Mpumalanga Interlude – Eastern Transvaal, South Africa

The Aloes Backpackers & Pub

The Baz Bus drew up in front of The Aloes Pub, a rustic single-storied log shed complete with a scattering of aloes and outdoor tables and chairs. I was the only passenger to alight.

I was hoping for a quiet but interesting place to rest up awhile after three months travelling in South America.

The owner Kevin and dog Bart greeted me. Kevin chatted to the driver and signed me off as safely delivered. This action confirmed my belief that the Baz Bus is the safest and most convenient way to travel through South Africa.

Kevin is a go-ahead, young (ca 30) white South African who has a rapport with the locals. He speaks English, Afrikaans and native dialects. Next to the pub is a little general store where he sells basic foodstuffs to backpackers and black African families that live nearby.

The adjacent residential part is spacious and homely, with a large lounge cum dormitory, communal kitchen and attached wing having 3 bedrooms. I was impressed with the modern communications, there being satellite TV with umpteen channels to watch, which was far superior to the 5 channel setup I had been used to in Australia. World news, the Aussie cricket tour and stock market reports were avidly lapped up along with a few cold ones.

Kevin and Bart

I got sniffed at by watchdog Bart, the Staffordshire bull terrier. Not my favourite breed but we quickly became friends. Even a whisper of "walkies" and he was at your heels as a faithful companion to explore the neighbourhood.

After I assembled my fishing rod, Bart led me to the river, conveniently only 50 meters away. The Elands River was a muddy torrent and unfishable. Under better weather conditions it would seem to hold promise as a good trout stream. Bart was a great help showing me where to go and finding tracks through the undergrowth.

One advantage of walking with a dog is that they are alert to the presence of other animals and snakes, dangerous or otherwise. That afternoon there was much barking for Bart had sighted a viper in the shrubbery by the house.

"Ah ha," says Xavier, a South African guest, "I’ll get my crossbow and see if I can shoot it!", an idea which met with general approval as we did not want a dangerous snake living on our doorstep. This was another learning experience for me! What an amazing device is the crossbow for hunting small game, such as rabbits etc. Equipped with telescopic sight and a hunting arrow this crossbow is deadly accurate at 10 meters.

Xavier with his crossbow

We waited for the snake to reappear, in the meantime practising with target arrows on beer cans. Even I could hit one! Eventually the viper slithered to safety unharmed into the woodpile!

Kevin, our host, is a great cook who enjoys preparing wonderful meals for his guests. I used the kitchen the first evening but after seeing the treat the others had I was happy to sign up for the evening meals. Kevin’s specialty is trout, including smoked trout which he makes on the premises.

The old smokehouse is of adobe block construction with arched roof and walls smoothed off by cement, measuring outside about six feet square and high. A wood fire smolders away on the floor in one corner and the smoke escapes from small holes near the roof.

He buys 100 fish from a nearby trout farm and keeps 50 fresh (for grilling) and 50 to smoke. These are rainbows of size 300 to 350 grams. The fish are first soaked in a brine solution with herbs and then rinsed and hung up to dry in the smoke house. The cool smoking process may take all day. Progress is inspected regularly and more wood added if required. I can vouch for an excellent result.

Kevin’s smokehouse

The Aloes Pub lies on the banks of the Elands River at the base of a sandstone escarpment. The railway line to the coast passes the front door then winds around the back to steeply tackle the ascent on to the highveld through a spectacular series of cuttings, tunnels and viaducts. Often from our deck chairs on the lawn we waved out to passengers enjoying a luxury service on a passing tourist train but I reckon we were better accommodated at The Aloes for a fraction of the price!

Readers may say, "But you did nothing!" Quite right too, but sometimes it is necessary to rest a few days to recharge the batteries. On the other hand you could run wild and explore the place in detail. The Aloes and surrounding Mpumalanga is a wonderful region to do things. Why not consult The Aloes site.

Better known as Eastern Transvaal by the tourist, Mpumalanga is a large northern province of South Africa. If from Jo’burg and Pretoria you travel eastwards a hundred kilometres you leave Gauteng Province and enter Mpumalanga which extends across the highveld to the lowveld and finally borders onto Swaziland and Mozambique.

Mac Mac Falls near Sabie

The far eastern part is hilly and forested and sparsely inhabited. The landscape is very beautiful with farmlands and pine forests dispersed amidst sandstone escarpments that cause innumerable waterfalls. It represents a broad transition from the subtropical lowveld coastal strip to the highveld, which is the vast treeless agricultural plateau extending through to Jo’burg and beyond.

On the lowveld the major tourist attraction is Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest and most popular wildlife reserve. It stretches for 350 kms along the border with Mozambique and averages 60 kms wide. The infrastructure is highly developed for tourism, there being on average over 6000 visitors daily. Most people stay in the Main Camps and Rest Camps which provide a range of accommodation from luxury guest houses to cottages, cabins and camp sites. There are eight entrance gates to the Park and 2600 kms of sealed road between the Camps.

The gates open around 6am and close around 6pm. Entrance fee is 50 Rand/person and 30 Rand per car. The "Big 5" are resident (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino) and in total 147 species of mammals and over 500 of birds exist in the park.. For accommodation in Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park consult Mpumalanga-Venues.

Rather than stay in the Park, which is not cheap, you can stay at economical hostels close to the park and venture forth from there e.g., Thika Thika Backpackers is located on a farm bisected by the Sabie River with access by shuttle from Nelspruit. The Park is 15 minutes drive away. Nearby Kruger Park Backpackers is at Hazyview.

The main city of Mpumalanga is Nelspruit which has tree-lined suburban streets and a prosperous CBD, with many banks, upmarket shops and supermarkets. The hilly midveld region to the north includes the attractive tourist towns of Sabie, Graskop, Hazyview and Pilgrims Rest (old gold field) all of which offer accommodation in hostels and B&Bs.

At Nelspruit restful accommodation can be found at the Old Vic Inn , a suburban house with pool owned by Crazy Dave and Bella. They provide free transport to the CBD and their Old Vic Pub, which is a church converted to a pub, restaurant and art gallery. Also they organize day trips to Kruger National Park (500 Rand per person), to Pilgrims Rest and Sabie Valley, or where ever you want to go locally.

Bart guards the pub

Trout fishing (stocked rainbows, usually 10" to 16 " size) is well organized in Mpumalanga at private dams and a few rivers. For information try the Fishing Club at Sabie township and the Waterval Boven Trout Association. Waterval Onder (below the waterfall) is a scenic region where the railway climbs steeply up onto the highveld at Waterval Boven (above the waterfall). Accommodation at Kevin’s The Aloes Backpackers & Pub as described above.

The highveld is the start of a great trout fishing region encompassing the villages of Machadodorp, Belfast, Dullstroom and Lydenburg. Trout Lodge at Waterval Boven is a favourite accommodation spot for anglers.

From here it is four or five hours drive on the motorway to Jo’burg and adjacent Pretoria across the flat farm lands (cattle, maize, sunflowers etc). Where to stay in Pretoria? Try Pretoria Backpackers which has two houses, one quiet and refined, in a secluded neighborhood and within walking distance to the Hatfield Plaza Flea Market. Alternatively, in Jo’burg my favourite places to stay are Rockey’s of Fourways and The Backpackers Ritz; both are substantial mansions with extensive grounds with a swimming pool and are located in safe suburbs. Buen viaje!
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