The High Road or the Low Road? Two routes to the Lowveld ..
Text: Sue Adams. Pictures: Sue Adams and Gustav Janse van Rensburg. Article from the November 2013 issue of Country Life Magazine.
If you are heading out on the N4 East, try to slow down once you hit Machadodorp and enjoy two fascinating routes down the escarpment into the Lowveld
Milly’s to the N4 Split
Milly’s
Milly’s is named after the wife of Wimcar Cilliers, an engineer who built the dam and trout hatchery here. The Milly’s Restaurant and Country Trout Stall are both set on the dam with a cosy coffee shop and an amazing deli. Stock up with frozen trout specialities, jams, sweets and biltong.
Machadodorp
This little town is named after a Portuguese governor general of Mozambique, who was instrumental in the building of the railway line that passes through here.
Although just a railway siding, it was made the capital of the retreating ZAR government during the Anglo-Boer War in 1900. Paul Kruger was based here for a while before he could stand the cold no longer and moved down to Waterval Onder.
The Legend of the Kruger Millions
In June 1900 during the Anglo-Boer War when the British were about to occupy Pretoria, General Jan Smuts arranged for gold at the SA Mint, and gold confiscated from the mines, to be taken by train to Machadodorp, Colonel Deneys Reitz once said he could remember the rumours that went on about a train that stood in a Machadodorp siding guarded day and night. Between Machadodorp and Lourenço Marques the gold seems to have disappeared and some has never been accounted for. Was it hidden somewhere in the hope of someone coming back to reclaim it? And so the rumour of the Kruger Millions began and people still search for them.
High Road or Low Road?
After you pass through the Machado Toll Plaza you have a choice of routes: either continue straight on with the N4 following the Elands Valley or go on the N4 via Schoemanskloof over some lovely mountain passes. My suggestion is to do one on the way down to the Lowveld and the other on your return. Both are 92km.
Tunnels Old and New and the Elands River Falls
Heading east as you approach the modern road tunnel, look to the north and you will see the mouth of the old Netherlands South African Railway Company tunnel built in 1894. Pass through the road tunnel, pull over and look for the Mpumalanga tourist guides in yellow jackets who are there to ensure your safety.
Vusi Sibande, one of the guides, took me on a guided walk through the tunnel. Look out for part of the original ‘rack railroad’ used to get trains up steep ascents, the imported stone from Holland that lines the over 200m tunnel, and the holes dug by those looking for the Kruger Millions.
Once through the tunnel you get a spectacular view of the Elands River Falls that defines the town names of Waterval Boven and Waterval Onder – above and below the falls. Rock climbers come from across South Africa to climb in this area.
Five Arch Bridge
This beautiful railway bridge was built in 1884 of stone especially cut in Italy. There is a slipway from where you can see the bridge. There are security issues here so it’s not advisable to walk down to the bridge – rather try and look at it from the main road.
Waterval Onder
Stop to see Krugerhof, the little cottage where Kruger chose to stay when he found Machadodorp too cold. The cottage is well looked after, the gardens are neatly kept and the information boards are interesting. It’s open seven days a week (closed on public holidays).
The little village has a sad air with lots of For Sale signs but rumour has it that some people are trying to revive it. The Tickled Trout used to be great stopover pub but is now boarded up – maybe not a bad thing with our drinking and driving rules.
Fish and Eland
The Elands River Falls and another waterfall below Ngodwana Mill have created barriers that have caused the unique development of a little fish called the bushveld smallscale yellowfish, which the Elands Valley Conservancy is working hard to preserve. It is known to be one of the best fighting freshwater fish on fly.
Eland occurred in big numbers in this valley but the last one was shot out near the Malaga Hotel before they were reintroduced at a later stage.
Airlie
Airlie was the site of one of two prisoner of war camps that the Boers established in the Anglo-Boer War. It was known at the time as Nooitgedacht. In 1900, there were 2 000 British prisoners with only a dozen Boer guards and it’s astonishing that the prisoners never overpowered their guards and attacked the Boers. In 1904 Nooitgedacht was renamed Airlie after the Earl of Airlie who was killed in this war.
Lime Kilns Near Ngodwana Mill
These lime kilns built in the 1880s to supply lime to gold mines in the area are a national monument. Lime was used in the process of recovering gold. A German called Goddard built the 60-foot-high kilns using Italian and German builders. In 1899 cyanide was found to be more useful in the extraction of gold and Goddard fled to Europe leaving hundreds of unpaid workers and an insolvent lime mine.
Ngodwana Mill
Before any white settlers arrived, the Swazi king had a military barracks on the north side of the Elands River in this area. Ngodwana is a Sappi kraft mill producing pulp, newsprint and containerboard and is infamous for its smell of sulphides. Sappi has spent more than R40 million on trying to handle these emissions. Supposedly they are not a health hazard.
Sir Percy Fitzpatrick hunted in this area and the British Royal Family passed through here on the royal train in 1948.
The Last Section to Where the Two Roads Join
As you follow a big bend in the Elands River look out for a large white house on the hill on the northern side of the river. It was built by a local forester, Alec Roberts, who fought in Abyssinia in World War II. On his return he built this house modelled on a villa he had seen in Abyssinia. He also donated land near Airlie to Pretoria Boys High School, which they still use for outdoor school camps.
The Low Road Alternative: N4 via Elands River Valley
Waterval Boven (Emgwenya)
“Essentially, Waterval Boven is a rock-climbing town with a trout-fishing problem,” says Gustav Janse van Rensburg who runs Roc ’n Rope, an adventure business in the town. It was established as a railway siding and in the days of steam it bustled.
In 1966, with the end of steam locomotion, the town began to die. The steam trains no longer run as a tourist attraction but there is move to get something going again.
However it’s an active place with fishing, rock climbing, abseiling and cycling on offer, and the cliffs are a spectacular backdrop to it all.
A Terrible Train Disaster
After you pass the turnoff to Waterval Boven before the tunnel (heading east) look back up the valley to the south side of the road, at an arched concrete railway bridge.
In November 1949, a steam train derailed, taking carriages with Mozambican migrant workers over the edge, including their belongings, blankets, toys and hard-earned money. The river was in full flow and those who did not die of injuries, drowned.
One carriage was left dangling and, in the darkness, many of the occupants crawled to the windows to escape but fell to their death. More than 60 people died.
The High Road Alternative: N4 via Schoemanskloof
Blaauboschkraal Ruins
At the split of the N4 Elands Valley and the N4 Schoemanskloof route, there is an old garage on the northern side known as The Crossings built in 1957. Nico de Lange still lives in the gabled house (built in 1970s) and remembers a time when there were different pumps for different brands of fuel.
If you are interested in the old stone ruins that dot the landscape, it’s worth stopping to look at the Blaauboschkraal ruins. Take the Sappi Camelot North turnoff and follow the road.
Archaeologist Alex Schoeman says that these types of ruins were built by the BaKoni people (meaning people from the north) who were agriculturalists that settled here from the 16th century onwards. However there is heated debate about who built them. The more you read the more mystified you might get. (Look at the recommended reading).
Patatasnek and Old Joe
Patatasnek is really the start of the narrow Schoemanskloof and received its name when there used to be an outspan for the wagons at the top of the pass to give the oxen a rest. Sweet potatoes grew well here and the riders would roast them in their camp fires.
Look out for a painted rock on the southern side of the road now nicknamed Old Joe. Joe Barbas was the foreman working on building this road in 1927. His workers found a rock that resembled him with his big potbelly and set it up on the side of the road.
Since then it has been painted to resemble many things.
The Schoeman family were some of the first farmers in the valley and many descendants continue to live here.
The Ruins to the R36 Lydenburg Turnoff
Before the era of forestry during the Anglo-Boer War, there were a number of British forts along this road. In the area called Helvetia, on a misty night in December 1900, the Boers attacked and seized one of the large naval guns called the Lady Roberts, and took British prisoners.
It appears that the captives might have had more rum than ammunition and the Boers were forced to let many prisoners go as they were too drunk to walk.
Old Joe to the Confluence
Neatly mowed verges and extremely organised farming means you are in the territory of Joubert and Sons, a family that produces more than a million boxes of citrus a year. Despite a freak hailstorm in this area in 2008, which killed livestock and stripped at least 200 000 of their trees in less than 15 minutes, the Jouberts have bounced back. Stop at their farm stall to taste their freshly squeezed orange juice.
Shortly afterwards you cross the Junglespruit, the breeding ground for southern kneria, a tiny 5cm fish. When the road was being built over the river, engineers designed special fish ladders to help the fish reach their spawning grounds. A few kilometres further is the first hippo warning sign. Hippos still wander the rivers of the Lowveld, especially at night, as a few cars will testify.
On the Weltevreden Road there is Kilmorna Manor, an old Tudor-style home built by eccentric Irishman, Paddy Davies-Webb (see reading list), which is now an upmarket guest house. You are now in the Lowveld and about to rejoin the N4 from the Elands Valley. The purple building belongs to Martin Piek who loves the Lowveld with a passion.
N4 from Montrose to Nelspruit
Montrose to Sudwala
This is where the two routes join at the confluence of the Crocodile and Elands rivers. It’s a small detour to see Sudwala Caves on the Sabie R539 road. The caves are believed to be the world’s oldest limestone caves, formed 240 million years ago. Sudwala was a Swazi induna who used these caves as a refuge. It was also rumoured that the Kruger Millions were hidden here.
Sabie Turnoff to Alkmaar
Now the farmstalls sell citrus in winter and avos, litchis and mangoes in summer. Railway sidings were often named for places back in Europe. Schagen is one such place, called after a tiny community in Holland as is Alkmaar. Alkmaar is also becoming known as the place where an inland storage depot is planned for the liquid petroleum pipeline from Maputo in Mozambique, to Kendall in South Africa.
A Famous Fig
Look out for a very famous, fig tree called the Wonderboom Fig in the middle of the highway. A couple of years ago the tree, which is estimated to be more than 200 years old, was destined to die as part of the new highway planning.
Residents of the Lowveld protested against its demise, surrounded it with protest flags and the highway was rerouted to curve around the tree. A success story for the greenies.
Into Nelspruit or Bypass
If you go into Nelspruit look out for the 45 000-seater Mbombela Stadium built for the Soccer World Cup 2010. The long orange struts that support the stadium roof are designed to look like giraffes and the seats are in black and white zebra stripes.
Hall’s Gateway is an institution of a farmstall and coffee shop that has been around since Hugh Lanion Hall began farming here in the late 1800s. Hall’s business is still family-run, although much of the farming land has been sold off. Just 4km further and you are in the heart of Nelspruit.
Elands Valley
Where to Eat and Stay
Milly’s near Machadodorp has small cottages on the dam or a bigger one overlooking a waterfall a few kilometres away. Stop here at the coffee shop or restaurant to taste their famous trout pies. 013 256 0718
Bergwaters Eco Lodge and Spa is a secluded, simple lodge between Waterval Boven and Waterval Onder and a good base from which to explore. Staff at the lodge can tell you all about activities in the area. 013 257 7081, website.
What to Do
Abseiling or rock climbing around Waterval Boven is some of the best in the country. Contact Gustav Janse van Rensburg on 082 753 3695
For fishing, contact Jan de Beer at The Boven Trout Lodge 083 227 3755/6, website.
Schoemanskloof Valley
The Blaaubosch Trout Inn is near where the two N4 routes split on the western end and is a self-catering relaxed place for trout fishing beginners and hikers.
083 616 0208 – website.
The Kingfisher Country Cottages and Trout Lodge makes a good weekend break from Johannesburg and has some spectacular views down the escarpment to the east of the R36. 013 256 9080 – website.
Family-owned Old Joe’s Kaia is renowned for its food and comfortable accommodation. Don’t forget the labyrinth. +27 (0)83 229 3751 – website.
For real spoiling, Kilmorna Manor on the Weltevreden Road is an old Tudor-style mansion that is now a luxurious lodge. 013 733 610 – website.
More info on the area of Lowveld | More info on the Mpumalanga area |
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