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Mpumalanga - Ermelo |
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South-central Mpumalanga. This solid, unpretentious highveld town, with its fine civic centre and pleasantly tree-lined thoroughfares, was founded in 1879 and named after the village of Ermelo in Guelderland, Holland. All but one of its houses were destroyed during the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902, after which the place was rebuilt and the Phoenix, the mythical bird that is reborn from the ashes of devastation, was given pride of place in its coat of arms. Today it is the prosperous centre of a region that yields coal (it boasts South Africa's largest deposits of anthracite), wool, timber from the spacious plantations to the east, dairy products, and fine crops of maize, groundnuts and sunflower seeds. Ancient Sites Many of the caves and rock shelters of the wider area are decorated with the art of the long-gone Bushman (San) people. Of a different culture were the inhabitants of La Goya, a ruined village dating back to around the early 15th century. Lake Chrissie (Chrissiesmeer) A small village 37 kilometres to the north-east (take the R39) that once served as an important stop-over on the trading route to the east but thereafter lay neglected by the developers, so it's retained its charm. More to the point, it lies in an attractive region of lakes, about 40 of them, which grow in size during the rainy season. The bigger ones once hosted communities of Bushman-related folk, the Tlou-tle people, who adapted their lifestyle to the waters, making their homes on rafts. Lake Chrissie itself, 24 kilometres in circumference at the peak period, is the largest. On offer: boating, sailing, bird-watching (82 waterbird and 170 other species), walking and hiking trails, lakeside excursions on horseback and, in town, The Toy Maker (focused on military history; miniature castles, dolls' houses). Piet Retief lies to the south-east; Middelburg on the N1 and Witbank on the N4 highway to the north-west; Bethal, the East Rand towns and Johannesburg to the west. |
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ERMELO Western Cape
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