by Anita Henning

Our starting point, Bethlehem; our route, all around Lesotho. And it was in the foothills that we remained for the greater part of our journey.  We set off early in the morning, confident that we would be in Creighton long before sunset to catch some late-afternoon light but unaware that our first distraction would be hardly 40 km further on.      Next to the road on the outskirts of Kestell, just after we had turned off onto the R57 to Phuthaditjhaba, we were rewarded with the sight of some very interesting sculptures made from all kinds of unused objects – recycling in the true sense of the word.  Who had made these and what their significance was, we did not know, but we found it quite charming. It called for a stop.
     Outside Phuthaditjhaba we turned right, taking the R712 to Sterkfontein Dam. No sooner had we passed the dam wall than we again veered right (R74) and headed down Oliviershoek Pass, through Bergville to Winterton. After a right turn onto the R600, we made for the Central Berg where we stopped for coffee.  Then it was on to Estcourt before eventually joining the N3 to Howick, where we left the luxury of a good road behind us for a less smooth but highly entertaining route.       We were heading for Creighton, passing through Donnybrook with its impressive Catholic mission station, Kevelaer, one of the mission stations established by the legendary Francis Pfanner. It is well worth a stop. The cathedral is plain inside with the most astonishing leaded glass windows and charming Stations of the Cross.       There is more than one road from Donnybrook to Creighton, the first being a gravel road just outside town.  Further on there is another road and eventually a crossing that takes you to Creighton on tar.  The gravel roads are good, all the same.  Creighton may seem like a one-horse town, but don’t be fooled!  Take my advice; a day or two, even more, is needed to explore the town and its district.      Smithfield House, a guest house in Creighton, offers more than the usual. Apart from comfortable rooms in a bird-filled garden, and FUB, the dog, to keep guard, it is also home to Malcolm Gimmel, a keen birder with a vast knowledge of the birds in the area and the indigenous forests.  Malcolm is the one who wakes you up early in the morning to see the endangered Cape Parrot.  So, the next morning while it was still dark, we found ourselves in the extremely dense indigenous forest, with a mug of steaming coffee and one of Gail’s special rusks, awaiting the appearance of the parrot.
     Fifteen kilometres from Creighton is another Catholic mission station, the well-known Centocow.  Although the original church building was deserted for fear of its steeple collapsing, it is a work of art nevertheless.  And the current church is ever so impressive.  This is a rather extensive mission station – it has a hospital; it provides work for the unemployed; women are taught to weave, amongst other activities; and it serves a large community.
     From Creighton one has to drive back to Donnybrook, through Bulwer and on to Underberg, a vibrant, pretty town – a good stop for good coffee.  The R617 continues towards Swartberg, Franklin and eventually Adam Kok’s hometown, where he settled after his treacherous journey over the mountains of Lesotho to escape the ongoing wars and find peace.  Although under normal circumstances an hour’s drive from Creighton, it took us half a day; so much to see, so much to do.
     Kokstad is a busy centre just off the N2.  One can tell this town is old by the huge trees that line the streets, giving the town a cool, peaceful appeal.  Once again, although Kokstad seems fairly busy, it is another good stop-and-stay.  There is much history to this town and many old buildings. Our visit to the Griqua church on Sunday where we listened to the church choir, was a humbling experience.
     Then we made yet another good decision; …..

Read the complete story in Volume 31 of ToGOTo Magazine - Visit our website at http://www.togoto.co.za/

Surely when they stood at the top of Retief’s Pass overlooking the rolling green hills of Natal, it must have crossed their minds: why not stay, why carry on, this is paradise?  Piet Retief probably also considered it, but he had unfinished business.  Five families, at least, had the same thoughts; they broke away to escape the ongoing skirmishes and wars and established themselves in the Lost Valley where they lived until the turn of the 19th century.

As I looked over the valley down yonder, the same thoughts crossed my mind.  How peaceful and green it was.  Enough water, shelter for animals, definitely the ideal spot to get a little farming going, I thought. Worth investigating.

Whoever originally suggested that the Free State is merely a drive-through en route to either the Cape or Durban deprived many a traveller of the joys of the highlands – heartland of South Africa, the Eastern Free State.

Situated for the greater part in the foothills of the Drakensberg, these highlands offer the traveller the joys of adventure, of beauty and of discovery.

Rolling red seas of sand covered with flaxen grasses and studded with Camelthorn trees – this is the image that springs to mind when one mentions the Kalahari.

Rolling red seas of sand covered with flaxen grasses and studded with Camelthorn trees – this is the image that springs to mind when one mentions the Kalahari.

Metallurgy of Southern Africa
By Rose Lund

Where and when did the art of forging actually begin? The Iron Age timeline varies geographically.  It started at different times in different places of the world and the Early Iron Age often ran concurrently with the Late Bronze Age.  In Africa, however, unlike Europe and Asia, it seems that they leapt from the Stone Age straight into the fiery furnaces of the Iron Age, skipping the Bronze Age altogether.

Prized even more highly than gold, smelted iron in Asia was used initially for ceremonial purposes, jewellery and ornaments from as early as 1900 BC.  Bronze was the favoured metal for weaponry – until the serendipitous discovery of steel, an iron alloy stronger and more durable than bronze, during the first millennium BC, around the time of the Trojan War.  To work iron, the ore must be heated to 1100ºC before being repeatedly hammered and reheated while it is forged into the desired tool or weapon.  Steel is the result of the admixture of carbon to iron.  The oldest known example of a hammered iron weapon is a Hittite dagger dating back to before 1350 BC.  From Asia, the art of forging spread through Europe and, it was assumed, from there into Africa.

Rensburgskop in the Swinburne area of the Free State is a daunting mountain, highly popular these days with rock climbers from all over the world.

But its name is derived from what must have been the most dreadful situation a father could ever face.
During the 19th-century movement of trekkers into the interior, one group camped at the foot of what was then a nameless but extremely high and rugged mountain – offering just the sort of irresistible challenge to several youngsters in the party.

Built in 1888, this bridge was one of the earliest toll bridges in South Africa. It was known as “Border Bridge” because, at the time, it was the de facto border between the Orange Free State Republic and the British Colony of Natal (Now KwaZulu-Natal).

In those days a great deal of wagon traffic used the bridge on the way from Natal to the booming goldfields of the Witwatersrand (Now the massive city of Johannesburg in the province of Gauteng). A bridge was essential for this wheeled traffic.