As this year draws to an end, one can only reflect on what has been one of the most interesting and bizarre years in a very long time. A year of not only highs and lows but also do’s and dont’s, as told by government. A year where we were told to stay at home, do not leave your house, do not travel across any provincial borders, nevermind other countries! As a country we had to endure this hardship and hopefully learned from all of this. We are far from the end and many danger still awaits until we have a tried and tested vaccine.
However, now the time has come once more to do what we love so much.
And that is travel.
Seeing beautiful places.
Meeting new people (perhaps not so much this trip)
Enjoying the adventure together.
While we will be traveling from Gauteng through Limpopo into Mpumalanga and later on into Kwazulu Natal before ending up in Eastern Free State and then heading home, all necessary precautions will be taken to protect ourselves and others. The idea is to avoid big crowed places but still have an epic adventure, preferring private secluded places.
On the 19th of December we will head North to visit family and friends in Limpopo. Thereafter we will turn South East to Mpumalanga to celebrate Christmas for the very last time at my home as a child and where my parents lived for the last 35 years or so before they move to the city.
Then the real adventure starts on the 28th where we head further South taking backroads and visiting a lot of historical sites. Blood River, Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift being some of highlights before settling down for new year’s eve at 2200m above sea level at Witsieshoek Lodge. We will then attempt to summit Sentinal Peak at over 3000m above sea level on new year’s day to kickstart 2021 on a high.
Days 1 & 2
A sunny morning greeted us as we started to pack for our journey, this time taking much longer than normal but we managed to hit the road some time after 11am. The N1 north is in no way unfamiliar to us and there was a lot of traffic especially at the toll gates. Where traditional African customs comes to the fore and it becomes a complete free for all with rules not applying to some. Still can’t believe people drive past 50 cars to get to the front of the etag only lane only to find a closed window, and the back out and cut someone else off. To make it even worse, then 10 other cars do exactly the same...
T.I.A.
We reached our destination in the afternoon and spent some wonderful time with the families over the two days. Also did some last minute shopping for clothing we require especially for the mountains that lay ahead.
I never met any of my great grandparents so it was very special for me to witness little Aiya with her great grandmother.
Special moment!
Days 3 & 4
The drive from Polokwane to Lephalale via Marken was a first for me. The road reminded me so much about traveling in Botswana. Donkey cars were in abundance as well as the livestock beside the road. We were after all heading North towards Botswana on the N11.
We arrived safely at our good friends Maans and Caryn, proud owners of Oberholzer Taxidermy. And they are undoubtedly the best hosts to stay at in Lephalale with all the aircons in the house. Lephalale were blessed with more than 120mm rain in the preceding week and the temperatures were nowhere near the 40s. But still, humidity took it’s toll on me. Thank goodness for the aircons. One would argue that an inside braai place in Lephalale is just a dumb idea. But with two 18000 btu aircons either side of the braai there is no better place I would rather be right now!
Lovely garden and the birdlife is amazing. None better than the two resident Woodlands Kingfishers with their amazing calls.
If you are into trophey hunting, do look up Oberholzer taxidermy. They have some amazing trophies on display and are experts at what they do.
Maans and I ventured out to their farm on the road to Vaalwater to collect wood and also inspect the fence where a new Sable bull were unloaded some time ago. Evidence of the good rains once more...
We wrapped up our stay in Lephalale with a lovely family and friends dinner at Machauka Restaurant.
Big thank you to the Oberholzers and the Swanepoels for their hospitality and great times.
Truly special times...
Days 5-9
Day 5 is a driving day. Long way to go from Lephalale to Ermelo. I did myself no favors by bashing my little toe against a concrete step and could hardly walk. We quickly packed everything before the searing heat became unbearable once more. Even at 9am in the morning the heat gets to you and you quickly build up a sweat. Thanks again for the firewood Maans!
The first part of the journey is well known to us up to the point where we reached the N1. Normally we would turn right, back towards Gauteng, but today we cross the N1 and make our way towards Marble Hall. Fond memories of this area rang true in my mind and I couldn’t stop thinking about my time as a child here, as well as the song by Laurika Rauch - Kinders van die wind. This area and song will always remind me of Erwald van Niekerk. Great family friend and amazing person who unfortunately left us too soon.
I will never forget you my friend...
We were very much looking forward to the drive past Loskop dam and after passing through the heavily congested, taxi infested towns of Marble Hall and Groblersdal we finally reached the view point at the dam wall. Overcast conditions didn’t make for great photography but it was still great to be back here.
We arrived safely in Ermelo at the parents place after about 6 hours driving through a really beautiful part of South Africa. The next 5 days will be spent recharging our own batteries, just relaxing. But only after losing some cash to my old man in a round of golf.
We made some great meals and enjoyed time around a fire while listening to good music for the last time. A place I called my home since birth will no longer be there. In 2021 the parents will be moving to Pretoria to be closer to us and the grandchildren. Sad to say goodbye, but super excited to have them closer to all of us.
We also celebrated Christmas for what it is all about. The church service was really special.
Day 10
Super excited to get up and get back on the road again. Backroads this time... After filling up the tanks and deflating the tyres to 1.5 and 1.7 bar, we left Ermelo enroute to Amersfoort but turned left just 5km outside the town on a gravel road. Beautiful gravel roads all the way to Wakkerstroom.
We crossed so many water streams as well as the mighty Vaal. Although it must be said that is not so mighty yet at this spot. The yellow fish laying in wait of prey in the shallow rapids made all of us long for a fishing rod.
I was very excited to see this sign knowing that the guys from Voetspore has been here on their Voetspore in SA trip. I guess we were a little in the Voetspore of Voetspore... Thank you Johan and the gentleman for a great show and inspiration to all of us to get out there and explore.
We reached Wakkerstroom by mid day and found a lovely little restaurant to enjoy lunch. Pancakes and waffles was the order of the day. We then made our way to our accommodation which were tricky initially as Google maps and Garmin had the wrong location. Luckily I had the real address on sms and we managed to reach our overnight accommodation. And were we impressed! Beautiful old building restored with modern sliding doors giving us an incredible view over the town. It is also located just beneath Ossewakop, from where we could see heavy clouds rolling in. Rain was imminent. We spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the thunderstorms and watching the rain fall. Our other half of the travel companions arrived early evening for a braai under the cink roof with more rain falling softly and lightning in the distance.
It was an experience never to be forgotten. And I highly recommend the Brinkhuizen accommodation in Wakkerstroom. Exceptional value for money. Well managed as well by caretakers in the area.
Day 11
Today we say goodbye to the parents and my brother who will head back to Ermelo. But first, let’s do some off-roading up Ossewakop. Not too difficult track, just slow going in most places up a steep hill. At the summit we were at about 2150m above sea level with breathtaking views over the valleys.
We reached the summit a little earlier and gave us the opportunity for a quick breakfast on top of Ossewakop. Don’t think many before has had this privilege.
After descending and saying goodbye, we pressed onwards past Groenvlei and Utrecht en route to one of the major attractions of this trip, Bloedrivier. We arrived mid day again in sweltering heat, making wearing a mask tough, but we complied nevertheless. Incredible history and monumental moment in history for us. It was a surreal feeling to be on this magical peace of land and imagining what it must have been like on that fateful day in 1839. After watching a short video, and one can’t help getting goosebumps, we made our way down to the wagon laer which in its own is just a masterpiece. Such detail on the bronze wagons made for great photography. We felt incredibly privileged to be here but soon pressed on again towards Rorkes Drift Lodge, our accommodation for the following two nights. I will let the photos speak for themselves.
Me taking the cover photo for this trip.
We have now done basically the whole trip on gravel and it was no different the rest of the day. From Bloedrivier the road passes through seemingly endless settlements all the way down to Rorkes Drift. We arrived safely and loved what we saw. The lodge is 5km off the main road on a tricky two spoor track but is nestled in a valley with amzing views to the east. Our host and guide the next day is Paul Lamberth who welcomed us and took us to our luxurious chalet. The heat and humidity again took its toll as we unpacked and later we could see storm clouds rolling in once more.
Dinner still had to be prepared so I had to improvise to get the chops done before the heavens opened on us bringing welcome relief from the heat and humidity. The storm also knocked out the electricity somewhere so we had to make due with lamps. Which didn’t bother us in the slightest as we again said on the balcony of our chalet and watched the thunderstorms in the distance. We happily climbed into bed rather early, very content with the experience we had today, and tomorrow brings even more exciting experiences.
Day 12
A stunning day greeted us as we got everything prepared for an epic day ahead. We met up with Paul in the shade in the garden and made ourselves comfortable on the camping chairs. The bird life was exceptional as well with many entertaining bird calls heard allround.
The next two hours was spent chatting about all events from the Groot trek, to Bloedrivier, and now what happened in 1879. I am not going to tell you in detail about the events of Isandlwana and Rorkes drift other than it being two major events for both the British and the Zulus. At Isandlwana the Zulus inflicted massive damages on the British forces under general Chelmsford killing about 1350 troops. The traditional Zulu way of attacking with the bull of the horn. The left horn into the flats, the right horn cutting of the escape route, and the chest straight into the heart of the British camp, a total number of about 20 000 Zulus, with general Chelmsford only a view kilometers away and totally oblivious to what just happened.
We stopped at the Rorkes Drift Hotel for lunch which a nice surprise as part of the pacakge. More magnificent views of the Buffalo river not to far from Fugitives Drift where two brave soldiers were killed by the Zulus trying to protect the Queens Colors.
Then later in the day 139 British soldiers hold out the reserve force of the Zulus who wanted to make sure all enemies were taken care off. A fight that lasted more than 12 hours through the night with several men earning Victorian crosses for acts of valor and bravery. If you want the detail about these events then you simply have to be there and get the full experience of it with a guided tour.
What I will tell you more about is our guide and host, Paul Lamberth. Paul and his wife arrived 18 years prior and have been running the Rorkes Drift Lodge. In days gone by, he sent his guests on guided tours hosted by the very famous David Rattray, known globally and attracted many foreign English speaking visitors. We knew about David and the tragedy that befell him with his son Douglas now taking over the mantle of conducting the tours. But what was great for me was that David, Paul’s good friend and neighbor, inspired him to start telling his own story.
So after getting the necessary qualifications to be a professional field guide, Paul started telling his story...
It was incredible to hear him vividly portray the events of that day as well as sharing his vast knowledge and understanding of the historical events. He also shared a special focus on the health and medical side of things in those days to make it more relevant for Lindie.
I would recommend a trip to Bloedrivier on any given day, but would recommend it even more that you incorporate both events under the guided tour of Paul Lamberth. A legend in his own right.
Day 13
Long day awaits as we say our goodbyes to Paul and set off on more backroads as advised by Paul. Stunning pass back over the mountains took passed Wasbank where Andries Pretorious and his offensive trek started practicing for battle two to three times per day by setting up the laer and the veghekke with men at their battle stations. We also stopped at Elandslaagte where a battle occured between the British forces and the Boere during the second Anglo Boer war in 1899-1902. We jumped ahead 20 more years to this important time in history.
I really wanted to visit the siege museum in Ladysmith but it was incredibly busy with too many people around and hardly parking. I don’t think even Buller would have attempted to visit the museum on this day, being the last day of 2020.
Instead we opted to visit Wagon hill which portayed the story of the siege of Ladysmith, a critical battle for the British and Buller. It was also great to see the Burgher monument to commemorate all the Boer soldiers who lost their lives at all the battlegrounds in the surrounding area.
One battleground in particular was Spioenkop which was only 30 minutes away so we made our way to the very well known battle site. The area and site is well managed and after climbing 300m in about 3kms we reached the summit. Much easier in a Hilux than what it must have been like for the soldiers back then.
At the gate you get a pamphlet with all the necessary information to have your own self guided tour. I acted as guide for Lindie as we made our way around the circular route, reading the information as we reached the checkpoints. I didn’t get a tip so must have not been a particularly good guide, now that I think about it.
The route took us about an hour to complete and was well worth it. But now it was time to head to the mountains to celebrate new year. Phuthaditjhaba is quite the drag to drive through again being the last day of the year. It felt never ending behind taxis and locals but we eventually reached the start of the road leading up to Witsieshoek Lodge. Incredible drive up the mountain where we reached an altitude of just over 2200m. Magnificent views of the mountains greeted us with the weather still clear, but cool.
I was surprised to find that the bungalows didn’t have a kitchen or any plates and cutlery. Me being me, I managed to find a braaier to have a really nice chops and skilpadjies braai. Us being the only people having a braai and we have never been so glad to have the mobile kitchen in the back of the Hilux.
Tomorrow is hiking day, if the weather holds up...
We woke up early to the most atrocious weather imaginable. We barely managed to have our breakfast before the rain came, falling sideways. Literally! We had no other choice but to hide from the elements in our bungalow for the rest of the day. Visibility was down to less than 100m
We got dressed in our best wet gear and drove down to the restaurant for dinner. Soaking wet just to get there and back but the dinner was lovely.
Day 14
The rain hasn’t changed in the slightest and it didn’t look like clearing for days. This is our last day and we had to get everything back in to the Hilux while trying to keep everything dry. Needless to say it was an epic fail but we got everything in and after another lovely breakfast we sat off north, home.
I decided to take the R57 over Reitz and then Frankfurt and Villiers instead of going back to Harrismith and then the N3 all the way home. Why I did this, I have no idea. The roads were fine initially but then hundreds of potholes started to appear and later thousands. At some stage we had to drive on the side of the road on muddy bumpy two spoor tracks while they are working on the roads to resurface it. Not too bad for the Hilux but not great the guy in the BMW infront of me doing 10km/h.
The rest of the journey was uneventful on a rather busy N3 and we finally arrived home safely just after 14:00.
The last two days in the mountains wasn’t what we expected but in no way a disappointment. It was good to just relax and enjoy each other’s company to kick off 2021. And as I wrap up this trip, we look forward to what this new year will bring. I am sure there will be more challenges that we have to face as a country and I hope that the global pandemic will change for the better soon.
Until next time, and as always, may the roads lead you to where the wild things are. And life is just beautiful...
