Down the winding road – Berg en Rivier

“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Our Adventure Begins!

We took that step, and our feet are now itching for the next adventure.

The weekend past the road led us to Berg And River, a little knowns spot hidden at the foot of the Gouws Mountains and next to the tranquil and unpolluted waters of the Wilge River.

The road there leads you from the hustle and bustle of Pretoria past the declining Industria of Bronkhorstspruit, sharp left towards Groblersdal and look out for the gravel road that sneaks away towards the right and the looming Gouws mountains on the horizon. A word to the wise, the gravel road has forgotten the feel of a scraper and will loosen your dentures and rattle you like you are in the grip of a malaria fit, a bit of caution is advisable!

Berg en Rivier awaits your arrival right on the border (literally) of Gauteng and Mpumalanga, with the lodge and reception on the right of the road and the campsites next to the river towards the left, a brief stop and a friendly greeting at reception later will see you off to your peace of bliss for the duration of your stay.
We (contrary to conventional wisdom) chose to camp… in the winter…. In a tent….! Arriving in the pitch black of night at our camping spot, and now having to set up camp in the dark, we certainly were teasing the gods of disaster, especially not having the vaguest idea of how the camper trailer is supposed to unfold into accommodations! Our R 50 cheapy headlamps purchased from Builders as a last minute afterthought, however served us well and after a bit of “meet en pas” we managed to get the rooftop tent up and all the bits and pieces together. Taking a step back and…. Oops…. The trailer was parked at a slope, and with the icy waters of the river at the downward end we wisely decided to move our tent and trailer to a more level spot a short distance away. A couple of colourful adjectives and a bit of effort later, all was well and level. Rookie mistake and lesson learned! A short while later saw us huddling in our camping chairs absorbing the cheer and warmth of our campfire, marvelling at the small sounds of nature in the background while the universe slowly revolved in a million million twinkles of light above… heaven!

After a nippy but not unbearably cold night, we welcomed the morning by restarting our campfire and drowned out the last of the cold with a couple of cups of Carlo’s world renowned coffee- the brew just tastes better when your buddy is making it! We spent the rest of the morning in anticipation of the arrival of our mates around camp, trying to lure the elusive massive bass and yellowfish from the Wilge to our lures, but to no avail, we were saved from our failings on the fishing front by the arrival of our mates, and after setting up a tent city that would make a nomad proud, we proceeded with a couple of running repairs to vehicles (not even the mighty Jeep was immune to the tribulations of the dirt road to camp) but we got sorted and soon were bracing ourselves for the awesome 4×4 track, trundling of into the bush and the unknown!

We were in for a surprise!

The track soon had us contemplating the abilities of our vehicles and our skills in joyous bewilderment! Wow! Sheer downhills and sharp climbs with twisties and turns at the bottom between the trees made for a sudden wake up call and tested both vehicles and driver’s abilities, making for a fun but safe course. The views on the route with the river as a constant companion on the right and beckoning mountains in the background was the perfect scene in which to pit the trusty D- max, Jeep and Amarok against the various obstacles included on the route. At a particular hair raising climb, our bud Dimitri (a very experienced off road afficionado) gave us a valuable pep talk and in his unique fashion described to us which parts of your anatomy other then common sense you will need to best this particular climb!
We were thoroughly entertained by the comments flying around on the walkie talkies between the respective crews of the Isuzu; Amarok and Jeep and was again reminded just how valuable the good company of friends and nature can be, it is truly soul cleansing.

Dusk caught us still navigating around hills and farmlands, with a large part of the route still untreaded, we had to return home as the younger members of the group were starting to feel empty tummies, the breakfast we had being only a distant memory!We will however return…. The forgotten route calling us back to reveal its adventures and to rekindle the memories made by adding new ones, down the winding road.

Eric Schoeman

Eric is a legal Labour Lawyer by profession. However, Eric is an avid fisherman who loves being in nature with his camera, hiking and camping. Everyone knows Eric entertains his friends with his knowledge of the bush and keeps life fun and entertaining.