Gold-diggers Footsteps - 345km

NELSPRUIT

Nelspruit, capital of Mpumalanga province, lies in the fertile valley of the Crocodile River in an area known for its production of a variety of tropical fruit (pawpaws, bananas and avocados), nuts (pecan and macadamia) and citrus fruit. The town’s development was closely linked to the building of the railway line between Pretoria and Lourenço Marques (Maputo). The section of the line from Komatipoort on the Mozambican border reached Nelspruit in 1892 and a town steadily developed around the railhead. During the final phase of the South African War, Nelspruit briefly served as the capital of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR). Proclaimed in 1905, the town’s name honours the Nel brothers, who used the area for winter grazing in the 1870s and in 1890 bought the farm on which the town developed.

KAAPSEHOOP

Situated on the edge of the Escarpment, Kaapsehoop appeared virtually overnight following the discovery of alluvial gold on the farm Berlyn (Berlin) in 1880. Originally named Duiwels Kantoor (Devil’s Office), it was renamed Kaapse Hoop to reflect expectations of rich finds. By August 1882 there were 250 diggers at Kaapsehoop, and by early 1884 their numbers had swelled to some 4 000.

In its heyday, the village had two hotels, several bars, 15 shops, a school, post office and an assortment of corrugated-iron cottages and clay-brick houses. Most of the diggers abandoned the settlement when the Pioneer Reef was discovered near Barberton. After the discovery of Barber’s Reef and the Sheba Reef in 1885, only a handful of diggers remained behind. Reminders of this colourful era include the remains of the old government building (1885) and the magistrate’s office at the town square (known as Kommisarisplein), corrugated-iron miners’ cottages, the old pear orchard with its unbelievably huge trees and the cemetery. The descriptive names of the area’s many creeks and streams, such as Poverty Creek, Starvation Creek, Fool’s Rush and Battery Creek, with its delightful waterfall, evoke memories of gold-rush days for tourists on South African holidays. The montane grassveld plain to the southeast of the village is the most important habitat of the endangered blue swallow in South Africa, while small groups of wild horses still roam the area; these are said to be the descendants of abandoned mining ponies and horses used in the South African War.

NGODWANA

The Ngodwana village is located on the northern Drakensberg escarpment at an altitude of just under a thousand meters above sea level. The village is a nature conservation area which boasts a diverse variety of birds and indigenous trees and plants. All flora and fauna within the village area are protected. The Ngodwana area is steeped in history, and is home to a natural heritage site and several national museums such as the old lime kilns that were erected in Ngodwana during the gold rush, in the late 1800’s. Ngodwana is also home to Sappi’s Ngodwana mill, the largest integrated pulp and paper mill of its kind in the Southern hemisphere. The Elands River that meanders through the Ngodwana area and passes by the Ngodwana mill, has been classified as a Class B river, both in the vicinity of the mill and down-stream. This river is a popular tourist destination favored by especially yellow fish fly-fishing enthusiasts.

WATERVAL ONDER

...owes its name to its location below the nearby waterfall on the Elands River. After evacuating Pretoria on 29 May 1900 to escape the advancing British forces, the government of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) initially moved to Machadodorp. On 30 June, the ailing President Paul Kruger moved to Waterval Onder from where he conducted the affairs of the Republic for nearly two months. The historic presidential residence, named Krugerhof, can be seen close to the Waterval Onder railway station. Spanning the Dwaalheuwelspruit (‘wandering hill stream’), a tributary of the Elands River, is the handsome Five Arch Railway Bridge. The stone bridge was opened to traffic in June 1894.