Ceres

En route to Ceres we passed through the very picturesque town of Tulbagh. It was first discovered in 1658, it was settled in 1700 when land grants were made to 14 farming families. The town was developed in 1743 when the church was built. After the earthquake in 1969 every home in Church Street was restored. These 32 buildings were all declared National Monuments and constitute the largest concentration of National Monuments in one street in South Africa.

Sue outside the church which is now a museum.



One of the buildings on Church Street.



After Tulbagh we moved onto Ceres where we were to stay for 3 nights.

Ceres was established in 1849 after the completion of Michell's Pass in 1848. It was almost impossible to reach Ceres from the Cape - wagons actually had to be taken apart and carried over the mountains by pack animals.
Michell's Pass was built between 1846 and 1848. The first plots were sold a year later. The road through Ceres became the main route to the north when diamonds were discovered in Kimberley in the late 1800's. Today the route is known as the "Forgotten Highway" and is developing as a tourist attraction.

One of the more interesting attractions in Ceres is a visit to Valley Funerals. Mitch the owner has the largest collection of Dinky toys in South Africa. On one side of the room are the caskets and the other the Dinky toys. He talked to us for 30 minutes and then said that he was on TV that evening.



Mitch on TV.



Some of the Dinky toys. He has about 5000+ in his collection and about 1200 are on display.