Description
My memories of Haenertsburg stretch back many decades. Harry Klein walked this route with a pack donkey, proceeding further along the escarpment, down through the valleys of the Letaba and Letsitele Rivers, and up, up to the Downs. He was the author of Land of the Silver Mists. I would listen, fascinated, as he recounted his experiences along the trails of the Wolkberg.
Haenertsburg is a village with attitude. How could it not be, with the bizarre events and eccentric characters that have shaped its history! It was named after a German adventurer, it attracted the attention and investments of a wealthy Randlord, it was the capital of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek for a day, it was the scene of the last engagement of the surviving Long Tom cannon in the Anglo-Boer War, it captivated the imagination of writers like John Buchan and Rider Haggard and it has been the home of so many interesting characters ranging from the granddaughter of the first missionary to come to Lowveld to a Scottish laird with a seat in the House of Lords.