299km to Mahikeng
Monday morning and I am planning my departure from Pretoria, my route is south but a name caught my eye to the west and it is almost on the border with Botswana, who could resist? Memories from my boyhood were conjured up, days in the boy scouts, adventure stories in 'Boys Own Paper' published weekly at the time and, playing with friends in the gardens of Mafeking House near where I lived. Yes, another piece of South African history would come to life as I decided to visit Mafikeng as it is now called but more of that later.
With the help of Katerina, the proprietor of the Dinkwe I booked accommodation there and she explained that the only route was to head along the M4 toll road. These roads are generally wide two lane affairs with hard shoulders each side, they afford smooth travel but little adventure. In the course of the discussion she pointed out that I should try to visit the Pilanesberg Game Reserve to the north of my route. The description of the intrigued me but, alas was out of the question on this trip. Why you ask? Have a look on a map or especially Google Earth. This is a large national reserve containing many animals, birds and plants and is circular in shape. It has been created in the crater of a long extinct volcano which gives the reserve unique boundaries and a self contained environment.
Off I set along the M4 at a steady 120km per hour, for a while anyway. Cruise control would have been appreciated as my right ankle was soon numb with no movement so I slowed and sped up just to exercise my ankle. The scenery along this route is vast in proportion, the skyline and the road disappear in a shimmering haze, so much so that I learned that it is customary to drive with your headlights on so that overtaking vehicles know that you are there. Lush fields growing cereal crops co-exist with the mining industry, platinum ore in this region I am lead to believe. Some do not intrude, others bellow dust clouds of vast proportion in their pursuit of this valuable ore as to the large rigs transporting their cargo to its destination.
Curiosities do arise even on these routes, I passed a sign to a memorial garden on the opposite side of the road so decided to have a look. I was surprised to find a Muslim and a Christian cemetery co-existing peacefully side by side. Pity the living never seam to learn from the dead. The Christian cemetery was full of German names from the mid 1800s on. This would give a clue to the founding fathers of Swartruggens and the surrounding farms. Their rather beautiful church was situated just a little way down the road.
I carried on down the M4 through the Swartruggens Toll then pulled over for light refreshment at an interesting rest stop, much more picturesque than our motorway service areas in the UK. After a short rest off again, large grain silos at the side of the road become a focal point of interest in these vast distances and evidence of the huge harvests from the vast fields stretching off into the distance. I had observed remnants of the once mighty South African railway running parallel to the highway. Some tracks were desolate, some seemed in good repair. On passing the grain silos I wondered if freight trains still transport the grain to the mills.
I had just past Zeerust, now on R49 about an hour from Mafikeng when I passed a sign that also reminded me of my youth. I returned to visit and have included the photographs in the same album as it is a part of the journey. When I was at school we went to visit the fluorspa mines near Stanhope in NE England near where I lived. These were long dark wet tunnels going down into the ground, miniature coal mines. I was interested to see how they did it in South Africa. About 10km down a dirt track I found the mine. No dank tunnels here, the ore was extracted from three horizontal drifts one above the other. Vast plant and equipment, now on care and maintenance, produced the ore which was then transported for refining by double trailer rigs. Each rig passed over a weigh bridge at the entrance to the mine. The mine is 'mothballed' as the Chinese have undercut the price by some 40-60 dollars per ton from break even, cheap labour has its day. Notwithstanding I was still impressed with the site and the friendly, informative staff there and hope that it will return to business soon.
With the help of Katerina, the proprietor of the Dinkwe I booked accommodation there and she explained that the only route was to head along the M4 toll road. These roads are generally wide two lane affairs with hard shoulders each side, they afford smooth travel but little adventure. In the course of the discussion she pointed out that I should try to visit the Pilanesberg Game Reserve to the north of my route. The description of the intrigued me but, alas was out of the question on this trip. Why you ask? Have a look on a map or especially Google Earth. This is a large national reserve containing many animals, birds and plants and is circular in shape. It has been created in the crater of a long extinct volcano which gives the reserve unique boundaries and a self contained environment.Off I set along the M4 at a steady 120km per hour, for a while anyway. Cruise control would have been appreciated as my right ankle was soon numb with no movement so I slowed and sped up just to exercise my ankle. The scenery along this route is vast in proportion, the skyline and the road disappear in a shimmering haze, so much so that I learned that it is customary to drive with your headlights on so that overtaking vehicles know that you are there. Lush fields growing cereal crops co-exist with the mining industry, platinum ore in this region I am lead to believe. Some do not intrude, others bellow dust clouds of vast proportion in their pursuit of this valuable ore as to the large rigs transporting their cargo to its destination.Curiosities do arise even on these routes, I passed a sign to a memorial garden on the opposite side of the road so decided to have a look. I was surprised to find a Muslim and a Christian cemetery co-existing peacefully side by side. Pity the living never seam to learn from the dead. The Christian cemetery was full of German names from the mid 1800s on. This would give a clue to the founding fathers of Swartruggens and the surrounding farms. Their rather beautiful church was situated just a little way down the road.I carried on down the M4 through the Swartruggens Toll then pulled over for light refreshment at an interesting rest stop, much more picturesque than our motorway service areas in the UK. After a short rest off again, large grain silos at the side of the road become a focal point of interest in these vast distances and evidence of the huge harvests from the vast fields stretching off into the distance. I had observed remnants of the once mighty South African railway running parallel to the highway. Some tracks were desolate, some seemed in good repair. On passing the grain silos I wondered if freight trains still transport the grain to the mills.I had just past Zeerust, now on R49 about an hour from Mafikeng when I passed a sign that also reminded me of my youth. I returned to visit and have included the photographs in the same album as it is a part of the journey. When I was at school we went to visit the fluorspa mines near Stanhope in NE England near where I lived. These were long dark wet tunnels going down into the ground, miniature coal mines. I was interested to see how they did it in South Africa. About 10km down a dirt track I found the mine. No dank tunnels here, the ore was extracted from three horizontal drifts one above the other. Vast plant and equipment, now on care and maintenance, produced the ore which was then transported for refining by double trailer rigs. Each rig passed over a weigh bridge at the entrance to the mine. The mine is 'mothballed' as the Chinese have undercut the price by some 40-60 dollars per ton from break even, cheap labour has its day. Notwithstanding I was still impressed with the site and the friendly, informative staff there and hope that it will return to business soon.
The sun was setting as I arrived in Mafikeng and looked for Ashden Lodge where I was to rest my head. Down a side street over a small, single track bridge, I seemed to be disappearing into the wilderness when there it was. A tranquil spot and a welcoming place to stay with a secret which will be revealed later.
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