THINGS TO DO
Get the gold rush experience
Join Dusty Tracks for a variety of outdoor adventures. There are historical hiking trails in Mountainlands Nature Reserve, scenic drives, gold panning, mine tours and trips to the Kruger Park and the Kingdom of eSwatini. “Our all-in-one, full-day trip is the most popular,” owner Wynand Engelbrecht says. “We drive 50 km through Mountainlands, where the remains of old mining towns can be seen. We drive through 14 streams, visit Eureka City, the Golden Quarry, Sheba Mine, and we do gold panning in the Suidkaap River at Digger’s Retreat Hotel. It is the entire gold rush experience.”
Cost: R795 per person (minimum four people) for the full-day tour, which lasts six to seven hours.
Contact: 072 668 4063; dustytracks.co.za
Check out some amazing rocks
Pack a picnic basket and do the Geotrail. The entire route is 38 km long, starting at the entrance to Barberton (where the R38 meets the R40, at artist Nukain Mabuza’s painted stone garden) and ends at the Bulembu border post between South Africa and the Kingdom of eSwatini. There are 11 geosites with information panels about the rocks, views, plants, animals, culture and history of the area. If you want to do the entire trail properly, set aside six hours.
If you can’t do the whole tour, make sure to visit the Makhonjwa/Lebombo view site, which is 25 km from town: It’s designed as a one-stop-shop for people in a hurry. There’s a specimen display of all the rocks you can see along the rest of the trail.
Cost: Buy the Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail guidebook at the Barberton Museum ( 013 712 4208), at the Barberton Private Mining & History Museum ( 072 668 4063), or at Bushwhacked accommodation for R150. Or sign up for one of Tony Ferrar’s half-day tours for groups smaller than 16 people (two to four hours; R800 per group; R50 per extra person).
Contact: 072 376 2581 (Tony); geotrail.co.za
Travel back in time
There are two museums on the Heritage Walk: Belhaven House Museum and Stopforth House.
Belhaven was built in 1904 and is an example of a prefabricated house with corrugated iron walls and pressed-metal panels inside. “You’ll find many old houses in South Africa with pressed-metal ceilings, but here they used it all the way down,” says tour guide Mandla Sifunda. “There’s no logical reason for it – we think the owner was just in love with the look.”
The house is furnished in a late-Victorian, earlyEdwardian style, and depicts the lives of a wealthy, middle-class family. It was also extensively renovated in 2019. Mandla’s knowledge about the home, family and town will blow you away.
James Stopforth, a baker and general dealer, who came to Barberton from England via Pilgrim’s Rest, constructed Stopforth in 1886. It’s furnished with the original household items used by the Stopforth family between 1886 and 1914. “His two sons were carpenters; all their original tools are still in the workshop in the garden,” says tour guide Henry Sibande. Indeed, there are almost a thousand tools in the collection, which were used by the brothers for cabinet making, construction, blacksmithing and farriery.
Cost: Free – grab a Heritage Walk map from the Barberton Museum.
Where? Belhaven is at 24 Judge Street; Stopforth is at 18 Bownes Street.
EAT HERE
Barberton Garden Centre
“Our menu changes depending on what I fancy on the day,” says Elna van Niekerk as we take a seat in her nursery-cum-café. She usually bakes something sweet and something savoury: I had quiche and salad (R50), followed by chocolate cake with caramel and cream (R25). Elna is a botanical boffin and knows which plants to use in a salad: spekboom leaves add zest, and New Zealand spinach tastes like sugar snap peas.
Opening times: Daily from 9 am to 5 pm, except for Saturdays and Sundays when the café closes at 2 pm. Where? Kellar Street
Contact: 082 575 9171 barbertondaisygrowers.co.za
The Genesis Restaurant
Ask a local where to go for dinner and the answer will be Genesis. Apparently the building dates back to 1885 and was originally a residence. It might take you a while to choose a dish since the menu is also loaded with plenty of historical facts about the town.
The restaurant/deli is known for quality meat,
then follow the signs.
Contact: 073 691 5646 bushwhacked-barberton.business.site
Barberton Mountain Lodge
The drive up to Berghuisie and Houthuisie is as impressive as the views from these two self-catering chalets. Each has two bedrooms and sleeps five. Everything is planned around the view: the stoep, the private splash pool and the outdoor shower. You also have access to nature trails on the mountain, and it’s easy to get to the top of Lone Tree Hill, the starting point of the Barberton Paragliding Nationals.
Rates: From R420 per person per night.
Where? 7 km out of town, via Crown Street. The owners will send directions when you book; don’t trust Google Maps.
Contact: 082 258 2583; 082 091 2347
Fountain Baths Guest Cottages
Built in 1884, Fountain Baths has a fascinating history as the town’s original bathhouse for the gold diggers. It also has the oldest swimming pool in the Old Transvaal, built by a certain Mr Rose behind his hotel and filled with water from Rose’s Creek.
“Where our family rooms are used to be the bathhouse with cubicles – you can still see where the doors were attached,” says current owner Esmari Rowan-Harrod. There are seven self-catering units. Some sleep two, others sleep up to four, and each has private access to the garden or pool area. Breakfast and dinner are available by prior arrangement; they also host music events.
Rates: From R415 per person sharing.
Where? 48 Pilgrim Street
Contact: 013 712 2707; fountainbaths.co.za