Rediscovering the oldest Tunnel In South Africa. 🇿🇦

I actually found it! South Africa's oldest tunnel ever built. 1876 baby!
Thank you Ford NMI Tygervalley for the use of the new Ranger Tremor.
#southafrica #tunnel #adventure #ford #history

Пікірлер: 79

  • @poepflater
    @poepflater2 ай бұрын

    I know there is a tunnel in Bain's kloof too.. never checked it out though. Don;t know if it is open still though, someone gassed themselves in their car there in the 90s... probably built by Bain. I worked in the local museum one holiday when I was like 10. they had his diary.... it would describe the animals treking by for a week non-stop on yearly migration.

  • @paulsmi55
    @paulsmi552 ай бұрын

    Fascinating, thanks Adam. My dad was called up for military service at Kaffrarian Rifles in the 50s, so it's also interesting to see the monument you came across.

  • @davidpetzer5725

    @davidpetzer5725

    Ай бұрын

    My grandfather was on that train that derailed in 1914 , hence the monument to those that lost thier lives .

  • @piet8803
    @piet88032 ай бұрын

    That old railway line goes on for a very long bit. When I worked near Matjiesfontein and Laingsburg I would walk on the old track that is just farm road now. You find lots of things that people threw out of the windows of the train.

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Fascinating, I bet you found a lot of interesting stuff 😮

  • @Camdouin
    @Camdouin2 ай бұрын

    Have a look at the tunnels in Shongweni valley. it is exactly the same as this. easily accessible to. We ride out there in the valleys and travel through them. They are much longer though and you can't go through them without a light. They were built in 1899 and 1902. one is still active the other not and has not been for years and years.

  • @mybinneband
    @mybinneband2 ай бұрын

    The Kaffrarian Rifles 1876-1986 - Francis L. Coleman THE KAFFRARIAN RIFLES, pride of the Border, trace the origin of the Regiment back to 1876 when its pioneers in the Buffalo Volunteer Rifles saw action in the 9th Frontier War in what is now Transkei. Subsequently it took part in the Basutoland Campaign of 1879, was in the Langeberg in 1896-7, and was prominent throughout the Anglo-Boer War including the siege of Wepener and the famous `De Wet hunt prior to the onset of the guerilla warfare which brought the war to its end. It suffered major disaster at the Hex River in 1914 when the train carrying it to Cape Town was derailed at high speed.

  • @johnstuart8511
    @johnstuart85112 ай бұрын

    sure on the right track. But the road is in need of repairs. Grader. What a shame what people do to destroy History. Thank you for finding the Tunnel and sharing. Regards from East London, South Africa 🇿🇦.

  • @richardrostin7373
    @richardrostin73732 ай бұрын

    Smaak dit stukkend, keep up the Vlog good man!!

  • @Galactic-Jack1978
    @Galactic-Jack19782 ай бұрын

    In 2014 my friends and I did the hex pass ecotrek which was a basic open rail coach pulled by a tractor with auxiliary railway wheels. This took us all the way up past the monument and back obviously. Got to see this tunnel and walk through it. Sadly the ecotrek operation was shutdown sometime later by the rail safety regular due to unsafe operation which I still feel was bull dust considering how many times I see people hanging off our normal passenger trains. Another cool video dude.

  • @matthewshambler2644
    @matthewshambler26442 ай бұрын

    It's a very cool bit of history, I've done the trip before and would definitely go back. That sign you saw "Tunnel" is the old Tunnel station, it used to be a very nice camp site once they stopped using the line but unfortunately people did what they do and now it's wrecked.

  • @tlroctober
    @tlroctober2 ай бұрын

    Awesome dude and original content! Love it!😎🔥👍

  • @driaan_louw
    @driaan_louw2 ай бұрын

    Bro I'm so amazed when you find this stuff 🔥 legend!

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    You and me both! 😂

  • @Deontjie

    @Deontjie

    2 ай бұрын

    They build the second one, because the locomotives got too big for the tight urn of the first one. Then later they build the third one. Opened in 1989. Which was the longest train tunnel in Africa and the southern hemisphere. Until the tunnel of the Gautrain. There is also another tunnel/s to the west, just after De Doorns's railway station.

  • @carolvanrooyen4929
    @carolvanrooyen49292 ай бұрын

    Love it, but show a bit more of the surrounding country side at both ends. 😊

  • @janinekotze387
    @janinekotze3872 ай бұрын

    So cool🔥🙌🏻

  • @bevanpope7924
    @bevanpope79242 ай бұрын

    Loved, liked, subscribed … ages ago! Dig you and the tunnel Tjom!

  • @RP-mm9ie
    @RP-mm9ie2 ай бұрын

    interesting bit of history,

  • @user-uc2qy3op6v
    @user-uc2qy3op6v2 ай бұрын

    First time I have watched your program, so I don't know if you know about a tunnel dug through a mountain @ Patensie. To get water to the other side of the mountain. If I'm correct it was also dug in the 1800.

  • @GoostTube
    @GoostTube2 ай бұрын

    Wow what a great explore, well done.

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Thanks 👍

  • @josefadario6593
    @josefadario65932 ай бұрын

    What an incredible amount of effort placed in these endeavours 😮 Do you know of the tunnel between Wood mere, Primrose, and Nigel, going past Angelo, if I am not mistaken ?

  • @caspar1975able
    @caspar1975able2 ай бұрын

    Cool! needed Bev for comedy-history tag-team

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Next time!

  • @bevanpope7924

    @bevanpope7924

    2 ай бұрын

    My wheelchair is in for a service- I will be back soon!

  • @MrDillylama
    @MrDillylama2 ай бұрын

    Hedgehogs? Ja, those things are deadly compared to their tame cousins, porcupines!

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Haha my wife spotted my labelling and wondered who would pick up on it first! 😂

  • @bsleds4585
    @bsleds45852 ай бұрын

    Only a south african faceing 2 farm gates in the middle of nowhere gets out his car and locks imay be wrong certainly sounded like it. Lmao. good vid

  • @gougaldougal
    @gougaldougal2 ай бұрын

    NICE ONE! 💯 keep it up Adam - like you I'm doing a little bit of investigative reporting on my channel - I really love exploring the Cape👍

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    I will check it out

  • @Deontjie

    @Deontjie

    2 ай бұрын

    Go to Google Earth. Put on the photo layer. And look for Deontjie photos in remote spots in the Western Cape. Easy as that. And yes, an XR works better.

  • @jontheb123
    @jontheb1232 ай бұрын

    First!

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Not the last 😅

  • @kurtvanvollenhoven7219
    @kurtvanvollenhoven72192 ай бұрын

    How did it look on the other side of the tunnel?

  • @ruthlongridge2137
    @ruthlongridge21372 ай бұрын

    Great place to prepare for the apocolaughs. The biggest danger is the mould in bat guano

  • @nicoarnold2200

    @nicoarnold2200

    2 ай бұрын

    Haha was thinking the same thing lol

  • @ruthlongridge2137

    @ruthlongridge2137

    2 ай бұрын

    @@nicoarnold2200 the shelter or the poop?

  • @nicoarnold2200

    @nicoarnold2200

    2 ай бұрын

    @@ruthlongridge2137 LOL I guess both.

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Keep going guys, enjoying the thread 😂

  • @nicoarnold2200

    @nicoarnold2200

    2 ай бұрын

    @@AdamSpiresWannabeVloggerWill do! Have you also had these thoughts?

  • @Thomas_w86
    @Thomas_w862 ай бұрын

    Love this homie. So interesting

  • @andreventer8734
    @andreventer87342 ай бұрын

    Very interesting but surely not the oldest tunnel. Maybe the oldest RAILWAY tunnel.

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Yes, you are correct 👍🏻

  • @virginiadutoit3577
    @virginiadutoit35772 ай бұрын

    Yes, give us more, much more!

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Watch this space 😊

  • @Deontjie

    @Deontjie

    2 ай бұрын

    @@AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger A suggestion, go explore the southernmost goldmine in Africa. At Hansiesrivier, north-east of Napier. 34°23'05.37" S 19°48'26.93" E. Don't go when it is wet. Take a rope and a friend and good lighting. Some say there is a secondary shaft from the top. Apart from the side shaft that also split in two.

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    @@Deontjie have u been there?

  • @Deontjie

    @Deontjie

    2 ай бұрын

    @@AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger Yep. Without a rope and a decent light. I got a bit scared 50 meters in.

  • @Deontjie

    @Deontjie

    2 ай бұрын

    Then there are the manganese prospects shafts on Clarence Drive. And the underground second world war bunkers opposite the coffee shop, 100 meters before Steenbras River.

  • @neelstheron3252
    @neelstheron32522 ай бұрын

    What amazes me about this tunnel is that it was built in a time when money was really scarce, and it was never used!

  • @davidpetzer5725

    @davidpetzer5725

    Ай бұрын

    It was used , railway line was there , monument to the 1914 train dreailment , my gramps was on it .

  • @dlwilkinson
    @dlwilkinson2 ай бұрын

    Are you able to share the Google Map link?

  • @mohamedyasinsungay4018
    @mohamedyasinsungay40182 ай бұрын

    This is the stufff I like and wanna do

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Don’t bud!!

  • @chrisferreira9098
    @chrisferreira90982 ай бұрын

    Why did you lock your car when you got out to open the gate? 😂🤣 Awsome post as always! 👏

  • @Aaabbbcccmmmzzz

    @Aaabbbcccmmmzzz

    Ай бұрын

    Saw a dodgy meerkat. It is South Africa after all

  • @michaeljcoleman7126
    @michaeljcoleman71262 ай бұрын

    Very interesting bit of history, but the background music a bit too loud at times 😊

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Noted for next time 👍🏻😊

  • @michaeljcoleman7126

    @michaeljcoleman7126

    2 ай бұрын

    @@AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger thanx for your reply 😊

  • @wzwick
    @wzwick2 ай бұрын

    Feels closer to an advert for Ford Tygervalley, where a guy looks at a tunnel.

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Well they did sponsor it so the deserve some airtime Bru 😂

  • @wzwick

    @wzwick

    2 ай бұрын

    @@AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger I hear you man, def show them some love. Just saying that you showed so much love that it felt closer to an advert.

  • @jeremyunsworth2373
    @jeremyunsworth23732 ай бұрын

    Hedgehogs? Are you sure? Porcupines maybe.

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    haha yeh I did mean porcupines! lol

  • @user-ub9iu1mv8c
    @user-ub9iu1mv8c2 ай бұрын

    Why didn't you show the other side of the tunnel 😢

  • @melindaloubser870

    @melindaloubser870

    2 ай бұрын

    Yes, I was also waiting in anticipation to see the other end

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    the road continues into more farm land along the railway track.

  • @Nofanboyz
    @Nofanboyz2 ай бұрын

    Typical city folks 😂 My in-laws lived on that farm, a few decades ago. We often travelled those dirt roads with regular 2WD bakkies. My grandpa built the tunnel that was completed in 1929; they lived at Kleinstraat then. He had a team of white labourers, and they worked with 2lb and 4lb hammers, with cold chisels. The British throne denied them the use of dynamite, following the Anglo Boer War. Those roads are regular farm roads, also traversed with S Class Mercedes-Benz cars.

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    Very interesting history. The roads are 4x4 access now because of the rains last year…things change over a few decades 😛

  • @jpnewman075
    @jpnewman0752 ай бұрын

    Did I miss something? Coming from the Loxton, Northern Cape I would like to know and possibly confirm tunnel otherwise just click bate and falsehood.

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    “Know and confirm”…what do you mean?

  • @paulkruger3070
    @paulkruger30702 ай бұрын

    Nothing new bro, there have been 4x4 groups doing little tours there for a few years now, lol.

  • @simonrechner9395
    @simonrechner93952 ай бұрын

    Its a shame you didnt do any research what so ever on the tunnels before you started...Did the ford even make it home back to TYGERVALLEY FORD?😂 The Kuga caught on fire...the Bantams had a 1800RPM idle...The rangers dont start🤮

  • @Reson8life
    @Reson8life2 ай бұрын

    I was the 100th “like”. 👍🏻 Yay! 🫸🏻🫷🏻But I wasn’t able to folllow ☹️ Am I just doff or what???

  • @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    @AdamSpiresWannabeVlogger

    2 ай бұрын

    You can just hit subscribe. Thanks for watching 😉