Stadsaal Rock Art - Short Multi
The Cederberg area has many caves and overhangs with ancient graffiti – San rock art – on their walls, but the Stadsaal site in the Matjiesrivier Nature Reserve is one of the best known and most impressive.
The cache, a small camo-taped tablet pot, is hidden a few metres off the jeep track across from the rock art cave.
To Reach the Cache Location: access to the rock art and rock formations of Stadsaal cave (through a combination-locked gate) is by Cape Nature permit (adult R50, child R30) which can be obtained from Mt Ceder Lodge or any of their offices in the area (eg. Algeria, Driehoek, Dwarsrivier, Matjiesrivier, Kromrivier, Nuwerus and Oasis) which are usually open from 08:00.
The site is approx. 45mins drive from Algeria or 35mins from Mt Ceder to the south on pretty good gravel road – some stretches with corrugations. Coming from the latter during wet season, you should check whether the Kromrivier low-level crossing (drift/ford) @ S 32 31.176 E 19 21.043 is passable.
If not, you will need to take the ‘escape’ route on the Truitjieskraal road which starts at S 32 31.836 E 19 21.250 and passes through Kromrivier to rejoin the main road to then reach Stadsaal. This is a small gravel track and rocky in a few places but easily travelled in a 4x4.
From either approach: head for the Stadsaal turn-off @ S 32 30.614 E 19 19.085 on the main Algeria-Mt Ceder road. After gaining access through the locked gate using the combination provided on your CapeNature permit, drive along and then right to the parking area for the rock-art site @ S 32 30.829 E 19 18.758. Head up the short trail to the rock art cave site.
At the site, you will see a large Rock Art Site information board about the paintings. Looking at this, noting the following will provide the inputs for the coordinates of the cache hidden nearby:
Step 1: The number of elephants depicted on the notice board = A
Step 2: The number of children shown in the photos = B
Step 3: The San began such wall paintings at least C,000 years ago
Step 4: They stopped painting about D00 years ago when settlers disrupted their lives
Step 5: European farmers settled in the area in the 17E0s
Step 6: There are F words in the last line of the information on the board, ie. at the end of the paragraph to the right of the elephants
The cache is hidden at:
S 32 30.(B+C)D(E+F) E 19 18.FC(Ax2)
These extremely well-preserved paintings depicting groups of humans and elephants cannot be accurately dated, but some idea of their age can be obtained by what is not depicted. They don’t show any sheep or cattle which were introduced to the area by Khoekhoe herders between 2,000-1,500 years ago, nor any horses and people with guns introduced by European settlers around 350 years ago. So, it is possible that the painting are >1,000 years old.
The paintings were done by the hunter-gatherer San (bushmen) whose more ancients ancestors lived in the Cederberg for over 500,000 years. The San began painting on the walls of shelters throughout the Western Cape over 5,000 years ago.
Such paintings were inspired by their spiritual beliefs and were done by medicine-men or shamans with supernatural powers able to make rain, heal the sick and control game animals. They do not illustrate aspects of daily life but rather the experiences of the shamans who like religious leaders in their communities, help keep the people together through their beliefs. This was an important part of the society and similar to the decoration of places of worship of other religions around the world.
The San stopped painting in the Cederberg and Koue Bokkeveld around 200 years ago when their economy and society was disrupted by European colonists who began to settle in the Olifants River valley from the 1720s.
There were many fierce conflicts between the San and the settlers and Boer commandos killed many San who were feared because they stole cattle and used poison arrows to defend themselves.
Their descendants became farm labourers or moved to missions and urban centres.
See here for an interesting 20-minute video on San rock art in the Cederberg.