CONSTANTIA NEK Traditional Geocache
sy-chispa: This venue looks continually busy and no longer suitable for a cache. So sorry.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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“Clooff Pas’ was the name Jan van Riebeeck gave to Constatia Nek when he crossed it on 23rd March 1657. Although he felt the pass difficult to fortify against the ‘Hottentots’, some two years later, he sent eleven men to hold the pass for a few days.
When the French arrived to defend the Cape in 1781 against a threatened English invasion, Constantia Nek was one of the areas fortified. The road was dug up and an earthen fort erected. The fort was named the Conway Redoubt after Colonel Thomas Conway who commanded the Pondicherry Regiment at the Cape. Here the French troops waited for the attack that never came! Like many of the canon found in and around Cape Town, this canon was ‘built’ in Sweden between 1700 and 1740.
A signalling station was set up at Constantia Nek to give warning of ships entering Hout Bay. The peak behind the restaurant, now called Vlakkenberg, was originally called Vlaggenberg (Flag Mountain). Near the restaurant’s main entrance is a plaque giving more details.
The summit of the Nek was an obvious resting point on the road to Hout Bay and as early as 1811 the land was leased, probably to furnish sustenance to travellers. Constantia Nek Restaurant is reputed to be the oldest restaurant in South Africa. Since 1986 Hans and Marion Mueller have owned the restaurant and are most congenial hosts. Closed on Mondays. Open Tuesdays – Sundays from 10am till late.
Thanks to Hans and Marion for allowing us to place this cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
fhccbegrq ol guerr terra cbyrf