The route

While staying in Ficksburg we took a day trip back into Lesotho to visit the Katse dam, (part of the Lesotho Highlands Water project) constructed in the mountains with the road passing through the Mafiku Lisiu pass at an elevation of 2,950 m. We encountered some interesting obstacles on the road, as often happens in Africa.

The dam itself is impressive, stretching for 50 kms although the disruption and resettlement caused by the dam has not all gone well.

While there, we visited the Highlands Trout Farm where Dave, an ex-ichthyology student of Tom’s, oversees the technical side of the operation.  The farm is building production from its current 1,000 snap frozen tonnes of trout annually projected to full production of 4,000 tonnes of which 85% are exported to Japan. Dave showed us around, explaining that the trout eggs are imported from Denmark and have to reach this isolated spot within five days of leaving Denmark or the eggs are spoilt. The fingerlings are kept in tanks until large enough to be placed in the movable cages in the dam. Once large enough, they are gutted cleaned and frozen in the bigger buildings up the hill.

After a candlelit evening at the Cowleys courtesy of Eskom’s loan shedding program we were on our way through Clarens and the Golden Gate National Park where the distinctive golden sandstone cliffs and outcrops were muted by a dull grey day.

We made our way down the busy Johannesburg to Durban highway where we were stopped by a cop. Fearing the worst, as I was speeding, I discovered that he only wanted to see my licence. My Australian licence then prompted a discussion on the siege in Sydney and how terrible it was. We stayed a couple of nights in Winterton below the Drakensburg – seeing a rather innovative way to recycle car tyres.

View from our cottage in Winterton

Then onto Underberg via the beautiful Nottingham Road area. We noticed as we drove past Michaelhouse, one of SA’s top schools, that the first eleven were playing cricket so we stopped and had a cup of tea while I reminisced about the good old days of playing school cricket. Later, we dropped in on the site where Nelson Mandela was captured in 1962, where they have a small photographic museum illustrating his life as well as a very innovative sculpture.

We stayed the night in Underberg then skirted along the base of the Drakensburg mountains to Maclear,  We encountered the worst stretches of potholes of our trip so far on this leg. The area is fairly populated with busy small towns and dwellings dotted around the hill slopes. An enterprising carpenter sells pre-fab walls for small houses on the side of the road.

We stayed on the isolated Fairburn Guest Farm about 20 km’s out of Maclear. We had intended to stay only one night but it was so peaceful and picturesque that we added another. We found an energetic weaver building his nest and a couple of grey crowned cranes with their distinctive crests in the area. Although we didn’t venture up the hill to see them as Jen had hurt her ankle, San (Bushman) paintings have been found in a cave near the summit. The San people are the truly indigenous people of South Africa. 

We left Maclear early on our way to Nieu Bethesda watching storks following a tractor  providing breakfast and then catching a young amur falcon browsing on a fence post, cattle egrets settling on a gate, a booted eagle (tentative identification) and the distinctive long trailing tail of the male longtailed widowbird.

We travelled into the Karoo through towns with familiar names like Dordrecht, Elliot, Molteno and Middleburg, reinforcing our perception that pedestrian is now king in SA streets.

We have noticed in our travels that numerous small dwellings (many with solar panels to provide hot water) have been constructed by regional municipalities to house the less advantaged population where in the past they would have had to provide their own housing.

The greener treed countryside gradually changes into the familiar Karoo landscape of rugged mesa and scrub dominated countryside where trees are only usually found along dry water courses.

After winding our way along a gravel road for some 30 kms we eventually found Nieu Bethesda, nestled amongst trees in a small valley. The town receives plenty of water from the surrounding hills and this can be found running in canals throughout the settlement. The town is small with dusty streets and skyline dominated, as usual in many towns we have visited, by the spire of the Dutch Reformed Church. The town has a population of 330 that swells too many more during the holidays as visitors enjoy its quiet safe ambiance. Below a dog hires the local uber service while a young entrepreneur presents his wares. Our digs in the setting sun (center bottom)

The town has a strong artistic history highlighted by the life and work of Helen Martins who lived and created and took her own life in the Owl House. Ann Emslie has written a fascinating story about the house and the famous playwright Athol Fugard wrote many of his works there but the 'Owl House' town is famous for his play which was later made into a film, The Road to Mecca. Her house and surrounding property are filled with artistic, symbolic creations which consumed Helen’s life.  Crushed glass (using an old coffee grinder) was glued to the internal walls of the house.  Jen had to distance herself from the tragedy of Helen’s life to appreciate the spectacle.