1 WILD FRONTIER REGION • the Wild Frontier

WILD FRONTIER REGION

• The Wild Frontier Region borders Mozambique, Swaziland and the southern tip of the Kruger National Park. • Gives entrance to the Kruger National Park through either the Malelane or Crocodile Bridge Gates. • The Wild Frontier is known for its significant geological formations and archaeological discoveries, its San rock art sites and historical mining towns. • Although no longer really wild, the pristine natural environment, mostly preserved within the borders of the Kruger National Park and other nature and wildlife reserves, offer visitors a chance to experience the “real” essence of Africa on foot (hiking trails) and by road (also in 4x4 vehicles).

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KAAPMUIDEN Population: Altitude: 327m/1073ft Wild Frontier Region Rainfall: On route N4 approximately 43km east from Nelspruit.

• Located at bottom of the Crocodile Gorge where it meets the Kaap River (“Mouth of the Kaap”).

Origin • Founded in 1895. • Established as the junction on the Pretoria -Maputo railway (Oosterlijn) for the 55-km branch line to Barberton in the south, and for the branch line north through the Lowveld to Soekmekaar on the main rail line to Limpopo province and Zimbabwe. • The Barberton line was finally inaugurated in 1896.

Name • Derived from the Kaap River, a tributary of the Crocodile River in the Kaap River Valley and means “Mouth of the Kaap”

Agriculture • The water of the Kaap River, a tributary of the Crocodile River, is used for irrigation. The region's c1imate and soils sustain a wealth of subtropical fruit. Also sugarcane and vegetables.

Historical sites and monuments

A Large - Forms a beacon on the hill above the town. Stone - Erected in 1950 by the “Afrikaanse Sending Genootskap” (Afrikaans Cross Missionary Society).

Attractions and activities

Nukain - When Nukain became bored with his surroundings, he took up his Mabusa’s paintbrush and decorated the stones around his house with colourful Arty patterns. Stone Garden

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HECTORSPRUIT Population: Altitude: 277m/909ft Wild Frontier Region Rainfall: On route N4 approximately 19km west from Komatipoort approximately 13km east from Malelane.

Origin • President’s Kruger’s railway from Delagoabay to Pretoria reached the village on 1 October 1891. • Servaas de Kock helped surveyed the line. • Hectorspruit occupies an important niche in the history of the Anglo-Boer War. o Conventional resistance by the Boers came to an end following their headlong retreat from Pretoria to the eastern Transvaal and President Paul Kruger's crossing of the border into Mozambique on 11 September 1900 to begin is journey to Switzerland. o It was from this hamlet, in September 1900, that General Louis Botha and other Boer leaders, having said goodbye to Kruger, began a guerrilla campaign that prolonged the war by another 18 months. • Currently the town serves as a commercial and distribution centre for all the agricultural activities on the farms in the vicinity.

Name • Derived from a creek by the same name, a southern tributary of the Crocodile River. - The creed was named after the pet dog of Servaas de Kock

Agriculture • Main activities are sugarcane, vegetables and subtropical fruit.

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MALELANE Population: Altitude: 307m/1007ft Wild Frontier Region Rainfall: (On route N4 approximately 18 km east of Kaapmuiden.

Origin Proclaimed on 6 July 1949 on the farm Malelane.

Name Probably derived from the Swazi expression “Emlalani” which means “Place of the small Lala Palms”. - The name has an interesting historical connotation, as the Emlalani regiment of Swazi King Mswati was stationed where the town was founded to guard the river against insurgent Bapedi tribes.

Agriculture Mainly sugarcane, winter vegetables and subtropical fruit on large scale under irrigation.

Mining and industries

TSB - Home to the enormous TSB Sugar Factory. Sugar Factory

Attractions and activities

- Located at the Matsulu (Place of the Zulu/Swazi) settlement on the N4 Matsulu road to the Malelane Gate of the Kruger National Park. Craft - Recorded as one of the largest craft centres in the province. Centre - Exhibits includes exquisite works of art and crafts - The restaurant on the premises offers a wide variety of dishes.

Mahushe - Privately owned by a Swazi community. Shongwe - Boasts many different species of birds and game in their natural habitat. Game - Offers various guided hiking and walking trails as well as some 4x4 trails. Reserve - Accommodation is supplied at the tented Mthomeni Camp. (9 200ha)

Kruger - Located 2km east from the village. National - Gives entrance to the Kruger National Park to Berg en Dal Rest Camp and Park: the rest of the National Park. Malelane Gate

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KOMATIPOORT Population: Altitude: 155m/509ft Wild Frontier Region Rainfall: On route N4 approximately 68km east from Nelspruit.

• It is the border town located about 5km from the Lebombo/Ressano Carcia Borderpost between South Africa and Mozambique at the point where the Crocodile River becomes tributary of the Komati, on the western slopes of the Lebombo mountains (on the ) southern boundary of the Kruger National Park. • Immediately east of the town a deep gorge takes the river, road and railway through the mountains, the frontier between South Africa and Mozambique.

Origin • The town is chiefly a railway and customs centre. • President Paul Kruger's line from Delagoa Bay to Pretoria reached Komatipoort on 1st July 1891. • The village then became the main construction camp for the line as far as the escarpment and Waterval-Boven. • Currently the town serves as the southern terminus of the defunct Selati railroad, which joins the Kaapmuiden and Soekmekaar line at Matshaye. • It is also the most southern entrance to the Kruger National Game Park at Crocodile Bridge Gate.

Historical sites and monuments

San - Located about 2km from town at Crocodile Bridge Camp in the Kruger /Bushman National Park side of the Crocodile River Paintings

Onderberg - The grandiose Onderberg Railway Station at Komatipoort reflects the Railway typical 1800s architecture at the time of the town’s birth. Station

Attractions and activities

- Offers a caravan park with a swimming pool, as well as a hotel and motel situated near the low-level causeway. Komati - Many people stay here and use it as a base for day trips into the Kruger River National Park Resort - The Komati River is stocked with tiger fish. • Swimming is prohibited in the river due to crocodiles and hippos!

Kruger - Forms the main entrance to the Kruger National Park at Crocodile Bridge National through the Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp. Park

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KOMATIPOORT Population: Altitude: 155m/509ft Wild Frontier Region Rainfall:

Cheetah - Located under the biggest yellow fever tree in the country. Rest Nursery

Lebombo - Offers majestic views of the valley below the confluence of the Crocodile Mountain and Komati Rivers.

- Located on route R571 about 100km south from Komatipoort and 10km north of the Mananga Swaziland Border Post. Mawewe - It is a community-owned reserve. Nature It hosts the Mawewe Game and cattle project to protect some of the local Reserve - (9 200ha) species of antelope in the area. - Offers a small but fully-equipped Swazi-style cultural camp with six twin- bedded huts and a swimming pool.

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BARBERTON Population: Altitude: 822m/2697ft Wild Frontier Region Rainfall: 755mm On route R38 approximately 53 km south from Kaapmuiden on the N4 and 60km east from Badplaas. On route R40 approximately 45km south from Nelspruit.

• Located in De Kaap valley at the foot of the Makhonjwa mountains (part of the great escarpment)

Origin • Established in 1884, when gold was discovered by Graham Barber, and his cousins. • This area was generally known to transport riders as the “Valley of Death” due to the many deaths caused by malaria. • The first 'boom town' to appear was Kaapsehoop, on the hills bounding the valley in the west, where gold had been discovered in 1882 – it proved to be uneconomic, but none the less became base for prospectors working elsewhere.

Pioneer Reef o The first payable gold in the Barberton area was discovered by Auguste Robert, nicknamed 'French Bob', in June 1883. Barber’s Reef o Graham Barber and his cousins, Harry and Fred, also had been drawn to the valley of the Kaap River by reports of several earlier finds. • On 21 June 1984, Graham Barber informed the Transvaal government that he had discovered a rich reef in Rimer's Creek in the valley. • Three days later, the mining commissioner David Wilson visited the site. • A camp had already been established and named Barber's Camp. • Breaking a bottle of gin on the reef, Wilson proclaimed the camp the township of Barberton.

Gold Rush o These discoveries prompted the greatest gold rush in the country's history up to that time o The town boomed in 1886, when more than 4 000 claims were being worked. o On 4 April the first newspaper, The Barberton Herald, was published o On 1 October the first post office was opened in what was then the largest town in the Transvaal Republic. o It boasted one bar or canteen for every 15 residents. o These were wild social life days, with plenty of barmaids being the life and soul of Parties. o Best known among these ladies were Cockney Liz and Florrie, the Golden Dane. It is said that Cockney Liz danced on a billiard table each night while being auctioned to the highest bidder. (Although she was apparently clever enough to see that he was drunk enough to pass out on her sofa!)

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BARBERTON Origin Wild Frontier Continue… Region

Sheba’s Reef and Eureka city • In the meantime, the richest reef of all in the Barberton area was discovered by Edwin Bray in May 1885. • Eureka, another boom, came into being. o Located on the hills via the Eureka City Pass (1189 1:6) 15 km northeast of Barberton. o It had two hotels, numerous canteens and stores, a music hall and racecourse. o It soon had the reputation of being even wilder and more lawless than Barberton.

Stock exchange and abandonment of Barberton • Due to the fact that these were the world's richest goldfields at the time, a lot of wheeling and dealing was being done. • On the 13th of April 1887 South Africa's first stock exchange (Barberton had two), was opened. • Shares by the thousands were sold in bogus companies and useless claims. • Within months over capitalization of the mining operations led to many investors in the Transvaal, and especially Britain loosing fortunes. • When richer deposits of gold were found on the Witwatersrand, Barberton and Eureka City was abandoned and became virtually a ghost town. • The outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899 also caused remaining mines to close down. • Only a few companies, such as Sheba persevered. • People eventually returned and the Barberton of today has retained much of its “gold rush” atmosphere on account of its many historic buildings and other relics of the past that remain. • January 1931 and was buried on The Look Out overlooking the Sundays River valley, in the southeastern Cape, where he had helped to develop the citrus industry. • Today, Barberton still serves as the terminus of the 55-km branch railway line from Kaapmuiden on the main line to Maputo.

Name • On the 24th of June 1884, David Wilson, mining commissioner of Kaapse Hoop, broke a bottle of gin over a lump of rock to christen the town after the discoverers of the reef. • Named after the unique Barberton daisy that grows in the area.

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BARBERTON Claims to fame Wild Frontier Continue… Region

Claims to fame

Jacaranda and Flamboyant trees line the streets and transform the town into a palette of green, purple and fiery, orange-red when the trees flower.

Barberton • It is of geological significance as it consists of the oldest and best Greenstone preserved rocks on the earth, dating back some 3 500 million (3.5 Belt billion) years. It is also suggested that the evidence of the green algae found in this rock was the first living organisms in the world.

• The area is currently under consideration to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Barberton • Discovered by Robert Jameson (also named after him) in the Daisy Barberton area in the 1880’s (Gerbera • A specimen of this famous indigenous flower was first sent to England Jamesonii in 1884.

• This daisy is the parent plant of the many colour variants and double

daisies that are so well-known all over the world. • It also became the emblem of the then Northern Transvaal rugby team, now the Blue Bulls.

• The Barberton Mountain area contains over 1 500 species of plants, second only in number to the Cape Fynbos Plant Kingdom. • It is the natural home of the clivia and the lovely Pride-of-De Kaap (Bauhinia galpinii) with its deep salmon/orange coloured flowers.

• Other flowering plants that grow here include the Barberton Mountain sugar bush (Protea comptonii) that flowers between May and August in Floral dense concentrations of yellow and white flowers and the rare Barberton Kingdom Lowveld sugar bush (Protea curvata) with its deep red-pink flowers. • Also endemic to the area is the Barberton cycad (Encephalartos paucidentatus).

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BARBERTON Claims to fame Wild Frontier Continue… Region

- Located in front of the town hall - It is a bronze statue, by Ivan Mitford-Barberton. - It honours South Africa’s most famous dog, “Jock of the Bushveld”. - Many stories have been told and written about the bravery and loyalty of Jock, companion to Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, who worked as a transport rider in the area in the 1880s. - Having resigned his job as a bank clerk in the Cape at the age of 22, Fitzpatrick made his way in 1884 to the eastern Transvaal goldfields, where he became a transport rider - Here he was given the runt of a litter of puppies, which he named Jock. Jock’s The famous book, which first appeared in 1907, and has never been out of Memorial - print, describes Fitzpatrick's adventures with Jock until the end of his transport-riding days in Barberton in 1889, when his team of oxen was wiped out by the tsetse fly. - Later Fitzpatrick had a successful career in mining (became one of the randlords) and politics in Johannesburg and, in 1902, received knighthood. - He died in 1931 and was buried at “The Look Out”, overlooking the Sundays River valley (Eastern Cape) where he had helped to develop the citrus industry.

BARBERTON Agriculture Wild Frontier Continue… Region

Agriculture • Timber and sisal plantations • Crops: tea; coffee; citrus and subtropical fruit; tobacco; rice; pecan nuts and vegetables.

Mining and industries • A few small gold mines still being worked. • Deposits of other minerals have since been identified: Nickel, chrome, titanium, copper, mercury, magnesite, barytes and a range of semiprecious stones.

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BARBERTON Historical sites and monuments Wild Frontier Continue… Region

Historical sites and monuments

- Located in Crown Street. Museum - Exhibits an overview of the geological, mining and general history of the town.

Steam - Located just outside the town. Loco- - Used on the railway line between Barberton and Kaapmuiden around motive 1899

- Located in Lee Street. Bellhaven Displays good examples of the architecture of the turn of the twentieth House - Museum century. - It has been fully restored and can be viewed by appointment.

- Erected to guard the Concentration Camp and Military Hospital during the Block Anglo-Boer War. House - Built in 1901 with wood and iron. - Proclaimed as a national monument.

- Built with wood and iron in the 1890s. Fernlea Has been fully restored and renovated. House - - It can only be visited by prior appointment.

Masonic - Built in 1884. Temple

Lewis - It was the first double storey structure in the Transvaal. And - Built in 1887 for entrepreneurs Sammy Marks and Isaac Lewis. Marks Building

Globe - Built in 1887. Tavern - Recently converted into a coffee shop and boutique.

Stopforth - It is a wood and iron building which was erected in 1886. House - It belonged to Barberton’s first general dealer and baker.

- Located in General Street. - The pulpit is made out of white quartz and the font out of verdite, which is Anglican mined locally. Church - Commemorates the Barber family from whom the town owes its existence.

BARBERTON Historical sites and monuments Wild Frontier Continue… Region

- Located in Pilgrim Street. - The entrance to the first gold stock exchange in South Africa dates back to 1887. Old The abandoned building was bought by Pretoria financier Sammy Kaap Marks in 1899 and sold to the municipality in 1910. Stock Having served as library and museum for a while, it was eventually Exchange demolished, leaving only the arched facade. Facade The other stock exchange, in a wood-andiron building next to a bar called The Dives, was destroyed by a fire that razed much of Barberton at the turn of the century. Proclaimed as a national monument.

- Commemorates the local men who marched away and lost their lives in Garden of the two World Wars. Remem- brance - A stone memorial dedicated to all who perished in the Lowveld area during the early frontier days can also be seen here.

- The stone, cement and plaster regimental badges made by British soldiers Regimental doing training at a military camp near the town during the Second World Badges War, have been preserved by the local M.O.T.H. organisation.

- Erected for women and children during the Anglo-Boer War. Concentra- Later converted into the Barberton Golf Club. Tion - Camp - A commemorative pillar in the Barberton Cemetery honours the many people who died there.

The town served as the terminus of a 20-km aerial cableway that ferried the output of the Havelock asbestos mine in Swaziland to the railhead o On the return journey it carried supplies to the mine. Aerial Completed in 1939 the cableway crossed otherwise cableway o inaccessible mountain terrain. o Speed: 9.5 km/h o 52 pylons (towerlike structure i.e. for powerlines) carried

the cable. - Owing to the declining demand for asbestos the Havelock mine was closed down in the early 1990s

BARBERTON Historical sites and monuments Wild Frontier Continue… Region

- Located on route R38 about 10km from the town towards Kaapmuiden. Jocks Tree It is the tree under which Jock was buried and the inscription made by his - master is still legible.

Mural The Impala Hotel is located in Barberton and the Noordkaap Hotel is Friezes in located on route R38 towards Kaapmuiden. the Impala The murals were painted by German-born Frederick Genal, who deserted Hotel from the French Foreign Legion by jumping ship in the Suez Canal and and walking from Egypt to South Africa. Along the way he earned a living by Noord- painting murals for a fee of ten shillings a yard. kaap Hotel

Attractions and activities

Cynthia Conserves the lovely indigenous cycads and other rare plants of the area Letty - It also pays homage to one of South Africa’s most prolific botany artists. Nature Reserve

- The Barberton-Bulembu-Badplaas Road (R40) is acknowledged as one of the most scenic routes in Southern Africa. - It follows the road across the Barberton Mountain area with its spectacular flowers and scrubs, as well as the Saddleback Mountains with its lovely views of the De Kaap Valley far below and through the Bulembu Pass. Scenic - The Msauli Valley area is exceptionally beautiful with lovely waterfalls Drive and the Lomati and Komati Rivers meandering through the valley. - The road also passes granite outcrops with boulders,through the Badplaas district to meet up with Road (R38) from Badplaas to Barberton.

Just south of Barberton the R40 from Nelspruit begins its steep and serpentine climb, through mountains with names such as Maid of the Mist, to the defunct Havelock asbestos mine and Piggs Peak in Swaziland. North of

the town, at the crossroad with the R38, one can see a number of regimental badges fashioned from stone and concrete. These mark a garden of remembrance near the site of a Second World War military training camp.

BARBERTON Attractions and activities Wild Frontier Continue… Region

- Located about 61km south from Barberton at the Josefsdal /Bulembu Swaziland Border. - Established as a conservation project by the Tourism and Biodiversity Corridor (TBC) for Swaziland, Mpumalanga in South Africa and Mozambique. - This reserve is linked to Swaziland’s Malolotja Nature Reserve to form a Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (TFCA). Songimvelo - It is of high importance to both South Africa and Swaziland as it contains Nature several water catchments such as the Nkomati and Mlumati streams and Reserve rivers. (49 000ha) - Vegetation is mainly bushveld, middle floor and some grassy plains. - Home to herds of buffalo, zebra, blue and red wildebeest, waterbuck and blesbok, white rhino and a herd of elephants. - The geological history is its main feature and the rugged mountains along the nearby Swaziland border having rocks dating back some 3.5 million years old. - Gold is also widely distributed throughout the reserve but only in small isolated pockets.

Tinie Louw - Approximately 350 species of birds and 80 species of animals have been Nature identified in the Barberton area. Reserve

- 4x4 Routes: Several 4x4 routes. - Golf: Nine-hole Barberton Golf Course. - Hiking: Three trials - Gold Nugget Trail (3 days): Passes several disused mines with romantic Various names such as Maid of the Mountain, Ivy and Rosetta. Outdoor activities - The Tunnel Hiking Trail (2 km): You will need stout boots and a reliable torch. - Fortuna Mine Hiking Trail (2km): Affords views of some of the oldest sedimentary rock formations in Africa. - Horse-riding: Contact one of the local operators to explore the Barberton

countryside with its rich diversity of trees, plants and birds on horseback. - Micro-lighting: A Microlight Academy in town leases microlight crafts to visiting pilots. The academy also offers a course for learner pilots. - Mountain-biking: Excellent mountain biking routes in the vicinity of the town. - Paragliding: Superb paragliding sites. - Trout-fishing: Many well-stocked dams in and around Barberton

Resources and further reading

Erasmus, BPJ. On route in South Africa. Jonathan Ball Publishers. 2004.

Van Dyk, P. Explore Mpumalanga. Izimpilo C & S Publishers. 2003.

Visit and Explore South Africa CD version 2.3

Visits and photos

Exploration-research Field Trips. Makiti Guides & Tours (Pty) Ltd. 2006/2007