Place in the Mountains

January 15, 2012
Lifestyle, Limpopo, Louis Trichardt, Motoring, Publications, Sightseeing, Soutpansberg, Tourism, Tourist Attractions

Text and Photography: Leilani Basson. Article from the January 2012 issue of Leisure Wheels Magazine.

It’s pretty – wherever you look, you are surrounded by pristine beauty. Green mountains, green plantations, green forests, green, green, green.

Despite Louis Trichardt’s lack of water because of the overpopulation of bluegum trees, the region is beautiful. Longtime residents tell horror stories of droughts that nearly crippled the town. On some farms, reservoir dams were built close to the mountains – evidence that once there were bountiful streams. Today, there are no small rivers, streams or waterfalls. Years ago, the sweltering heat might have been more bearable when there was an abundance of water.

The residents of the town itself as well as the bergbewoners have an uncanny way of surviving and adapting to the many changes that Louis Trichardt has endured – be it politics, culturally, climatic or economic. They stand strong, and share a love of their habitat seldom found elsewhere.

“There is a tendency for deranged people to meet in mountains. You are most welcome.” Dave van Graan of Camp Africa is a character all right. This is just one of his general greetings to newcomers, or anyone who cares to make their way up the mountain and unwind in the homely pub that is – in local terms – far from the hustle and bustle of the town down below.

A visit to Camp Africa will reward you with a laugh a minute. Dave is the legendary tour guide of Masazane Adventures – the only tour company in the country that undertakes seven-month-long overlanding trips across Africa and other continents. He has completed the trip eight times.

If you need to get away from city life, with all its pretensions and potholes, pay a visit to Louis Trichardt (also known as Makhado) in the Limpopo Province. It is a place where people are still people, life is life and everyone agrees – if you’ve lived here once, you’ll always come back

With his sense of humour, love of people, easy-going nature and gentle demeanour, it is easy to see why people feel comfortable about tackling a trip of this magnitude with him. There is just something about Dave…

And there’s definitely something about his wife, Jacqui, too. They are people magnets. On a Friday and Saturday night, the locals flock to Camp Africa. Some people come for a free psychology session, some for advice or to chuckle at Dave’s witty remarks and dry jokes. Others come for a weekend’s camping, to enjoy the scenery during the day and the pub in the evenings.

Of course, there is also the attraction of Lani Senekal, Masazane’s feisty blonde tour guide and Camp Africa manager. Lani is the life of any party, and a true champion of Louis Trichardt.

“I was born here and will never leave. We all know each other’s stories, heartache, losses, triumphs and successes, and this is the way we like it.”

Tannie Tokkie Engelbrecht is an example of just how resilient and adaptable Louis Trichardt residents can be. After losing her husband unexpectedly in the 1990s, and being left with absolutely nothing, she started a baking business to get her three children through school. It was a success from the start. Today she owns a large house with a special section that is used as a home industry and shop. She employs several people and also runs an after school service for parents who work and need a homely environment where their children can study and do their homework.

“Ek het al my hande stomp afgewerk vir hierdie dorp,” says Tannie Tokkie. “Hier baklei ons vir ons bestaan.”

Despite tough times and the many hardships the town has endured, inspiration seems plentiful. Claudi’ Simon is a celebrated artist and dubbed “the Nguni woman”. She is famous for her huge acrylic paintings of Nguni cattle.

“To me, Ngunis are the image of raw Africa – even more so than the big five,” says Claudi – a beautiful, blonde, stylish woman who walks barefoot in her Top Billing home.

Claudi has also been recognised for her portraits of teenage mothers. “I have always identified with the fate of rural African girls,” she says. “South Africa has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates per capita in the world.

Most of the girls are bewildered single-mothers-to-be without material means, or the backing of a good education to help them weather the storm.”

The emotion Claudi captures in these paintings is daunting, almost upsetting. But she revels in emotion and believes that an artist should paint every day.

On her desk are scribbled sketches – notes about what she was feeling or thinking at the time. It is evident that Claudi lives her art. She’s not the type that becomes an artist only when she gets behind the easel.

Apart from the creativity Louis Trichardt instils in its people, it is macadamia country. It seems that the earth here effortlessly produces “luxury” foods that city folk will pay an arm and a leg for.

Royal Macadamia produces 1800 tons of nuts a year. From this it produces 350 tons of oil that eventually deliver 130 000 litres of high-quality macadamia oil.

Marius Martin, production manager at Royal Mac (as residents call it) knows all there is to know about nuts. He’s a lifelong Louis Trichardt resident and has been with the company for 14 years.

“The nut industry is relatively new in SA,” says Marius. “We export a lot of our products, but believe in investing in our community. We employ about 200 people and take on more workers during the harvest season, which lasts from three to six months.”

Travellers on the Levubu road should take the time to stop and shop at Royal Mac’s roadside caravan. It sells all sorts of flavoured macadamias, oils and other nutty products at a fraction of the’cost one would pay in chain stores.

Wherever you go in the district, the scenery is incredible. On the N1 towards Musina, a lovely nursery catches the eye – Kraizy Daizy Nursery. Their slogan reads: “For the biggest variety and the friendliest service.” This is borne out when you enter this manmade paradise, with the Soutpansberg mountains in the background.

Mother and daughter team Linie Rottcher and Louise van den Berg have put their hearts and souls into the business.

“We grow anything we can in our own gardens, and bring the plants here,” says Louise. “A lot of plants used to be popular at some stage, but have somehow fallen out of fashion. Visitors are delighted to find them here.”

“We love anything that will grow,” laughs Linie. “There is no such thing as an ugly plant.” Linie has been gardening for 53 years. Her expertise was relied on by the municipality when the town’s gardens were planned many moons ago.

“We had the most beautiful gardens in town,” Linie remembers. “But then the water dried up and the gardens went to ruin.”

Nature has persevered, though, as have the people of Louis Trichardt.

“I have seen many people leave Louis Trichardt over the years, but they always come back.”

History

Like many other towns in SA, Louis Trichardt had its origins in a Voortrekker settlement. Two groups of trekkers reached the Soutpansberg range in 1836 – one under the leadership of Louis Tregardt (born near Oudtshoorn on 10 August 1783) and another under Hans van Rensburg, who decided to take his group to Sofala (near the current Beira) in Mozambique. The entire party was killed en route.

Tregardt and his party stayed near the mountain, and their settlement eventually became the town of Louis Trichardt (formerly known as Trichardtdorp). They planted crops and started exploring the area northwards in an attempt to locate Van Rensburg and his group.

After spending a year in the area, they decided to head for the fort at Delagoa Bay (Maputo). The journey took them seven months, and more than half the party perished, including Tregardt himself.

Other trekkers soon settled in the area, often clashing with the Venda people who lived there. The town of Trichardtsdorp was finally founded in February 1899.

The trekkers settled in the northern part of what would later become a town, while the Venda people lived in the southern part, about 800m away. When the trekkers decided to build a town they moved the Venda people out to make way for a business area. The people moved to different places, but most settled west of the town in an area that would later become known as Madombidzha.

Name change

The name change process in Louis Trichardt has been a long and rocky one. Early attempts to rename the town Makhado were denied by the South African Geographical Names Council because there was already a township called Makhado in the area. Authorities that wanted the change were not put off, and opted to simply ask the people of the township to change their name to something else. The name Dzanani was chosen, but when they tried to register the new township name, the SAGNC informed them that there was another village named Dzanani in the province, dating back to 1965.

Again not dissuaded, the people of Dzanani were asked to change the name of their village, so that Makhado could change its name to Dzanani, and Louis Trichardt could become Makhado! Eventually Dzanani changed its name to Mphephu, and in 2003 the name of the town was changed from Louis Trichardt to Makhado.

The name “Makhado” refers to the western Venda king, Makhado wa Ramavhoya, who ruled over the area from 1864 until his death in September 1895. His fortress was in the mountains, about 2km north of the present town.

Makhado played a role in resisting settlement in the area by the Boers, who labelled him the “Lion of the North.”

Not much is known about the history of the area before the arrival of the Voortrekkers, mainly because of limited record keeping from the period, but archaeological and oral evidence suggest that the early inhabitants arrived in the Soutpansberg area from the north by the early 18th century.

The creation of Louis Trichardt in the immediate aftermath of a Boer military victory dislodging Makhado’s son, Mphephu (in late 1898), is the main source of disagreement over the name. Leaving it as Louis Trichardt is regarded as an affront to the Venda people, who feel it celebrates aggression towards a whole culture, while changing it to Makhado provokes opposition for the same reason.