In the evening when I walk along the river
There is an atmosphere from long, long ago along the river
The river,
as I remember it,
Bokkom road, Bokkom road is a new name,
it was named this just the other day, before it was just down at the river.
Bokkom road was a place full of life.
There were sounds, there were smells.
The people around here have a deep throat sound when speaking
they "brei" ( characteristic guttural sound)
"Morning, morning, how are you?"
My name is Lokkie van Zyl, born Tredoux,
and grew up here in the sand lands of the West Coast.
I will never forget when I got to Velddrif
I would have a lame arm if I drove down the main road because
everybody waved to everybody.
Whether you know the person or not
you automatically, if you had a CFP car
you waved to each other.
I am Felicity Strohfeldt
I am a qualified teacher
and since 2009
I have been the Curator of this museum.
The SA Fisheries Museum.
Velddrief is the heart of the Republic of the West Coast.
So if anyone asks you, this is where Velddrif is.
Otherwise, 30km north of Langebaan,
as a reference point.
My name is Rick Thiart,
and I am the Manager at the Riviera Hotel and Chalets
here in Velddrif.
Velddrif, for me personally
is a combination of all that
is beautiful and virtuous and good
and wonderful.
We have the sea,
the river.
We have the seasonal flower display.
You can at anytime of the year watch birds.
Our weather is wonderful.
You can swim, you can catch fish,
you can eat fish.
So, if I have a choice of where I can live,
then I want to stay here
and live here until the end.
My name is Elsje Van Der Linde
I have lived here for 40 years in Velddrif.
We have the best of all worlds, we have the river where we can gather
and its great to wake up in the morning next to the river
and to walk along the river, it's a pleasure.
And then we have the sea
that for us in Velddrif always brings us joy.
It's not just about fishing, but also about walking with your children.
For us growing up in Velddrif
there was always something to do.
My name is Gerber Basson
I was born and bewitched in Velddrif
I have the fishmarket and the Fish Shops in town, Nossab Fisheries,
and I also have the Takeaway, Doepies Take Aways.
My husband was born a fisherman
and I have lived for about 20 years in Velddrif.
I moved here after we married,
but my Grandfather from St Helena bay has a fish factory which is in the same business.
My name is Saralize Tolkien
We own the Fish House in Bokkomlaan.
When outsiders arrive in Velddrif,
and they come here,
to the mouth of the Berg River,
and they arrive specifically at Bokkomlaan,
then they are terribly excited.
Particularly the people that are in conservation.
For the people that have lived here for a long time,
They don't look through the eyes of conservation officials,
they look with their heart,
they look with their soul.
Bokkemlaan.....
is for them a Mother Supreme,
and for over 300 years,
the river has provided for everything.
What people from outside don't realise,
is that this is not just a holiday town.
It's a town with a population of fishermen,
that put their lives on the line,
every time they go out of our harbour on a trawler.
The commercial fishing industry
started with canning that developed as a result of the second world war.
This was known at one stage as the cannery coast.
Glenryk comes from Velddrif.
Ok Velddrif, the best fish we get in Velddrif, if I can put it this way,
Velddrif originates because of the pelagic fish factories,
as well as the sardines and the anchovies used for fish meal.
But the everyday fishing is harders,
caught with a net, and from which we make the bokkoms.
Bokkoms are harders that are caught at night in the river.
They are taken from the nets,
when they arrive at the jettys at night,
then they are brought in crates to the fish house in Bokkomlaan,
and then it is salted and the process begins to make the bokkom
from the harder.
Bokkom is like a fish biltong (dried meat)
The people from the region say
that a true West Coast town has a hotel,
but we are so West Coast we have two hotels.
The Riviera Hotel and the Laaiplek Hotel.
The word "Velddriwwer"......
is specifically a nice word for us...
because it describes the type of person from Velddrif,
and the people from Velddrif.