LESSONS LEARNT IN THE BUSHVELD
During the filming of our latest Weg Agterpaaie TV series, Sophia van Taak and Toast Coetzer drove 4 000 km and spent five weeks in the outer districts of the North West and Limpopo to see what makes the Bushveld such a fascinating place.
“There’s a wonderful pioneering spirit here, and people persist despite drought, game poaching and the challenges of living in a wild place. The people of the Bushveld are always moving forwards.”
1 The voorwêreld is vast
In the Bushveld, you’ll often hear people talk about something called “die voorwêreld”. They will ask visitors from Gauteng: “Het dit al daar by julle in die voorwêreld gereën?” Or sometimes they’ll joke that a farmer went to look for a wife in the voorwêreld. Generally speaking, the voorwêreld refers to the busier areas closer to the cities. Apparently the expression originated in Alldays, which is north of the Soutpansberg. In the past, the huge region from Swartwater, past Tolwe and Alldays to Musina was called “agter die berg” (behind the mountain). Everything south of the Soutpansberg was “voor die berg” (in front of the mountain), or the voorwêreld.
Now you know!
2 Check your shoes!
When night falls in the Bushveld, you’ll want to sit closer to the fire. The further north you go, the bigger and more venomous the critters become.
On the Cape coast, you’re lucky if you see a little Cape horseshoe bat fly past your stoep; outside Musina clumps of Wahlberg’s epauletted fruit bats hang in the trees every night.
We spent many a night in a lapa where sharp teeth, a python’s skin (bottom left) or intimidating horns were mounted on the wall. We saw some of the biggest lionesses we’d ever seen in Madikwe Game Reserve; even the insects of the north are more intimidating than we’re used to, like ground beetles that race around your feet like quad bikes.
Everywhere we went, people warned us not to walk around with flip-flops at night. There are scorpions everywhere, especially the Transvaal thicktail, a bielie of a scorpion that you don’t want to step on. When you take off your shoes before bed, put them on the windowsill. And shake them out before you put them on again the next morning. Also check under your duvet and pillows – you never know…
We also kept a lookout for the most dangerous snake of them all. The Sotho name for the black mamba – mokopa – is whispered with reverence in these parts. Just the thought of it is terrifying! That long body lifting off the ground, the black mouth gaping wide…
3 It’s (still) the home of adventurers
The Bushveld has always attracted adventurous types – everyone from big game hunters like Bvekenya Barnard, to the people who built a city at Mapungubwe, and trek farmers who moved here to try and eke out a living.
Adventurers are still common in the Bushveld because you need nerves of steel to survive here. We went on a hot air balloon ride with Bill Harrop at Hartbeespoort Dam and had a bumpy landing next to the golf course. It got the adrenaline pumping – and woke up the residents of the golf estate!
LD Pienaar from Modimolle is a snake catcher. He entertained us one afternoon with scorpions, a Madagascar hissing cockroach, a harmless spotted bush snake and the more dangerous snouted cobra. LD was cool and calm, but we made sure to get out of the way whenever he handled something with teeth.
4 How to make a cow dung floor
In Groot-Marico, at the Herman Charles Bosman Living Museum, we were introduced to several Bushveld traditions: Koos Olivier taught us how to cook pap and Anna Molefe showed us how to make puffy roosterkoek. But it was the lesson in plastering a floor with cow dung that took us the furthest out of our comfort zone. We collected a few buckets of fresh dung from the farm Wonderfontein first thing in the morning. Later, at the traditional Tswana village on the museum premises, Willemien Mogape and Salogeng Matlhole showed us the ropes.
First, we mixed the dung with water until it was soft and runny. Then we poured the dung on the floor and knelt down to spread it out in an even layer.
We didn’t fare very well. Willemien and Salogeng had to fix our section of the floor!
5 See the Bushveld for the trees
If you travel to the Bushveld through the barren plains of the Karoo or the vast grasslands of the Highveld, the first thing you notice is the trees. They grow here in abundance, especially big ones like baobabs, the kings of the Bushveld. We visited a few of the giants: the Swartwater baobab near the village of the same name, the baobab in Blouberg Nature Reserve, and the Sagole baobab east of Tshipise (bottom left).
At Bateleur Tented Safari Lodge & Bush Spa, owner Phillip Bronkhorst told us that he bought his piece of land east of Lephalale because it had a stand of mopane trees. To Phillip, the symmetrical leaf of the mopane is not only beautiful, it’s also symbolic of his place in the world.
We went for a walk in the veld with Willem Frost, a farmer who lives next to the Matlabas River north of Thabazimbi. We lingered next to a blue thorn and a lovely shepherd tree (one of only a few trees that keeps its green leaves even in the driest months). We saw a russet bushwillow and a buffalo thorn, both anchored to an anthill island. Eventually, just before sunset, we arrived at the base of a huge leadwood tree. Willem almost got teary-eyed when he talked about his love for this particular tree. The life force that the tree exuded was palpable, even to us. What a privilege.
6 Bosvellers can do anything
It’s never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket, which is why bow hunter Flippie Frost from Matlabas also makes leather rifle slings, handbags and knife sheaths. And it’s why Anél and Henk Malan from Marnitz built a farm stall and now make milkshakes and hamburgers with as much skill as they use to farm. (See page 25 for more about this farm stall.)
In the Waterberg, twin brothers Hans and Francois van der Walt use potatoes to distil vodka. Next to the Mutale River, Kobus and Annelize Venter built Nthakeni Bush and River Camp with their own hands.
Nearby, in Masisi, Julia Siwada sells roast chicken to raise money to send her kids to school. Outside Louis Trichardt, Pilato Bulala sifts through rubbish for scrap metal then goes home to create beautiful artworks with whatever he finds.
One of the vodka-brewing Van der Walt twins sent us off with these words: “Drive fast and punch first!” It might not be the best advice for every situation, but it says something about the people of the Bushveld. They don’t back down from a challenge.
7 The secret to good boerewors…
…is a little tomato sauce! Elbè Lynn from Kaaldraai near Thabazimbi let us in on this secret in her farm butchery. Another trick is to make sure you don’t stuff the sausage with too much or too little meat – it should have a nice shape. It takes skill to fill the casing at the right tempo and we couldn’t quite master the technique. On our first try, the sausage was as thick and as heavy as a door stop; on the second try it looked like a silk stocking filled with meatballs!
8 You can smell ants
One night, Christoff Meyers took us on a drive in the Waterberg area. We drove slowly around the farm, making our way to a spot where we planned to get out and walk around to experience the bush in the dark.
Christoff is the head of the anti-poaching unit on the farm and often faces danger, but he also loves the bush and patiently answered all our questions.
The veld that night was parched. There were no green leaves anywhere. Nothing was in bloom. But we could smell something – a sharp smell, not pleasant but kind of familiar. We asked Christoff and his answer was surprising: ants.
(Back in the office, we asked Peter Slingsby, author of the guidebook Ants of Southern Africa, to explain. He said we might have smelled one of two species that night: the Matabele ant or the almost identical and aptly named African stink ant.)
9 The past lives on
In Groot-Marico, a group of people still celebrate Herman Charles Bosman’s famous stories about the Bushveld, thereby preserving a valuable part of South African literature (bottom left). The Bosman Weekend, usually held in October, keeps alive the tradition of oral storytelling, which so inspired Bosman.
In Enzelsberg, Khalil Hayat likewise continues a tradition of respect and compassion, the foundations of which were laid by his ancestors during a time when people of different races weren’t allowed to be friends. Luckily the residents of this place didn’t pay much attention to the laws of the time – another tradition that seems to be prevalent in the Bushveld. The people who live here tend to make up their own minds about what’s right and wrong, and what works and what doesn’t.
Take Kathy Herbst from Koedoesfontein, for example, who uses age-old techniques to make ointments and oils from herbs and plants. Or brothers Dawie and Hermann Malherbe (top left) who farm tobacco near Grobler’s Bridge like their grandfather did – in a way that works and creates work. And, in the village of Nkotswi near the Kruger’s Pafuri gate, everyone still turns to the musanda (chief) for advice, for mediation, or for permission to lay out a new mielie field (middle).
These people are all keeping channels open so that the older generations can share their wisdom and their knowledge about how people in a community should support each other.
10 A dog is your best friend
Farmhouses and towns are often far apart in the Bushveld, and your days can be lonely. That’s why everyone has a dog or five to keep them company. If you spend time alone in the veld or at home, the extra pair of eyes and ears also puts you at ease.
We were greeted by new doggy friends at almost every place we visited: Rita at RiverStill in Groot-Marico; Nella at the Van der Walt twins’ place next to the Palala River; Trixie, Tokkelos and Karnuffel, owned by the Malans from Marnitz; Hotspot at the Baobab Biltong Padstal; Torro* the Australian cattle dog owned by Kudu Meyer from Musina; and the wagging tails of Nienie, Charlie, Lisa and Lara at Nthakeni Bush and River Camp.
The bond between man and dog is a beautiful thing. A dog will never grow tired of you; it’s always happy to see you; it will greet you at the gate after a long day and accompany you to your front door.
Nobody will love you more than your dog.
* Torro died in January after being caught in a poacher’s trap.
11 We’re all stewards
“We’re just stewards of the Bushveld,” said George Potgieter, a game farmer in the Dwaalboom area. His words were echoed by many other people we spoke to.
Game farmers have found a way to increase game numbers and turn a profit, but some species are more difficult to conserve. The Cape vultures that breed against the high cliffs of Blouberg (west of the Soutpansberg) fly far and wide, even to Botswana if they feel like it. They also don’t breed as easily as the sparrow that nests on your stoep. But still, conservationists like Johan van Wyk (bottom right) have made it their life’s mission to take care of this important species.
In the Waterberg, we tailed – and caught a glimpse of – a group of free-ranging wild dogs with Derek van der Merwe from the Endangered Wildlife Trust. It’s a challenge to keep a wild dog wild because, like vultures, fences don’t keep them in, and they hunt over a vast territory. Sometimes their hunting ground might overlap with a livestock farm, and that’s when they run into trouble. We also watched rhinos being dehorned (left). Game farmers who own rhinos face a dilemma: It’s expensive to feed and keep rhinos safe, yet farmers can’t safely and humanely remove horns and legally sell them to foreign markets. That this dilemma exists at all is an indictment on humankind: We are failing as stewards of our environment. Prominent species like rhino, lion and elephant enjoy a lot of media attention, but it’s the many invisible species that need our help even more. How many of us have seen a pangolin in the wild? Probably very few. But the pangolin is the most poached and illegally traded animal in the world. One night, we joined Kudu Meyer (bottom left) and watched him release a pangolin saved from illegal trade back into the wild. Most pangolins aren’t as lucky.
We have lots of work to do.
12 It’s a place with soul
The character of the Bushveld can be summed up as “unstoppable”. There’s a wonderful pioneering spirit here, and people persist despite drought, game poaching and the challenges of living in a wild place. The people of the Bushveld are always moving forwards yet they remain in harmony with nature. Children are still childlike, with good manners and a sense of wonder; and the adults have the same bright light in their eyes.
You wake up excited in the morning: Listen to the birds! The clang of cattle bells! As the sun climbs higher, it keeps you humble, makes you aware of your own mortality and inspires an urgency to make every hour of the day count.
Come sunset, someone will lift a harmonica and play a tune, and bushbabies will appear from the foliage and listen. Your heart will want to burst with joy, because in the Bushveld you feel a part of something bigger than yourself again, part of a cycle, part of the natural world.