Life, the Universe,
and Everything on Hogsback

The richness of its history, people, culture, legends and myths

The Story of Hogsback

A new book, The Story of Hogsback, was launched on Friday 17 June 2009 at the Hogsback Inn, Hogsback. In his book Trevor Webster has written a short, popular history of Hogsback, with over 70 photographs.

Click here to read more

HIV Hope Project

In 2006, while the dual epidemic of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis was raging in the Eastern Cape (as in the rest of SA) the supply of ARVs in this area was non-existent. Local medical doctor, Dr Norma van Niekerk, decided to do something about it.

Through a team effort, the HIV Hope Project was registered as a Non‑Profit Organisation (NPO). It started with 3 patients on ARVs, kindly sponsored by their employees. Today, three years down the line, we have almost 50 patients registered on the program and on ARVs.

Click here to read more about HIV Hope

Samangos & Toads of Hogsback
by Norman Morrissey

Norman Morrissey writes about a couple of interesting local features, the samango monkeys, and a toad we have here that is much the samangos' evolutionary countertruth.

Click here to read Norman's article

Tornadoes and Serpents

Felicity Wood has been researching the local legend of Inkanyamba, the snake in the sky.

East Cape Village in Shock J R R Tolkien Scandal

NEWS FLASH!: Middle Earth was rocked to its foundations late today with revelations that J R R Tolkien, its creator, author of The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and other unfilmable novels and tracts, was born in Bloemfontein.

Mathew Blatchford reports.

St Patrick's on the Hill

St Patrick's on the Hill is an exceptionally beautiful place of worship. Maintained by the Anglican Church, it invites worshippers of all Christian denominations.

Hogsback Hearthbreads

The Buzzard Tree Bakery is a small-scale home-based bakery that specialises in sourdough breads, using only stone ground whole-grain flour.

Click here to read more about these breads

Samango Monkeys of Hogsback
by Judith Masters

Judith Masters, a Primatologist, is Professor of Zoology at the University of Fort Hare. She explains how samango monkeys are related to other "blue monkeys", and describes their ecology and behaviour.

Click here to read Judith's article

The Cape Parrot

The Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus) is a critically endangered species. Less than 500 remain in the wild. They are only found in the Afromontane forest patches of the Eastern Cape, southern KwaZulu-Natal, and very few in Mpumalanga.

Photograph of the Cape Parrota>

Cottage Rage!
by Galunsert (aka Laurent & Angus)

Laurent and Angus live and work in Johannesburg. They own a property on Hogsback, which they visit as often as they can. While on leave recently, they worked furiously to transform a workshop into a comfortable cottage. They share this experience in rhyme.

Click here to read Cottage Rage!

Ecca Poets and their Poetry

Ecca is an informal group of poets from the Hogsback and surrounding regions, a group of friends, really, who get together to work on poetic projects. They have won several national awards for poetry.

Read about the the Ecca poets.

Workshops in Tension Free Singing

Gwyneth Lloyd, well-known opera star and award-winning Director of Co-Opera, presents Workshops in Tension Free Singing, based on the F M Alexander Technique in which she is a world authority.