Redelinghuys

November 3, 2025

Leigh still wasn't feeling right this morning so we decided to go only as far as Redelinghuys, twenty five kilometer down the road to Citrusdal. Consequently we took our time getting away and it was already in the twenties by the time we got on the bicycles. By the time we reached Redelinghuys at about eleven o'clock it was already thirty and would go up to thirty four soon after midday. Definitely not the right conditions for Leigh to be cycling in given her current state.

Lots of tortoises on the way but we also had to do a bit of chameleon rescue.

According to Wikipedia:

Redelinghuys is a village in the Bergrivier Local Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located about 160 kilometres north of Cape Town on the Verlorevlei River. The 2001 Census recorded the population as 581 people in 167 households.

Racial makeup:
Black African 23.2%
Coloured 58.1%
Indian/Asian 0.5%
White 17.5%
Other 0.7%

First languages
Afrikaans 95.8%
English 1.8%
Xhosa 1.3%
Other 1.1%

In South Africa, the term "Coloured" refers to people of mixed race heritage. It is a legacy of the apartheid regime but now racial classification is based on self-identification. People who self-identify as Coloured span the full spectrum from Black African to White with a large proportion being of south-east Asian origin (so called Cape Malays whose part-parentage was actually from Java). This is one of the few towns we have been to on this trip where the Coloured proportion is less than ninety percent but the proportion of first language Afrikaans speakers has consistently been between 95 and 99 percent. As a result after almost a month of speaking mostly Afrikaans I find myself speaking in Afrikaans even to people who are clearly English speaking, including Leigh.

Redelinghuys lies in a flat valley between the mountains in the east and the coast in the west. We will hit the mountains after forty kilometers tomorrow.

It had cooled a bit by the time I sat down to type up this journal entry.

We found very nice digs in a guesthouse that provides a full service. All meals included and help yourself to anything at the bar. All things considered, it is good value for money.

In these small towns crime, for which South Africa has a poor reputation, is virtually nonexistent. Home doors are left unlocked and cars are left parked with the keys in the ignition and the windows open. I have left my panniers hanging on my bicycle every night that we have camped. It is a far cry from the big cities.

Leigh has spent the afternoon resting up and is looking a bit perkier. We've arranged breakfast for six tomorrow morning so we hope to be on the road by six thirty. Tomorrow won't be as hot as today and hopefully Leigh will be feeling better.

Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 947 km (588 miles)

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Mike AylingI was surprised that the term coloured was still in use and defining the population on racial lines. Language split I can understand.
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2 months ago

Jean-Marc StrydomTo Mike AylingHi Mike. Unfortuntely, racial classification still continues but at least now the intention is less evil in that it is the basis for restorative measures. Some people complain that the concept of previously disadvantaged people discriminates against them but the advantages that white people got as a result of the apartheid system is generational and their effects will continue to be there during the rest of my lifetime. With regards the term "Coloured" as used in a South African context, it has largely been reclaimed, sometimes with a lot of public pride, by the people for whom it had been used derogatively and but this embracing of the term is not universal.
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2 months ago