Elim

Elim Review

Little has changed in the last hundred years in the Moravian mission village Elim, founded in 1824. Simple whitewashed cottages line the few streets, and the settlement's coloured residents all belong to the Moravian Church. At the Sunday 10 am church service, which you're welcome to attend, just about the whole town turns out in their Sunday best, and voices soar in the white church at the top of the main street. The whole village has been declared a national monument, and it's the only town in the country that has a monument dedicated to the freeing of the slaves in 1838. It's also home to the country's oldest working clock and biggest wooden waterwheel. Elim is 36 km (22 mi) west of Bredasdorp and accessible only by dirt road. The easiest access is via the R317, off the R319 between Cape Agulhas and Bredasdorp.