Elim, situated in the southern-most region of Africa is one of the most attractive and picturesque of the surviving old-time South African mission stations, only inhabited by members of the Moravian church. Founded in 1824, it has changed little since. Beautifully thatched, white-walled little cottages, charmingly varied in their rooflines and the styles of their eaves and windows, face onto a furrowed and figtree-lined main street.

On 12 May 1824 Bishop Hallbeck of the Moravian Church acquired the 2 570 ha farm Vogelfontein (bird fountain) from Johannes Schonken. On Ascension Thursday, 12 May 1825, the name was changed to Elim (palm trees) and a mission was established around the original farmhouse built in 1796 by a Huguenot named Louis du Toit. Neat little cottages were built to house the community, mainly freed slaves. A substantial church became the pivot of the settlement. Today it forms the heart of Elim, palm trees still grace the church yard and the only monument to commemorate the freeing of the slaves in 1834, can be found here ~ many of whom found safe haven in Elim.

One of the last of the working water-mills of the Cape is in Elim. In its heyday the mill had a curiously graceful air of old-fashioned elegance. Its heavy, slow-turning grindstones produced whole wheat flour of superb aroma and taste. The whirr of its racks, the rumbling of the grindstone and the merry splashing of water created an atmosphere of honest work and pride in its production. The mill was declared a national monument in 1974. For a long time dilapidated, was formally opened on 21 April 1990. At the Old Mill Tea Room the most delicious Elim biscuits and 'mosbolletjies can be sampled - a product from the flour from the mill.

Elim is renowned for its thatch roofs. Elim thatchers are sought after craftsmen and each year, just before Easter, all the houses are white-washed, the colour white being a symbol of purity and simplicity, also omnipresent in the church and an integral part of the village's life style.

On your way through the beautiful Overberg, several gravel roads lead to Elim. Visit this charming village, a declared national monument in its entirety and find out why Elim has changed little since yesteryear.

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