The land of Goedverwacht originally belonged to a widowed farmer, Hendrik Schalk Burger. When the emancipation of the slaves was in sight, he asked his slave, Maniesa (originally from Bengal, India), and her five children and son-in-law to stay on the farm with him and care for him until his death. In his will, he left the farm to Maniesa and her children with the instructions that when all her children had died; their descendants should sell the farm and divide the proceeds. His own children challenged the will in court twice but it was upheld and remained in Maniesa's family's hands until 1888 when her last child, Hester, died. Her grave can still be seen in the graveyard. Their descendants then decided that instead of selling the farm on open auction, they would sell it to the Moravian Missionaries for 750 Pounds.
On arrival in Goedverwacht you will firstly meet your host family and discover your surroundings during an informal village walk, including storytelling by your guides.
For dinner you will have a home cooked meal together with either your host family or at one of the other families to exchange cultural experiences and the way of daily lives in this quaint little village with only 600 households.
The day starts with a breakfast with your host family. Your local historian will take you for a drive to the Piketberg Historical Route, including a visit to an Organic Farm. As part of their community involvement visitors are introduced to the community and create the opportunity for locals to interact with travellers, broadening and enriching the lives of all involved.
If it is in winter you can ride on a tractor to pick oranges, experience extracting buchu and taste or organize winetasting at Orc De Rac.
Spend the morning in the village, with a visit to the Moravian Church, Museum, First shop, Parsonage, Old school building, First Monument, Slave’s grave, Old shoe factory, Mission Store building, Coffin workshop and one of the first houses of Goedverwacht.
Then it is time to bid your new family and new made friends farewell and depart for Cape Town or your next destination along the West Coast.
