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The sustainability of Limpopo’s towns
If one thing stands out about Limpopo for me, it is that it’s an inside-out province. The towns, in general, offer no attraction whatsoever while the country areas are stunning! The towns, generally, are a mess! One Polokwane product owner on CapeInfo wrote to say that Limpopo Tourism is embarking on a roadshow to find…
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The town that lost its soul
This is a story about a mining town where very few people feel good about themselves and the lives they lead. It’s worst among the whites who feel trapped without upward mobility and with limited opportunity — a characteristic of most mining towns. It is a very patriarchal, church-going community. Speak to anyone and they…
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The Diet of Worms
Right… so from this photo you must realise that these Worms have nothing to do with the Diet of Worms (the reichstag in the town of Worms, Germany) which issued the Edict of Worms in 1521, declaring Martin Luther to be a heretic and banning the reading or possession of his writings. Gonimbrasia belina is…
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Unravelling the mystery of Mokopane — Andy’s story
I’ve never struggled to understand a town quite as much as I’ve struggled to understand Mokopane, a town which somehow seems to have lost its soul — until I met Andy Goetsch, a born-and-bred resident and president of the local chamber of commerce. When he told his family’s story, everything came together. “You must understand…
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What a great not-so-little museum!
Mokopane has the most amazing museum, but it’s set way back from the main road and hidden behind the chamber of commerce and tourism office. The Arend Dieperink Museum is a bequest by Arend Dieperink (1909-1986), a government employee, who began his collection at the age of 12 and handed it over to the Potgietersrus…
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SAPS to the rescue!
After the chaos on the N1/R101 (see previous post), I wasn’t prepared to take a chance by returning on the same route. (And just as well — I heard of others who took four hours for the 50km journey.) I couldn’t find a phone number for a Limpopo Traffic Management Centre and Radio Jacaranda wasn’t…
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Chaos & anarchy in Limpopo
Driving to Polokwane on Sunday morning, I saw something that is commonplace on Limpopo’s roads, in fact it’s the norm. I was overtaken on a blind rise with a double barrier line by a gunmetal VW Golf, registration number 333 BEE L. Cynical irritation! Does BEE mean you own the roads? Does 333 mean you…
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Ancient civilisations, myths & legends
The N1 starts in Cape Town and ends at Musina near the SA border crossing to Zimbabwe at Beit Bridge — 1,919km later. Is that the longest road in South Africa? If it is, Akela, Kenya and I have driven it together! Whatever the distance, this feels like another country — harsh, rarely friendly and…
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Muse of Magoebaskloof
It takes a rather unusual person who — to support the launch of a friend’s new book — will undertake an epic 31-day walk from Inhambe in Mozambique to Schoemansdal near Louis Trichardt in the foothills of the Soutpansberg mountains. And that’s what Louis Changuion did in 2002. He retraced the 900km journey of 19th…