Thabaphaswa – The pride of makopane
2 to 4 June 2006
by Dave Barry
Who would have thought that a stud farm for Nguni cattle could hold such beauty … outside Makopane (Potgietersrus)
The Thabaphaswa Hiking Trail is situated on an Inguni cattle farm called Groenkom near Makopane (Potgietersrus) in Northern Province. Our first night was spent at the Dome Rock Camp in the Rooi Ivoor (Red Ivory) hut, exhibiting most unusual architecture. More than half of the outside wall consisted of a steel lattice work with glazing from roof to floor with no curtains (this provided some interesting moments whenever someone needed to change!). Needless to say that with only glass to ward off the elements, those without down sleeping bags had a cold night, and whiled away the hours listening to the jackals howling in the distance. There seemed to be a general lack of basic facilities at Rooi Ivoor (no kettle, pots, pans, or fridge in working order) contrary to what was advertised in the brochure. However my highlight was the hot shower under the stars in a bathroom cleverly set amongst huge boulders.
Despite an unexpectedly cold night for most, we set off in high spirits the next morning for what turned out to be a brisk but highly rewarding climb uphill on the Black Eagle Trail. According to a GPS we climbed through 420 metres. All the way up we had fantastic views of the surrounding hills and valleys. We found it hard to believe that such beauty could be found packed into the relatively small confines of what is essentially an Nguni stud farm. According to a GPS we covered close to 7km by the time we reached the next camp and had climbed 420 metres
Our next night was spent at the impressive Kanniedood Camp; a curious wooden structure that looked too rickety for my liking. I chose instead to sleep outside and had a good night despite the alarmed whistling hiss of a Rock Hyrax that discovered me in the middle of the night. Cynthia slept on top of the structure, whilst Brenda and Lucilla retired to the main bedroom, which looked like something out of a concentration camp with its slatted walls and huge chains securing the beds to the floor. The rest of us felt the shelter of the rocks from the wind would be a better bet and slept outside. Unlike Rooi Ivoor the facilities at Kanniedood were excellent in the open kitchen tucked away underneath the main structure. Again the ablution facilities were enchanting. The loo had a magnificent view out over the valley and the shower was equally captivating. Our camp site was partially shaded by a huge Kanniedood Tree and Cynthia, our resident botanist, explained how the tree’s will to survive by having chlorophyll all over itself gave it the name “kanniedood” (immortal).
Next morning we watched the monkeys sunning themselves nearby, waiting for us to leave so they could look for any leftovers. We set off on the Tshesane trail and our way down was coloured by the warm, rich appearance of the granite outcrops. During our weekend outing there was plenty of evidence of granite that had exfoliated from huge boulders from temperature changes. We were soon down on the plains and visited the Thabaphaswa Camp and the Pomphuis Cottage on our way back to the car park. We all speculated about a romantic evening for two in the Pomphuis Cottage with the presence of the Nguni’s in the adjoining ‘kraal’ and their unmistakable fragrance as they settled down for the night.
Perhaps the trails could have been a bit longer and maybe the last day through the flats of the surrounding farmland was a bit bland for some, however it was a great weekend. There were seven in our group, and we all got on famously, which made things all the more enjoyable. We were Tonie and Bertha Lazarus, Cynthia Webber, Sally Jones, Lucilla Claasens,Brenda Sparke and I.
|
|
