The Amble - Natural as Nature Indeed

A Detailed overview of The Amble - Continued

zoom Lutheran Church, Wartburg

Wartburg

Visitors arriving in this deep green village, less than 20- kilometres from Albert Falls, could easily be forgiven for imagining they had somehow been transported to old Germany. You’ll hear German spoken in the shops and taverns, as well as in the surrounding hamlets bearing names such as New Hanover, Harburg, Kirchdorf, Lillienthal, Schroeders and Hermannsburg. German presence first arrived in 1850, with 13 ‘cotton planter’ families founding New Hanover and followed, four years later, by the pioneering evangelists and colonists of the Hermannsburg Mission. Relatives and like-minded friends soon followed, and these settlements arose based on Lutheran faith and models of education. Wartburg’s crest tells their pathfinding story - depicting the immigrants’ arrival on these shores by sailing ship, the heraldry of Wartburg Castle in Eisenach where Dr Martin Luther translated the bible into German, the ‘Luther Rose’ and mission statement “Pray and Work”. These words are also inscribed on Kirchdorf’s church bell and reflect the dedication and industry of the local community to this day, into the fifth generation beyond their founding forebears.

Sugar is the predominant agricultural pursuit, with some 250 farmers and two mills processing around two million tons of cane annually. Further export initiatives have seen this ‘staple’ expand to include avocado pears and kiwi- fruit.

In central Wartburg, and flanked by two churches, the Wartburger Hof should not be missed for a taste of German hospitality. Built in traditional mountain style with suites named after German towns and a menu featuring many authentic dishes, your hosts brew their own inimitable tipple to fuel wedding parties, post-conference celebrations and the like. Bring your golf clubs for a round of chip ‘n’ putt on the Hof’s own mashie course.

There are coffee shops, craft outlets, inns, guest houses and B&B establishments in and around the village centre, including wedding and function facilities at Thorpe Lodge, on a sugar farm just 2-kilometres away.

The nearby settlement of New Hanover boasts one of our province’s oldest schools and one of very few to be proclaimed a National Monument. Bedeck your dream home with custom, hand-made furniture from The Hanging Basket, source of endless and delicious home-baked goodies for your pantry, too. And should your trusty 4x4 feel neglected amid all this pastoral bliss, give it some revs on the riverside Camel Hoek Trails, where abundant bird life and small wild animals wait to be captured on film. Stretch your own legs on the hiking paths, and overnight with a choice of B&B, self-catering rondavels or campsite.

Beyond New Hanover, some 100-kilometres of inter-linked trails with overnight huts have been developed into the singular experience of Blinkwater Trails by co- operation between conservation bodies and the timber industry. There is much of both historic and botanical interest on the plateau, with hikers skirting waterfalls and lakes while traversing scenic grasslands and indigenous forest.

Greytown

Back on tarred road, and some 40-kilometres beyond the collection of quaint German hamlets, lies the picturesque town our Zulu folk call uMgungundlovana – Place of the Little Elephant – and its satellite township eHlalakahle – The Place to Live Well. Greytown was laid out as a northern Midlands seat of authority during the 1850s, and soon became a major crossroads of the time as gateway to both the interior and Zululand towards the coast. This status saw the town attract Zulu and migrant Indian workers in addition to the British and Boer settlers who were vying for control of the province. While only peripherally involved in the grim Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer conflicts, Greytown is regarded by many as the birthplace of our ‘modern’ Liberation Struggle, care of the 1906 Bambatha Rebellion against white dominance. Instigator Chief Bambatha was eventually killed and 25 of his co- conspirators captured and deported, but the seeds of overthrowing institutionalised racism were truly sown. Ironically, Greytown was also the birthplace of Boer leader and first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, General Louis Botha, as well as the most revered of all Afrikaans-language folk songs – the tale of farmer’s wife ‘Sarie Marais’.

All the above-mentioned legacies are impeccably maintained for posterity within the highly esteemed Greytown Museum. A century-plus old historical monument in its own right, and towered over by a giant wild fig tree of the same vintage, Greytown Museum has not surprisingly a focus on local military history, including a Liberation Struggle display. Other award-winning exhibits include a Zulu Culture Room,Hindu and Muslim Room, Victorian Children’s Room and a Coach House complete with blacksmith’s forge. There are well-preserved transport exhibits and a shipwreck-salvaged cannon from the late 18th Century.

Elsewhere among Greytown’s wealth of Victorian architecture are quaint B&Bs, coffee shops and restaurants, while on the edge of town our Country Club’s golf course is ideal for settling those tentative agreements reached within its conference facilities.

A little beyond the outskirts, fly-fishing enthusiasts will find regularly stocked trout dams at Middledrift Country House, a fully-furnished and equipped amenity run by the Lion Match Company’s forestry division. To lure bass, head for Amanzi Lodge on the road to Mooi River. En route to the famous Rorke’s Drift battlefield, take a wonderfully scenic, 13-kilometre diversion on foot to explore the Silo Trail, named after the uniquely converted farm structure which now serves as an all-mod-cons overnight stopover. The easily negotiable hike winds through indigenous forest, grassland and valley bushveld before offering spectacular views of a ‘vulture restaurant’. Less grisly, perhaps, are the sights waiting just further on at The Farm Yard, a children’s educational farm and petting zoo. This ideal outdoor classroom can handle up to 100 children at a time, including refreshments and light meals. Situated on a wildlife-abundant estate, game viewing is an added attraction, along with horse riding and mountain climbing.

Heading towards the equally important Weenen battlefields site, Montello Safari Lodge is an all-in-one slice of Africa, with everything from game drives to superb trout fishing and with a choice of luxury accommodation, self- catering rondavels and bush camp at day’s end. And here is yet another picturesque setting for your wedding photos or to make those all-important conference decisions! The same applies to Ivala Guest Lodge and Conference Centre just a few kilometres further along, a luxury double-storey establishment with individually-themed suites on the banks of the picturesque Mooi River. Or host your celebrations yet another few kilometres beyond at Stone Acres Crocodile and Reptile Park, a recent expansion of its list of facilities and attractions beyond the spine-chillingly obvious. That said, Stone Acres does have a 'touch farm' inhabited by the cute ‘n’ cuddly and a small, safe dam for children’s pleasure. Self-catering is the accommodation of choice here.

A Detailed Overview of The Amble - Continued

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