829 the area was first mooted as a mission station by two German Rhenish missionaries, Baron Theobald Von Wurmb and Johann Gottlieb Leipoldt, who had first been to Genadendal to gain information on their plan. Missionary work began at Wupperthal in 1830, although the original farm (Riedmond) was bought from Coloured owners in 1832 for 20 000 Guilders. At first only seven families were involved in the mission, most of whom came from the farms Heuningvlei, Beukeskraal, and Biedouw. Baron Von Wurmb's involvement in Wupperthal was evidently minor as he died in 1834, aged only 33, but his co-missionary, Leipoldt, who was by trade a shoemaker (and Louis Leipoldt's grandfather), and who established the now famous shoe factory at Wupperthal, apparently went from strength to strength as the mission acquired fifteen farms in the area by 1885. As the abolition of slavery in 1838 allowed more and more people to travel, the inhabitants of the area grew and the mission itself became more and more financially strong (each inhabitant of the area had to pay an annual tithe of 3 Rijksdollars), so that by 1959 the Rhenish Mission Society owned an enormous amount of land in the area; agriculture and cattle farming had proved to be most profitable, as had the fact that, in terms of Apartheid legislation, no farm could be owned or operated by non-whites, or by a company consisting of non-whites.
In 1966, when Wupperthal was finally transferred to the Moravian church, it was the last (and probably the largest) of the Rhenish Mission stations although it had effectively been run by the Moravian church since the 1930s.
So, in the heart of the barren and wild Cedarberg mountains, far from any other form of civilisation, there has been a thriving little industry for at least 150 years. The village today consists of three terraces of neat thatched cottages above a narrow and fertile valley full of gardens of fruit and vegetables; palm trees wave in the light breeze and children play in the dusty streets. When you enter the village you will find, on your right, the large church and the school, and on your left the residential area. In between lies the village store, the post office, and a small tea-room. It is charming and can quite realistically lay claim to being a place where time has stood still - except, of course, for the satellite dishes which have sprouted on most of the roofs allowing the electronic sound of televisions to mar the tranquillity, and the many bakkies and cars which now seem to crowd the streets. When I first saw Wupperthal in the late 1970s, donkeys were the main form of transport and wagons still moved around the area. I personally cannot help but feel that thirty years ago, life in this idyllically almost hermetically sealed environment was better and more wholesome; today, if you look around carefully, you will notice that many of the younger people have moved away, lured by the promise of riches and excitement in the cities.
Looking from the centre of the village across the causeway over the Tra-tra River, you will see to the south the almost vertical track which leads out of Wupperthal in the direction of Eselbank. If you have a 4x4 vehicle, this is your exit; if not, retrace your steps once you have wandered around the village, and head back towards Clanwilliam up the Koueberg Pass. Please remember, although the town is only about 70 kms away it will take you all of two hours to drive there.
For the lucky ones, here is the rest of the route: follow the track out of the village, over the river, and up the almost vertical hillside. From the top of this climb there is a wonderful view back over the village and the valley, an oasis of greenery and quietly flowing water, hemmed in as it is by the brown hills and ridges of the edge of the Cedarberg. The track makes its circuitous way over riverbeds and rocks to the small settlement of Eselbank about fifteen kilometres to the south. After Eselbank the track winds slowly through the mountains for about 30 kms until it joins one of my favourite roads at Matjiesrivier. To your right is Kromrivier Farm and the road up over the Cedarberg Pass to Algeria; turn left here and drop down to Uitsig where the road crosses the Krom River, then wind upwards again over the top of the Groot River Heights and down Varkkloof between brown, conical mountains to the Groot River where there is an excellent and picturesque settlement known as Mount Cedar. There is overnight accommodation right next to the river, which runs all year round, and an excellent restaurant.
Here the Cedarberg offers great sweeping vistas of flat-topped mountains striated with lines of rock, and you can see the road stretching like a white ribbon high into the distance both to the north and south. Climb up the steep Blinkberg Pass and continue through the mountains for about 35 kms until you reach the road to your left which leads to Kaggakamma over the Katbakkies Pass. Continue straight with the gravel road, which shortly becomes tar, and you will see on either side the lush citrus farms of the Koue Bokkeveld until the road reaches a T-junction at Op die Berg. Here, at last, is a petrol station!
After this small settlement the tar road leads, almost straight as a dye, until it suddenly falls over the edge of the Gydo Pass and down into the Warm Bokkeveld and Ceres. From here onwards it is an easy and scenic drive to Cape Town. Civilisation is once again all around you, but behind lies a kind of magic that you will either love or hate, its barrenness and silence will have kept you company for many hours and you will have seen sights which few of us are able to enjoy, but you will know that there are still places on this earth where there is something else to think about than tonight's TV schedule or the rough-and-tumble life which most of us are forced to lead at the mercy of the ever-present cell-phone. You will be pleased to know that things like cell-phones are of little use at all in the places where you have been - there is no reception!
