On our recent trip to the Cederberg we drove past a sign on the N7 for a place called 'Misverstand Dam' and of course I had to discover where that unusal place name had come from!

How Misverstand Dam got its Name

 

The word Misverstand comes from the Afrikaans and Dutch for misunderstanding. So to what misunderstanding does the name refer?

I found the answer on this website (from which I also borrowed the image):

If you look at this photo of Misverstand Dam wall you can see that the weir should be at least 10 metres higher to reach the level of the side walls.

 

 

According to the website:

 

 "The two farmers who were funding the building of the dam wall had an argument and it was never completed. If it has been, the water in the dam would most probably have been about 10 metres deeper which in turn might have destroyed some of the beautiful rock faces to be found higher up river. "

 

So now you know! :-)

 

About Misverstand Dam

 

Misverstand Dam is found outside Moorreesburg, a rural town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It falls within the Swartland Local Municipality, which is part of the West Coast District Municipality. It lies just off the N7 national road, about 90 kilometres north of Cape Town. The town was established in 1890.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Misverstand Dam is a boaters paradise with extended caravan sites for accommodation. These comprise of caravans that have been parked on a site with a 'wooden tent' built around the caravan so that it looks like a house.

(Source:  this website)

 

(Thumbnail pic: MauritsV  - Creative Commons License)