This small town was established in 1895 and named after General Joachim Jose Machado, in recognition of the role he played in surveying the “Oosterlijn” railway line from Delagoa Bay (present-day Maputo in Mozambique) to Pretoria. Machadodorp became a temporary seat of government for the ZAR government of President Paul Kruger during the Anglo-Boer War when Kruger was forced to flee Pretoria. It was not long before the village was razed to the ground and the women and children transported to concentration camps in the Middelburg area. President Kruger and his government were forced to move to Waterval-Onder where he spent two months before being forced to move once more. Today, Machadadorp, known to the local Africans as “Emthonjeni” (“Fountain/Resting Place”), with its temperate climate, the Elands River and thermal hot springs, is a well-known trout-fishing venue.

ADVENTURE AND SPORT

Hiking: Guided trails such as the Wathaba Wilderness Hiking Trail will allow you to explore the beautiful natural surroundings of the Machadodorp area, perched on the higher reaches of the escarpment.

Paragliding and hang-gliding: The cliffs around the town offer excellent take-off sites for paragliders and hang-gliders.

Trout-fishing: The town and its surrounds are renowned for their many trout-fishing opportunities. Visit the De Kroon Dam, now also stocked with rainbow trout, for its excellent flyfishing conditions and fishing tackle shop and become a member of the fly-fishing club.

ARCHAEOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY

Blaauboschkraal Ruins: The ruins of a long-abandoned tribal settlement lie just outside the town.

CUISINE

De Kroon Dam Restaurant: The restaurant at the dam serves delicious country cuisine featuring trout dishes and several home-cooked specialities. The pub next to the restaurant is built over the dam creating the illusion that the building is floating on the dam. Spurwinged geese are often spotted from this vantage point.

HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE

Historic Buildings: When Machadodorp was razed to the ground during the Anglo Boer War, only one cottage, Rose Cottage, built in the early 1880s, survived and is still standing today. This is one of the town’s more picturesque buildings.

Kruger Plaque: The Kruger Plaque was erected in town to commemorate President Paul Kruger’s brief stay in here.

NATURAL WONDERS

Hot Springs: The hot, radioactive thermal springs, a short distance from the town, are said to have healing powers. The area has been developed into a resort that is much frequented by people suffering from arthritis and rheumatism.

Lydenburg is situated at the foot of the Long Tom Pass at an altitude of 1 469 m above sea level. The town was founded in 1849 by the Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius. The name means “Town of Suffering” and refers to the misery suffered by the Voortrekkers as a result of the drought and malaria in this part of the Lowveld area. When alluvial gold was discovered in 1873 on the Spekboom River north of Lydenburg, the town experienced a gold rush to the Finsbury Goldfields. To this day, a few hopefuls remain, searching for their pot of gold in the river-bed. Lydenburg is now a healthy, thriving agriculture and mining centre that the local Black population call “Mashishini”. It is the chief soya-bean growing area of South Africa as well as an important cotton, wool, tobacco and grain-growing area.

ADVENTURE AND SPORT

Fishing: Lydenburg has one of the few rivers in the country where trout breed naturally. As a consequence, excellent trout-fishing opportunities exist in the area. Loch Long allows fishing from the banks or from float tubes and rowing boats. Other fish that abound in these waters of the area are carp, bass, barbell, yellowfish and bream.

Golf and other sport: The town has a nine-hole golf course in excellent condition as well as well as squash, tennis, swimming and bowling facilities.

Hiking: Explore the beauty of Lydenburg by choosing one of the following hiking trials: the 9-km Crane Nature Trail to a dam and vulture restaurant, the Famba Farms Trail, the Maratan Trail, the 5-km Pedi Trail to the ruins of a settlement once inhabited by ancestors of the Pedi people, the 12-km Protea Nature Trail winding through dense stands of proteas and past old Anglo-Boer War forts, the Ribbok Trail that starts at the Lydenburg Museum and leads through the Gustav Klingbiel Nature Reserve, and the Sterkspruit Trail.

ARCHAEOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY

Lydenburg Heads/Masks: The “Lydenburg Heads” are believed to date back to 500 AD. A farmer’s son, Ludwig von Bering, found pieces of the heads/masks on his father’s farm in 1957. He later developed a strong interest in archaeology and kept on collecting shards from the site. It later proved that the shards were part of seven clay heads/masks. Among his treasures were also iron and ostrich-egg shell beads, copper bands and pieces of bone. The heads/masks are thought to have been sculpted by early Iron Age people and might have been used in cultural rituals.

ENTERTAINMENT AND SHOPPING

Lunar Landing: This wonder world is situated some 10 km north of Lydenburg and overlooks the valley of the Spekboom River. It is a world inhabited by life-sized concrete animals, including elephant, giraffe, lion, hyena and a larger-than-life ape man. There is even a sculpted San cave reachable by a tree-branch ladder.

FAUNA AND FLORA

Gustav Klingbiel Nature Reserve: This grass and wetlands reserve houses a number of indigenous species of plants and animals and is a popular bird-watching site (a checklist is available from the museum). A breeding colony of Cape vultures live in the reserve and are regularly fed – do not miss out on the opportunity to watch them lunch at the “vulture restaurant”. Many species of antelope, such as kudu, grey rhebuck, blesbok and the rare oribi roam the grasslands. The ruins of an unknown tribe that used to live here in mediaeval times can still be seen within the reserve. The reserve has been earmarked as the location of the province’s first astrological observatory. The Gustav Klingbiel Reserve is considered extremely safe for children and is accessible to disabled people. (Starling) Fisheries Production Centre: Visit this noted trout hatchery and aquarium for a very interesting tour to find out how trout are hatched and farmed.

Lydenburg Nature Reserve: Several scenic walks traverse the Lydenburg Nature Reserve, allowing visitors to appreciate the local scenery.

Scenic Routes: There are three scenic routes that link Lydenburg to Burgersfort (via the

Watervalsriver Pass); Pilgrim’s Rest (via Robber’s Pass) and Nelspruit (via Long Tom Pass). All these routes travel through lovely countryside and each of the passes offers spectacular views from the summit.

Sterkspruit Nature Reserve: This mountain escarpment reserve lies some 10 km south-east of Lydenburg near the Sterkspruit Dam and is an excellent trout-fishing venue. It is the starting point for the renowned 32-km Rooikat Hiking Trail that traverses some spectacular mountainous terrain.

HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE

Historic Buildings: Lydenburg is renowned for its fine examples of early Transvaal architecture. The oldest building in town is the Voortrekker School built in 1851. There are two historic Dutch Reformed Churches in town. The Voortrekker Church was completed in 1852 and is flanked by a replica of the mother church in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. This church has a teak pulpit, made in 1894. One of the churches houses a small museum. The old powder magazine was built from stones taken from the formerly British-controlled Fort Mary. The old ZAR Post Box is still in use today.

Lydenburg Museum: The museum and its exhibits will take you back in history to the early days of the town’s existence. It includes replicas of the “Lydenburg Heads”, terracotta masks of animal and human heads, shards of which were found in the area and believed to date back to 500 AD. The museum also has its own distillery and visitors may taste the “heady” traditional Afrikaner brew, “mampoer” (moonshine/peach brandy).

Steenkamps Bridge: The historic bridge over the Spekboom River is situated some 12 km north of the town. The bridge has been proclaimed a national monument. Opened in 1897, the original structure was destroyed during the Anglo-Boer War and rebuilt in 1903. The bridge stands alongside the modern Schalk Burger Bridge erected in 1965 and can be reached via a network of footpaths. There are picnic sites on the banks of the river.

NATURAL WONDERS

“Die Berg”: This peak, simply translated as “The Mountain”, in the Steenkampsberg Mountains is 2 331m high and presents some lovely views of the surrounding countryside.

Hydra (Lydenburg) Falls: The dramatic Hydra Falls consists of three falls that drop some 245 m to earth where the power of its waters is harnessed to supply electricity to the town.

Long Tom Pass: The summit of Long Tom Pass, 57km long, is 2 149 m above sea level and connects Lydenburg, on the Drakensberg Plateau, with Sabie, on the escarpment. It is one of the highest passes in South Africa and offers spectacular views. During the Anglo- Boer War the retreating Boers deployed two 155-mm Creusot artillery guns nicknamed “Long Toms”, in the pass, against the pursuing British forces, hence the name of the pass. A replica of one of these guns stands guard at a spot some distance from the summit of the pass.

Mtotolo Volcanic Pipes: The Mtotolo Volcanic Pipes at the end of Voortrekker Street date back some 2 000 million years

The small village of Dullstroom, the fly-fishing capital of South Africa, also has the attraction of fresh air, lovely surroundings decorated with wild flowers and equipped with a strong tourism infrastructure! The town was established in 1883 and the name does not refer to a lack of social activities, but rather to Wolterus Dull, the Director of an immigration scheme to settle European immigrants in the area. Because the town lies so high up in the Steenkampsberg Range, some 2 100 m above sea level, mist often covers the town and surrounding areas and it can become quite cold during the winter months. However, the friendly inhabitants, cosy eateries, lodges and hotels, beautiful surroundings and the fireplaces in each house more than make up for the cold. Dullstroom, also called “Sakhelwe” (We build) by local inhabitants, is the source of the Crocodile River that forms the southern boundary of the Kruger National Park, has one of the highest railway stations in South Africa and is also one of the few places in South Africa where elm and beech trees grow in large numbers.

ADVENTURE AND SPORT

Air ventures: Explore the Dullstroom area from the air – you have a choice of a hot air-balloon trip or an aeroplane flight.

Altitude Training: The town has an Altitude Training Centre with free weights, circuit-training, aerobics and kickboxing facilities for professional athletes and visitors.

Archery and clay pigeon shooting: A fully-equipped range is situated some 7 km from Dullstroom on the Belfast side of the town.

4x4 Trails: Various operators offer 4x4 trails to destinations such as Ndebele ruins and the Elands River Valley.

Hiking: The numerous hiking trails in the area will introduce you to the wonderful scenery in and around Dullstroom. The trails include Elandsvlei Hiking Trail, Misty Valley Hiking Trails, Rassies Walker Trail, Ratelspruit Hiking Trail, Salpeterkrans Hiking Trail and Trout Royalty Hiking Trails.

Horse Trails: Experienced operators offer horse and pony rides for beginners, as well as twohour game rides and weekend trail-riding.

Mountain-biking and cycling: Several biking routes traverse the area. Many professional mountain bikers visit Dullstroom to do altitude training here.

Trout-fishing: Dullstroom is undoubtedly the region’s trout-fishing Mecca. It has numerous streams and dams stocked with both rainbow and brown trout and fishing rods and flies are available for hire or sale from specialist shops in the town. Trout-fishing venues include Hakers Haven (ideal for children and beginners), Jurassic Pond, Ondervallei (Crocodile River), Elandskloof (ten large dams) and Ratelspruit River fishing, to name a few.

ART AND CRAFTS

Dullstroom Art Gallery: The gallery is situated next to Dullstroom Inn and displays and sells the works of prominent South African artists.

Stonehouse Gallery: Stonehouse exhibits and sells the work of leading local artists, especially those of Edmund Barton, as well as stained glass pieces. Stained glass work can also be ordered from local artists and the town also boasts a sculptor of renown.

ENTERTAINMENT AND SHOPPING

Shops and restaurant: Dullstroom has changed its face over the last few years and has added several shops and eating establishments to the town to meet the needs of the growing weekend population who wish to escape the pressures of city life and find peace and quiet here. Consequently the town and its establishments are extremely attractive and offer a rich variety of items for sale. Antiques, linen, country clothes and home-made sweets are but some of the items on sale. Another benefit of the improved tourism infrastructure is the variety of eating establishments in the town. Visitors can take all three meals at different establishments and still have some different ones to visit the next day. And yet, despite all the growth, the town still retains its rustic and relaxed atmosphere where people can appreciate a combination of natural resources and human creativity.

HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE

Ruined forts, trenches, artillery placements and the graves of both Boer and British soldiers are still visible at sites around the town.

Dutch Settlers Memorial: This memorial was erected in 1887 to honour those pioneers who left their native Holland and made use of the immigration scheme to make a new life here.

Historic buildings: There are many historic buildings in town, many of which have been restored and converted into shops. Buildings worth viewing include the Dutch Reformed Church, Old Post Office and the Station.

FAUNA AND FLORA

Bird of Prey Centre: The Bird of Prey Centre at Owl and Oak, 9 km north-east of town, on the road to Lydenburg, treats, rehabilitates and trains injured birds of prey.

Dullstroom Dam Nature Reserve: The fast-running rivers and still dams teeming with trout and other fish make this reserve an angler’s dream; in fact it is considered to be one of the ten most popular freshwater angling spots in the country.

Floral Kingdom: The Dullstroom area is a floral paradise with more than 50 species of ground orchid, 120 species of indigenous wild flower and many other plants such as the bright yellow arum lilies that carpet the area in vibrant colour every spring (September to November).

Highlands Crane Group: Book an outing with the Crane Group to view the three endangered species of crane that have made this area their home.

Verlorenvallei Nature Reserve: This small reserve was established with the main aim of protecting a critically threatened habitat and its specialised species of birds from extinction. It has the distinction of being the only reserve in South Africa where all three species of crane are found. Verlorenvallei has been proclaimed an international RAMSAR Wetlands Site.

Richard O’Neill, the owner of the farm Tweefontein (the son of John O’Neill, the owner of the farm at Majuba, at which the Peace Treaty ending the Anglo Transvaal War of 1880 to 1881 had been signed), on which the town was established in 1890, called it after Belfast in Ireland, the ancestral home of the O’Neills. Belfast lies at an altitude of over 2 000 m, the highest point on the railway line between the Witwatersrand and the coast and is considered to be one of the coldest towns in the country. The town’s high position, rich soil and cool climate make it an ideal sheep and dairy-farming centre. Belfast is also renowned for its trout and tulips and the annual Trout and Tulip Festival, held here every September, is enthusiastically supported by busloads of visitors. The finest black granite in South Africa is quarried in the vicinity of the town and iron and chrome are also mined here. Many local inhabitants call the town “Siya Thuthuka” (“We Grow”).

ADVENTURE AND SPORT

Hiking: There are two, two-day hiking trails in the area. The Bospoort Trail takes you through lush indigenous forests and the Rapid Waterfalls Trail meanders through ravines, gullies and rapids ending at a waterfall, on the farm Langkloof.

Horse Trails: Many opportunities for horse-riding exist in the area, especially to and from some of the trout-fishing and other holiday resorts and lodges.

Trout-fishing: Belfast is a truly magnificent trout-fishing destination and has a wide choice of well-stocked dams and streams. Trout rods can be hired from specialist shops and lodges and flies are sold in the many shops catering for the trout and fly-fishing fraternity. Mountain-biking: Mountain-biking is a popular pastime in this area and bikes can be rented. Some trout lodges supply visitors with mountain bikes as part of their services.

FAUNA AND FLORA

Lakenvlei: The beautiful Lakenvlei wetland area surrounded by lush forests is a natural heritage site. The vlei with its dense reed beds lies some 10 km outside Belfast. The nearby hills and forests are home to a wide variety of birds as well as small mammals such as the Cape clawless otter, caracal and serval. Horse-riding, hiking, mountain-biking and trout-fishing are some of the leisurely activities available to visitors.

Scenic route: Take Road R540 towards Lydenburg, passing and stopping over at the troutfishing village of Dullstroom. Alternatively; take National Road N4 through Machadodorp, Waterval Boven and Montrose to Nelspruit. Allow enough time to enable you to turn right at Ngodwanaand and explore the picturesque village of Kaapschehoop, 32 km from Nelspruit. Tulip Nursery: The enormous Tulip Nursery exports tulips to many different countries around the globe; in fact, they claim to be the biggest exporter of bulbs in the Southern Hemisphere. Visitors stream to the nursery in September, when the vast fields of tulips start blooming. Aerial flips over the farm/nursery allow visitors a better view of this magnificent sight.

HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE

Battle of Berg-en-Dal: The last pitched battle of the Anglo-Boer War took place at Berg-en-Dal near Belfast, in 1900. About 20 000 British troops were resisted by a heavily outnumbered Boer force under the command of the famous Boer General, Louis Botha. However, after a three-hour artillery bombardment the Boers were finally overrun. The Berg-en-Dal Monument commemorates this historic battle.

Historic Buildings: The Dutch Reformed Church, Halfway House and Police Office, Lord Roberts’ house and Richard O’Neill’s farmhouse are all well worth a visit.

OTHER ATTRCATIONS

Mushroom farming: The Belfast area is also renowned for the mushrooms that are grown, dried and packed here before being exported.

The Highlands Meander Region covers the higher reaches of the escarpment and is ensconced between the Cultural Heartland and Panorama Regions. The region specifically caters for the needs of bird and nature lovers and adventurers. Adventurers delight in the challenging cliffs, ravines and rolling mountains and the many adrenaline-pumping, adventure sport opportunities available. This is also the trout and fly-fishing Mecca of Mpumalanga.

However, the region also appeals to history buffs, especially those interested in the history of the old Zuid Afrikaansche Republic of Paul Kruger and in the Anglo-Boer War. For those who love unravelling mysteries there are the ruins of Stone Age and Iron Age settlers to explore and the mysterious masks left behind by a vanished people.