A memorial wall listing past members of the SAAF was unveiled by Lieutenant General Roelf Beukes on 6 May 2001, and a Garden of Remembrance, which contains ashes of former SAAF members, opened on 7 May 2004. Any “bone-fides member” of the South African Air Force or the South African Air Force Association can qualify to have his or her ashes stored in a special niche in the garden; the ashes of the member’s spouses or partners may also be stored in an adjacent niche.
Fort Klapperkop had guns mounted on ramparts that could be revolved and fired through numerous openings for maximum firepower in any direction. Trenches and barbed wire further prevented infantry infiltration. The fort harnessed the latest communication systems, which saw the telegraph rooms equipped with telephones. The fort had unique features – it was built with a moat around it and a drawbridge, but the moat was never filled with water. The fort was supplied with running water from a pump station that it shared with Fort Schanskop and electricity was generated by a paraffin engine.
A national monument steeped in history, with prehistoric rocks and Stone Age artefacts.
Robberg, situated 8km south of Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route, is not only a nature reserve, but also a national monument and World Heritage Site. Rocks from this region date back 120 million years to the break-up of Gondwanaland and evidence of middle and later Stone Age inhabitation has been found in a few of the caves along the peninsula. Visitors can find out more at the Nelson Bay Cave interpretive centre.
