S1 - Ep 390 - Ladismith - Nothing Short of an All-round Fantastic Experience!

[@madya7609]

This place has the most beautiful sunsets in the world!!

[@MK-gn1nz]

Wow! Beautiful towns with rich history! Really authentic feeling of travel back in time.

[@DustBugsTravel]

The history of any place is so intriguing and makes a visit very interesting for us. I'm glad you enjoyed the experience in Ladismith! 🚙😁

[@mariusroos]

Such a beautiful town. Also rich history as it was a mission station. Amazing how religion made towns to develop. The churches are great. Absolutely beautiful architexture. The trip to Ladismith was also very nice. I love the vegetation of that part of our country. Thanks guys well done. Not always that we see that they remove the tracks from a deserted station. You can buy nice wine there. Thanks for this trip I enjoyed it so much. Mtayed Royal Hotel by a couple of ocasions. Next trip i will wait for you.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Exactly, an incredible number of towns started around the churches and it's always great to see old church buildings, of which Ladismith is in no short supply. 🚙💒 We've never really been wine drinkers, but I was surprised to see the cellar there, I had no idea that Ladimith was located in a wine-producing area.🍷We were also surprised that there wasn't even a single piece of railway line visible anywhere, not a single piece! That was rather unusual at an old station. 🤷🏻‍♂️🛤️

[@lorenv44]

My Oupa and Ouma lived in Church Street in Ladismith from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. I grew up in Cape Town, but every Christmas holiday for about 10 years we spent with my grandparents. The station was still working then. It was a side line from Touws River. When the Lainsburg flood happened in the early 1980s, the floodwaters came down the Groot River and washed out the train bridge, so that was the end of the railway to Ladismith. It was the end of the line. The cheese factory was in existence then, but not at the current premises. I remember there were two garages, one hotel, a chemist and a general dealer store. I used to swim in that dam at Kannaland. It was such a great place to have a holiday every year away from the city. Thanks for the video down memory lane. BTW, "Tower Kop" is visible from the N1 highway going from Beaufort West to Lainsburg.

[@charlietreston4035]

Hi guys a large clean and functioning town plenty of industry cheese factory and wine makers the different style of houses was so interesting plus the old shops the Lutheran church being put to a different use is positive loved all the old photos the two station signs were great to see .the information about the magic Mountain I recognised the word zigt as my friend owned a hotel in Amsterdam was called the Torrens zigt tower view excuse spelling. Driving around the old station I thought the kerb signs were brilliant. Great to see the town hall in good nick fantastic. I'm with you 💯 the Royal was a hotel! Loved the old school and hostel top notch. Nice to hear your memories of your mother making apricot jam interesting about the Mountain name and the towns name. The unusual DRF church completely done in face brick .when I worked in East Germany English bricklayers were in high demand for doing face brick as the Germans were not trained by the Russians. The hotel and ladies bar brought back so many memories lol your food looked tasty the mince sandwich is something that you oly get in SA but I stand to be corrected. Lovely clean old town thanks for another fantastic video thanks till the next one

[@DustBugsTravel]

That beautiful old Dutch Reformed Church has a gorgeous zicht of Magic Mountain, also known as Towerberg. 😍💒⛰️ I was just too happy to see they salvaged the station nameboards, you know we're always very happy when we find those. And we found kerb signs instead of railway lines at the station! Your saying: only in 🇿🇦! I was rather surprised to note the 'new' DRF church was actually built in the 1940's, I would never have guessed. Bricklaying is a true art, no wonder the English bricklayers were in such high demand! 🧱👌🏻

[@ronnykenny3965]

Hello again Curtis & Sonja, thank you for a wonderful trip, wow Kanna Kombuis had some beautiful antique pieces & the old buildings. If only i was a young multi billionaire & could restore some of them. That's a pipedream 😔. Sonja in my book avo with ANYTHING is a winner 😂. Love, love love them. Stay safe & happy travels 🚗🚗🚗

[@DustBugsTravel]

We love avos too, but we normally eat them plain, only with seasoning. 😍🥑 That tramezzini with the mince / avo combo was actually very good! There are many buildings too in Ladismith for you to restore once your ship comes in! 😁⛵ We appreciate your company on our visit to Ladismith! 🚙

[@1812nico]

Hi you two! A very interesting town in beautiful surrounds. Thank you for taking me along. I think that the variety of architecture, and so much of it, really makes this town. Also, of course, it being home to various religious denominations. The mountains, klipkoppies and that bewitching Towerkop also makes it special. I really enjoyed the gravel road along the river. The town seems bustling but nevertheless peaceful in the suburbs with tree lined streets. I am sorry for you Curtis that they made the old station disappear rails and all! Looking forward to explore the Karoo further with you! Keep safe!

[@DustBugsTravel]

I agree with you! When we first read about the architecture we hadn't seen that many houses and buildings yet, but it soon became clear why they say Ladismith has its own unique style. There are some pretty magnificent buildings in that small town and you know how happy that makes us! 😍💒🏡🏛️ I'm thinking that the same witch of Towerkop made my railway lines disappear, I wasn't happy to not find a single piece of track anywhere! 🛤️🤷🏻‍♂️ The landscapes and mountains in the Klein Karoo really excited us and I'm so glad you enjoyed them too! 🚙⛰️

[@michealmanack9522]

Hi guys.. Ladismith has much more to c... Dan wat u showed...

[@GregoryDavids-h1u]

Danke!

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you for your generous support of our channel, it is very much appreciated. 🚙😊

[@wesselsjordaan4971]

My dad, magistrate, was transferred to Ladismith 1955 (until 1963) and as kids knew all the special places there. Learned to swim in the dam (Saar Garish park) and were formed at the school you saw. I have such a lot of information about the town....too much to repeat in this writing. I would have loved to answer a lot of the questions you speculated in your fantastic video. Many thanks for the "memory trip".❤ 54:41

[@carolmccorry3053]

What a treat Ladismith was😊😊😊😊😊

[@DustBugsTravel]

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed, thank you for coming along! 🚙😁

[@hannesvanniekerk499]

Another glorious and fantastic video. Thank you both.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Once again a very big pleasure for us to share our travels with you! 🚙😁

[@metalbird8992]

What a beautiful town. Seeing the sign outside the fruit and vegetable store at the end of the video reminded me of a story I once heard concerning the lady after whom Ladismith was named. Whereas General Sir Harry Smith enjoyed an English breakfast of eggs and bacon, his Spanish wife, Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, Lady Smith, preferred fruit, particularly canteloupe melon. As a result, canteloupe is known in Afrikaans as spanspek from spaanse spek! Could be true!😂

[@DustBugsTravel]

That is a cool story! If cantaloupe tasted a little more like bacon, it could've most certainly been true. 😁🍈🥓

[@markvanderwesthuizen733]

Great road trip now your guys must do zoar then it's fit's in well and thanks i saw your guys did the laingsburg trip be blessed

[@junctionballito2813]

We are still travelling with yooooou 💖😁

[@DustBugsTravel]

So happy to hear that! And that in an area so different from your neck-of-the-woods! 😁 We're always happy to have you along! 🚙😍

[@madya7609]

Very interresting.We come here every December and stay on one of the surrounding farms.Stan se liggie is another interesting fact you omittex to mention.Lovely video.

[@annawitter5161]

I have had many visits to Ladismith. So beautiful. First thing one sees is the Towerkop, that little split mountain top with such an interesting story. We used to be able to get Towerkop cheese which is from the area, also some really fine red wine. Yum!😋Thats a grand old church. The little bell tower replica llooks like the church had a baby! And so lovely inside too. The old Lutheran church is awesome, glad you got inside. The picnic place with the dam looks so peaceful. Oooh yes, apricot jam, my Ouma used to make the loveliest jams, and ingelegde vrugte which I think is preserved fruit. I remember stealing some when mum wasnt looking! Thanks for a beautiful visit to Ladismith, I really enjoyed.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Yes! We were watching the split peak the entire time on our way to the town, but had no idea of its story. So now we know too! ⛰️🧹😁 Although we're not wine drinkers, we thought it super cool that one could stock up for one's next cheese-and-wine plenty in Ladismith. 🧀🍷 You describing the old DRC as grand is perfect, that's exactly what it is! 😍💒 And its clocktower baby was super beautiful too! Preserve is the word we were looking for! That screams thick apricot jam with big chunks of fruit. Yum! Super sweet childhood memories for me. 🍑

[@annawitter5161]

@@DustBugsTravel oh no!! My mouth is watering for Oumas jams and preserves!!! Her fig jam was magnefique! And korrelkonfeit!! Oh well, at least I have the memories,🍇🍊🍑🍓🍝🍞soetsuurbrood....😀😋

[@terrimeyer3815]

Food looks good. Lovely town and I often buy their cheese. Love all the different types of houses there and the mountain surrounding it is breath taking. I actually never been there.....😅 Safe travels 🚗🚘🚙🚙🚘🚗

[@DustBugsTravel]

Our food was very good! 😁🥙 The different types of architecture were very intriguing, they have some pretty houses and buildings in town. 😍🏡 We enjoyed the mountains in this part of the country, truly spectacular. ⛰️ Now you've been to Ladismith!

[@michealmanack9522]

Must say I really enjoy da town u visit... like I'm Der with u guys.. so sad Dat Sonja does not walk around with u..

[@MariaVenter-n4k]

The house with the tower and lovely gable is called a volstruispaleis. They were built in the Kannaland region during the booming times of ostrich farming and feather trade when the fashion was all over the world

[@GregoryDavids-h1u]

The person below is right; the coloured/Malay kitchen staff joked about it. They said they were preparing the Governor's "English bacon" and the Lady's "Spanish bacon" i.e. spanspek (the sliced up Cantaloupe melon). Harry Smith was an officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He met his future wife in Spain. Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith was a direct descendant (great nthgrandfatherof the famous Conquistador

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you for the info. 👍🏻

[@Galactic-Jack1978]

My best friwnd from high school stays at the old free at last bnb. Before that she owned a farm 50 odd kms from ladismith along the montague road. In all the time ive been visiting ladismith i never once set foot in that beautiful church. Ill definitely have to do so next time. Yeah, it was a pity about the railway line from touws river getting destroyed in the lainsburg floods - the town had a routine locomotive service it - this was nick named Makadas. Curtis, ladismith is where i do a lot of my drone flying. The karoo is beautiful from the air like only a drone can see it.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Yup, the Karoo is a place like no other! 😍 If you haven't seen it yet, check out Episode 17.2 when we stayed over at Free-at-Last! 🚙😁

[@Galactic-Jack1978]

I did see it. Sent it on to my friend who's the new owner. That R62 is a lekker drive. I like to leave ladismith early then I don't get the sun in my face on the drive home. ​@@DustBugsTravel

[@rgj8044]

I love your excellent videos but the visits to the abandoned railway stations is so depressing. As a child in 1966 I recall how amazingly dynamic the railways were…..

[@GregoryDavids-h1u]

sorry, pressed the wrong button. cont. Juan Ponce de Leon. He was on the 2nd Columbus expedition and was the first person to annex any of the territory of the USA. He annexed Florida for Spain calling it "la Florida" (flowers). He was the first governor of Puerto Rico and is buried in the Cathederal. Moreover, he entrenched Spanish rule on the island of Hispaniola. During the Siege of Ladysmith (2nd Anglo-Boer War) many soldiers from the Empire died. Today there's an island and a town in Australia called Ladysmith, one in Canada and even one in Wisconsen, USA.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Having lived in Florida ourselves for a number of years, I found the floral reference very interesting. 🌎🌸 We visited Ladismith (with an 'i') in the Western Cape. Ladysmith is in Kwazulu-Natal and that is where the Siege of Ladysmith took place. We haven't explored that town yet, just drove through it briefly in Episode 383 on our way home from KZN. As far as I can tell, Ladismith is the only town in the world with that spelling. 🚙😁

[@oldgrumpy]

Canned fruit (canfruid soos ons afrikaners se)

[@DustBugsTravel]

Yup, I love it! 🍑😁