Kaalvoet Vrou (Barefoot Woman) Monument

At the top of Voortrekker Passstands a monument to a woman walking barefoot over the Drakensberg.  After the Voortrekkers entered Natal, which was a British Colony in those days, in 1847, there was a number of trekkers who wanted to return to the Free State.  Susanna Smit, sister of Gert Maritz, one of the Voortrekker leaders, declared that she would rather trek barefoot back over the Berg than live in Natal under British rule.

The monument was erected in 1977 and stands very close to the Voortrekker Pass Monument.  But that's another post.  I was Googling to try and find out if she actually ended up walking across the mountain barefoot.  It seems that she died in Natal which means that she never did.

Umbrella man

I found this old man standing in the rain with his umbrella studying the landscape during our Drakensberg holiday.  The scene just caught my eye and I had to pull over and take a photo of him.

Cascades

As I mentioned in my post about Mahai Campsite in the Royal Natal National Park last week the campsite has no swimming pool and you swim in the Mahai River at the Cascades Waterfalls.  Cascades is about 500 meters from the campsite.  Its a very easy walk to Cascades along a paved walkway and you get the view above just before climbing down to the river.  

There is a nice (not to deep) pool at the bottom of the falls for you to swim in, while the upper area is shallow and on flat rocks, making it ideal for small kids.  Before all the rains came it was also quite nice walking in right under the falls for a "shower".  I have to say though that the water isn't just your ordinary pool water.  Even though it was in summer and the weather hot and balmy, the water still originates in the mountains above and is refreshing to say the least.

Then the rains came and the Cascades had a bit more white water. Didn't stop the visitors from still swimming in it though.  The water did feel just a little bit colder though.

Yours truly having a contemplation moment on the rocks at the bottom of the falls.

Burgersdorp churches

When I drive into a small town I've never been to, the first thing I always do is scan the horizon to see where the local church is.  Just about every small town has a beautiful historic church.  The first one is the Dutch Reformed Church (completed in 1849), but I'm not too sure right now about the second one. It could be the Christ Church which was built in 1861.

The congregation of Burgersdorp was founded in 1846. The name 'Burgers' was to honour the farmers(burgers) who brought Christianity to this area.  In 1847, 75 stands were sold by public auction and the first nine streets, 2 squares and an area for the church were demarcated by plough and oxen.

Burgersdorp Dutch Language Monuments

Driving through the town of Burgersdorp in the Eastern Cape, visitors will pass a park called Burger Square with a collection of monuments in it.  One of the monuments (actually two, but if you keep on reading you will understand) is a monument to the Dutch language which is mainly out of what the Afrikaans language developed.  The statue, made from Carrara marble and built in Italy, was originally erected in 1893 in honour of equal rights of Dutch and English to be used in the Colonial Parliament.

The original statue was damaged and removed from its base in 1901 by British Troops during the Anglo Boar War.  After the war the British Government was pressured by the inhabitants of Burgersdorp to pay for a replica to be made to replace the missing one.  The new monument was unveiled in 1907.  The original monument was found, minus the head, buried in King William's Town in 1939.  It was brought back and erected next to the new monument where it stands today.

Mahai Campsite - Drakensberg

During our December camping holiday in the Drakensberg we spent 10 days at the magnificent Mahai camp site in the Royal Natal National Park. The camp site came highly recommended from various people and one of the main reasons we decided on it is because its right up in the mountains and not some distance away. The best part was that if you wanted to go on the hikes in the park you just needed to walk out the camp site gate and you were there which meant that we didn't have to still get into the car and drive to the trails.

The camp site is perfectly situated for the nature lover.  I could sit in my chair and have a view of the mountains above me while the sound of the river running past the camp site was just what I needed to wind down.  The facilities at Mahai may not be brand spanking new but it was kept perfectly clean at all times by the very friendly and courteous staff.  I was very impressed with security as well with the guards patrolling the area very thoroughly, especially at night.

Before our arrival the one thing that bothered us most was the fact that we heard there was no swimming pool, but being able to swim at Cascades in the Mahai River more than made up for it.  The other problem with camping there in the summer is that the area falls in the summer rainfall area and normally gets thunder showers in the afternoons.  Unfortunately for us while there the whole summer rainfall area of South Africa received unprecedented rains which caused major flooding in areas.  We didn't quite wash away, but it was very wet and the rivers came down in flood.  I have to add though that even with the rain we had a marvelous time at Mahai and I will really recommend it to anybody who would like to have a mountain / close to nature holiday. 

Tree Bark

I'm always looking for something to photograph and while camping I noticed the difference in the bark on trees all within ten meters from our tent.  This immediately offered the opportunity for a Random... theme posts.  Random tree bark, not to be mistaken by a dog's bark.