MCSA

Northwest Tour

Autumn is, I think the loveliest time of year.  The mornings dawn crisp and fresh but the days are glorious.  After breakfast on March 23rd the 'gang' broke camp, said farewell to Motor home rally friends and set off for Potchefstroom.  It was a very pleasant drive with 5 motor homes in convoy.  Jimmy & Lorna, Barry & Gloria, Norman & I, Jan & Corrie and Leslie & Cedric bringing up the rear.  Jim & Liz, not liking convoy driving set off a little later meeting up with us at the camp.  Once into the town of Potchefstroom Jimmy collected our lunch packs of Vetkoek then we drove onward past the prison and bird sanctuary to Suikerbos camp.   The camp was most pleasant being on a small farm.  There were plenty of trees with tables and chairs provided.  We all sat in the shade eating our lunch before setting up camp for the night.  Liz, Jim, Norman and I then had a walk up the koppie to admire the view. We found that this had been a battle area in the Boer War with many heliograph points for the British signalers. We also found the remnants of an old canon site. 
Also on the farm were a couple of secluded cottages.  The 4 of us sat chatting near one of these cottages before joining the rest back at the camp for sundowners.  Soon after the braai supper we all retired for the night as we had a busy day ahead of us.
March 24th -Tour of Potchefstroom
Potchefstroom was laid out in 1838 as the first town north of the Vaal River and was to be the capital of the South African Republic.  Its foundation followed the return to the area of Andries Hendrik Potgieter with his men after the victory over Mzilikazi and the Matabele in the 9 days battle in the Magaliesberg.   The town was laid out on the banks of the Mooistroom. The original 'Old Town' is not far from Potchefstroom as we know it now. There are 2 stories as to how Potchefstroom got its name. One obviously related to Potgieter being a chief in the war and Stroom - from Mooistroom the other related to the potsherds found by the stream.
The 2 minibuses that had picked us up from our campsite first took us to the old fort in which the British garrison & civilians were besieged in 1880-1881 and the adjoining cemetery. The first shots of the war were fired on December 16th 1880.  Major Winsloe with his force and number of civilians, including women & children 322 people in all occupied the small fort of 25 sqms for a period of 3 months being let out only at night time for ablutions.  Some of the men tried to dig a tunnel to the artillery camp but were thwarted.
The buses then drove to the museums first taking us by another Potchefstroom treasure.- their famous Oak AvenueOak Avenue - 6.84km stretch of road lined with oak trees planted in 1910.  It is the longest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

  Old Post Office building 1895 - now used by the police services.  We took a quick walk through this magnificent old building.  Interestingly it was very cool inside as the centre portions had a very very high ceiling and in the roof were slats for air circulation.  In the courtyard at the back of the house stands an old cork tree.  It was under this tree that Paul Kruger  one of his great orations!
 We then walked around 3 very interesting museums

.   President Pretorius museum            

The guide in this museum was a young Cape lady who had tremendous enthusiasm in her task.  They have lots of school children visiting the museum   showing them how the people of that period had to be more or less self sufficient making soap, candles etc as well as preserves and other foods we take for granted.
From the Pres. Pretorius Museum we drove around to the Goetz/Fleischak Museum.  Here our guide took us around all the rooms and outhouses 
From this museum we walked across the street to see the Totius House Museum.  This Edwardian-style house was the  home of Prof. D.J.duToit (Totius).  Totius was a well-known Afrikaans Bible translator, poet and cultural leader.  The contents of the house are authentic and have been donated by the du Toit family.  In his study there is a magnificent bronze sculpture by Anton van Wouw depicting the agony of 2 Boer soldiers having to give up their weapons and surrender to the British.

 The buses then took us to the River Mall for an hour.  Some did a bit of food shopping others had lunch or just a drink.  It was a most attractive shopping centre with a stream and large water mill as part of the setting Back at camp we packed up and set off to Amigo's caravan park in Ventersdorp.  Ventersdorp today is at the centre of a large agricultural area.  The enormous silos with a 2 million bag capacity show the success of farming in this area.  The source of the Schoonspruit River is 6kms out of Ventersdorp on the road to Koster.  The water level stays constant even during the dry months.  It was here that the first mineral water was bottled in South Africa under the label 'Schoonspruit'.
 March   25^th  -  Ventersdorp Visits
After a quick breakfast the 12 of us got into the cars for a visit to Totpak.  This is not only a packaging company but a blender of spirits and liqueurs.  We are directed to the company board room where a glass of sherry is awaiting each of us.  This being their answer to Sedgwick's Old Brown Sherry.  The staff member then showed us the variety of beverages that they pack - both in plastic sachets and glass bottles.  The talk is followed by a tour of the packaging plant which was most interesting.  They are in the process of sending samples now to the USA. 
The Totpak factory with the Ventersdorp silos along side. 
After some purchases were made we bade our farewells and headed for the toy factory. 
The Tough Metal Toys factory is owned by Okkie & Annatjie Yssel.  They have millions invested in the dies that make up the parts for the miniature farm implements.  Each type of tractor and its attachments are all scaled down to 1:16 or 1:32 and exact replicas of the full size tractor.  The finished products are superb.
Not only does Okkie have this toy factory but he is also an avid collector of ANYTHING!! His garages and out houses are just full of allsorts of collectables from cigarette lighters to cell phones to crockery, old farm implements etc.  It was absolutely fascinating. Typical of farmers Okkie and his wife made us most welcome and we stayed with them for a lunchtime braai before heading back to camp.Once back at Amigo's we quickly pack up and set off for Lichtenburg.  The route takes us on the N14 towards Coligny from where we bear right onto the R505 to Lightenburg.  The resort was right alongside a game breeding centre and inside the swimming pool grounds was a lookout spot so one could sit up there in an evening with sundowners and game watch over the fence.  The resort ablution facilities were good but sites were short on power points.  After setting up camp Corrie/Jan, Barry/Gloria and Jimmy/Lorna went off into town to the Spur for supper.  Jim and Liz invited Cedric, Leslie, Norman & I to their motor home to have some fun playing 30 seconds.  A good time was had by all.   We 3 couples had elected not to go out for a meal as we were not all that hungry and preferred not to eat too late.
March 26^th - Tour in and around Lichtenburg
We are all up and about early to have breakfast and pack up a picnic lunch for our full day out with our guide Malcolm.  He arrives promptly at 09h00 and we set off in our cars for the day.  After a quick stop to drop of some pictures to be developed for Jimmy we head for the agricultural museum.  The curator was a white lady who appears to be really struggling for funds to maintain the place as the local municipality does not think it is on their priority list!  The place is full of artifacts from the early 1900's onwards.  One has to admire the people living in the diamond rush days and how hard life was for a family.  Our lives are so very much easier with regard to the basic necessities of life but more complicated in the work place - stresses have just changed!
From this museum we walk on the grass to the other museum next door which is the Diggers Museum displaying artifacts and photos of the diamond rush of 1927.  Grasfontein in 1927 had the biggest diamond rush in the world.  400 police men controlled the 'rush' where some 25000 runners ran the 1 mile to the proclaimed ground to stake their claim.  It was a very rich area of alluvial diamonds and some 2 million carats of diamonds were unearthed.  The most precious commodity was water!  - the water sellers also making a killing. (see the web page on the diamond rush of Lichtenburg).  The museum even had an exhibit of a typical digger's hut - not unlike the shacks the squatters build these days in informal settlements.   Malcolm went into great detail as to how the diamonds were mined as there was a scale model for him to use as a demo.

From the museums we went back into town and stopped for a morning coffee before going on to the town centre.  A striking feature of Lichtenburg is the pleasant central square shadowed on all sides by lovely Karee trees.  In the central park area is a life size statue of General Delarey (the Volksraad member of Lichtenburg and brilliant leader in the Anglo Boer War - although it should be noted that he was a peace loving man and tried hard to avoid conflict if a peaceful solution could be found.)
From the square we then drove to the old cemetery and had a look at some of the more interesting graves.  Once again one thinks of the futility of war.
Once back in our cars we drive out of town some 20kms to visit the old diamond diggings.  In the little dorp of Bakerville we sit under some trees for lunch. Whilst nibbling our sandwiches Malcolm talks more about the area and the 'lady in blue' who has been seen walking down the street by some more paranormal receptive people.  Lunch eaten we continue our long drive out to the big holes made by the early diamond miners.  Needless to say we are all seen bending down hunting amongst the small stones in the faint hope of finding a diamond or two!  

At the King's Hole we see an enterprising black chap with a team of workers mining amongst the hillocks trying to scrape up the last of the diamonds in the area.  He claimed he had found quite a few.  Mind you he had borrowed a considerable sum from the small business development corporation on an interest free loan!

Once back in our cars we drove back to Bakerville to have a look at a typical miner's home of 1927.

After calling in at the quaint little shop across the road for cold drink or ice creams we headed back to camp.

March 27^th  - Cement Factory then on to Groot Marico
It was surprising to find how extremely interesting it was to go on a tour of a cement factory.  We were given a morning cup of coffee then ushered into the boardroom for a video about Lafarge cement before being driven around the plant whilst being informed as to what processes were taking place.
Manufacture:-
Limestone taken from the quarry some 50 kms away.  The limestone (calcium carbonate) is crushed at the plant into marble size pieces.

1. This then goes through a blender where the limestone gets mixed with other raw materials in the right proportions.  At Lafarge these are magnetite, bauxite, magnesium oxide and sand.  The raw materials are all ground to a powder.
2. A rotating furnace then heats the mix to 1600?C to undergo a process called sintering.  This obviously causes physical and chemical changes and the mix comes out as large glassy red hot cinders called clinker.
3. The clinker is ground into a fine powder with the addition of a small amount of gypsum it is now the finished product.
4. Cement + water +sand +gravel  =  concrete

      Cement + water + sand              = cement plaster

      Cement + water + sand + lime   = mortar

 After lunch we pack up and leave Lichtenburg for Groot Marico.  The journey takes us past the diamond digging area again as we head for Elandsputte and Ottoshoop.  From there we pick up the R49 for Zeerust.  From Zeerust we bear east on the N4 to Groot Marico.  It seems an endless journey as the road takes us around the Bosveld Dam to the camp site.  Then we had fun trying to link up to a power supply for 6 motor homes!  The actual site was most pleasant but the facilities were rather primitive.  We all set up camp for a 2 night stay and prepared our sundowners that we were going to take to Lekkerbreek.  Robbie, our guide for the following day arrived to take us off to the top of the hill overlooking the dam and our camp.  Evidently this beauty spot was developed by the local farming community as a social gathering place and picnic area.  We sat around admiring the sunset and enjoying our drinks and snacks.

According to the programme we were then to have a catered braai back at camp.  This proved to be a very protracted affair as the fires had only just been lit upon our return somewhere around 07h30.  It ended up a pleasant enough evening (SA won the cricket!!!) but we did not eat until 21h30.

March  28^th  - around Groot Marico

First stop - a Cycad and clivia farm.  A couple of the cycad plants were over 250 years old.  Suzanne was the plant expert and really educated us on the growing of cycads and all the regulations that go with it. Remembering that cycads have been around since the Jurassic period. They are very different from most plants we know in as much as the female and male are separate plants.  The long male cones on the one plant carries the pollen and the seeds develop from the ovules in the much flatter cones on the female plant.  The seeds look rather like a pecan nut and are covered in a brightly coloured skin. In nature insects play a big role in the pollination process.  To artificially pollinate these plants the pollen can be mixed with water and a syringe is used to transfer this mix to the female cone.  Fertilised female cones can take anything from 4 - 18 months for the seeds to ripen.
Suzanne also was growing clivias including some beautiful white and yellow ones.  We would all love to have purchased some but on tour this was not really practical.
After some refreshing cold drink we set off into the 'outback' to an old man who still makes skin whips.
It was fascinating seeing him plait the treated skin

Also we noticed that in his carport he had an old Voortrekker ox wagon still in reasonable condition - including the rimpie bed inside the wagon.
From here we head back towards Groot Marico and a slate quary, tile, curio, furniture and art gallery.  All articles were linked with slate art work in some form.  The art work was excellent.
It was here at the gallery that we were provided with a lovely finger lunch prepared by a lady from the village of Groot Marico and served by Robbie and Rita.  After tea or coffee off we set again to see the Groot Marico 'Eye' i.e. the source of the Marico River. Here we stood on a little pont and pulled ourselves out into the middle of the pond.  Here it was extremely deep (17m) but the water was so clear you could see the rich plant life below.  Diving is a popular pastime at weekends. Off again we head for a farm on which mampoer is made.  He the farmer and his wife make us most welcome and he proves to be a real character.  I think he should be a character in Bosman's tales of the Marico.  He explained how he makes mampoer and then went on to mention that his wife then perfected it by making some into liqueurs.  Then it was time to sit around the bar and sample some of his wares - not to our taste at all.  Some of the liqueurs were good though.  Supper was then served - a real traditional farm meal before we were driven back to camp.

March 29^th - homeward bound

After breakfast we pack up to leave Groot Marico for the Magaliesberg but unfortunately Jimmy's motor home is really sounding sick.  The general consensus is to try and limp the vehicle to Eastco as best we can.  Just after Pella however the motor home can go no further.  Friends to the rescue and contact is soon made to Alan Fuller who lives in Rustenburg.  A tow vehicle is organised and whilst waiting morning coffee then lunch snacks are served by the side of the road whilst Jim/Liz, Cedric/Leslie carry on to Easto. By mid afternoon the Vaalmarina gang are on their way to Rustenburg where Alan has organised that we spend the night on the spare ground opposite his home.  We tap into his power and use their guest bathroom. The gang are quite adamant that we are staying together until Jimmy is sorted out with repairs etc.  The evening ends up a jolly affair with take aways for supper and plenty of wine flowing.  As usual an impromptu affair always ends up great fun.

The tow away truck arrives early the following morning - all seems organised so after a good breakfast Jan, Barry and Norman set off homewards.  Jimmy and Lorna stay a further 2 nights with Alan then with a repaired but damaged motor home they set off to friends in the Magaliesburg for the night.  (Damaged because the garage lost control of the motor home and it crashed!).  Jimmy & Lorna arrived home safely on Friday afternoon but still having to sort out more repairs to be claimed on the Rustenburg garage's insurance.

Friday night saw the Vaalmarina 8 gather for a Chinese supper to welcome Jimmy & Lorna home and to thank them for a super tour.

Many Many Thanks ,Jimbo.