In 1791 or 1792, governor Johan Isaac Rhenius bestowed the area of Tokai to Johannes Rauk, a colonist born in Narva, Estonia, who became one of the first farmers in the Dutch Cape Colony.

[2] Tokai, named after Tokaj, a range of hills in Hungary, was originally an open area with various wine farms and smallholdings.

Streams run through Tokai and the pine plantations, forming green belts where various bird, frog, and insect species make their home.

The once extensive pine plantations were, until recently, regarded as a prime spot to observe predatory birds, including hawks, buzzards, owls and certain eagle species.

This is the only spot in the entire world where this endangered vegetation type survives in a sustainably large area, and work is under way to provide it with long-term protection.