I drove down the narrow, bumpy road to the Drakensberg town of Van Reenen with my Nissan X-Trail lights on bright in the darkness of the evening. I was tired but happy to be off the steep Van Reneen’s Pass which is notorious for accidents and where it seemed every truck in the country had arrived.
Earlier in the day I had planned to leave Johannesburg at midday and drive to the South Coast but after a consequence of delays and a pendulum of thoughts to go or wait until morning, the start of the familiar journey had been well into the afternoon. As the denial of making the trip in safe conditions had waned, panic set in as fore thought of a place to overnight with a dog had been disregarded. Thanks to the lifeline – ‘call a friend’ I found pet-friendly accommodation at Wyford Farm.
I arrived at the stone farm house to be welcomed by the friendly owners, Stafford and Shelia Russell. After viewing the inside of the cottage, there was not much time other than to settle Boo, my dog, and myself to bed.
It was a pleasant surprise when I woke on the farm to the misty skies above a dam in front of my quaint stone cottage equipped for relaxation. To the left, sheep gathered under a tree on the green grass and bemused Boo. This is a working farm.
I was sad to leave this peaceful sanctuary so soon, which had once been the trading post for ox-wagons in the 1870’s trekking between Durban and Jo’burg, and a perfectly situated resting spot as I had discovered. Shelia showed me where the shop door had been, now closed in to extend the house, and the storeroom which was now another cottage. She told me how the original owner had four daughters all who had left the property so he sold it to her father-in-law until they came to live there in the early 70s. She said ‘The youngest daughter died in England recently and the entire family have booked the farm to reunite and scatter her ashes here’.
I momentarily stopped and appreciated the historical site, decorated with reminisces of days gone by and wondered what it had been liked living without a SUV, cellphone and internet.
It was then I decided to return and escape the rush of my instant life, to amble along the river and have a picnic under the lapa or walk to the Green Lantern Inn for a country lunch. This inn too is a historical building having been established in 1892 and commandeered as headquarters by the British during the Anglo-Boer war.
Van Reenen is also home to the smallest Roman Catholic church in the world, seating only eight people which was built by a father, in memory of his son who died in a mining accident. Nearby is the Sandspruit Conservancy which offers hiking amongst the abundance of wildlife, including the largest herd of black wildebeests found in any private reserve. Or you could visit the nearby battlefields or northern Drakensberg.
But mostly, I would just rest in the uplifting, mountainous area.
Contact
Wyford Farm
Visit Wyford Farm to check rates and availability
Green Lantern Inn
7 Wragg Street, Van Reenen, Drakensberg, South Africa
Contact Lew & Maria, tel 058-671-0027, fax 058-671-0065
Find affordable accommodation in the Drakensberg with Getaway Accommodation
Originally posted on journeysclaire
