We arrived in Tzaneen more or less at sunset driving through the fertile green Letaba valley. Our immediate need was to find accommodation for the night. The first guesthouse could not accommodate us but the owner directed us to another just around the corner. After settling in at the La Borie Guesthouse we had dinner at a restaurant recommended by our hostess.
This was my first visit to Tzaneen and it brought back fond memories of me as a moon-struck teenager experiencing the pangs of my very first calf-love with a boy who attended the well-known Hans Merensky School in Tzaneen many moons ago.
La Borie Guesthouse The area surrounding Tzaneen is one of the "fruit baskets "of South Africa. The climate is subtropical and the hills are covered with citrus and other orchards offering an abundance of avocados, macadamia nuts, pecans, bananas, oranges, litchis, mangoes and pawpaws (papayas) of which most are on sale right on the side of the road. To Peter's delight it was mango season at the time of our visit.
At breakfast the next morning we enquired about things to do and see in Tzaneen and our hostess suggested we visit the Big Baobab tree near Duivelskloof. I have been fascinated by Baobab trees for many years and was therefore keen to see the huge tree. After a short, pleasant drive through Modjadji?(the Rain Queen) country, we reached a dirt road that was definitely just intended for four-wheel drive vehicles.
Peter at the Baobab tree It was impossible to miss this tree! I could not believe how big it really was! However, I was slightly perturbed about paying R20 per person just to see the inside of the tree without the fee even including at least a beer for Peter but it was quite an experience to wriggle through the narrow entrance and find myself INSIDE a tree!! This experience prompted me to learn more about baobab trees and I found very interesting information as well as somewhat weird tales about them on the Internet. Allow me to share some of it with you... The Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) The Baobab tree is not indigenous to South Africa, but is considered by many to be the quintessential African tree. These gigantic trees are found all over Africa as well as in Madagascar. With its bulbous trunk, its gnarled bark and root-like branches it can be considered as an icon of the Limpopo Province. It is one of the trees in Africa with the longest lifespan and the huge tree that we saw near Duivelskloof is estimated to be 4000 years old. Baobab trees swarm with life and all parts of the tree are used. It provides sustenance for many animals - elephants strip the bark for food and moisture, baboons and monkeys feast on the fruit, birds and bees nest in the holes in the trunk and fruit bats and bush babies pollinate the flowers that only last for 24 hours before they fall to the ground where antelope feed on them. The sweet-smelling white or pink flowers have five petals and look like white stars. They only produce leaves for a short time during the rainy season. 
Baobab at sunset The acidic fruits are like candy to many African children. The fruit of the baobab has a woody gourd-like shell encasing the soft powdery pulp (sometimes called monkey-bread) that makes a refreshing tart drink - hence the Afrikaans name of the tree - "Kremetartboom" (Creme of tartar tree). Since early times the spongy wood and fibrous bark were used to make matting and baskets and although the wood is not suitable for making furniture it can be used for making ceiling boards and paper. The seeds can also be ground and roasted to make a coffee-like beverage and can even be made into a paste resembling peanut butter and are rich in vitamins and oil. The furry shells of the fruit are also used to make small bowls and other containers. Baobabs are also believed to have medicinal properties. Some people mix the pulp with water to treat malaria and it is believed to be a cure for arthritis as well as many other afflictions. Some Africans believe that when a young boy is washed in water used to soak baobab bark he will grow up to be a big, strong man. Some native beliefs have proven to have a scientific basis. Women that eat food made of the baobab pulp have high intakes of vitamins that compensate for deficiencies in their diet and doctors have confirmed that this indeed brings about higher fertility.
Although baobabs contain between 70 and 90% water they are not resistant to long periods of drought. Young Baobabs perish in veldt fires. When a baobab dies, it collapses into a fibrous mass as though struck by lightning, until a high wind blows away the remnants of a solitary giant that had been a landmark for centuries.
Peter in the baobar However, what fascinated me more than the many uses of this tree were the many legends and stories that are told about it. The following legend was one that I liked best:
"The baobab was among the first trees to appear on the land. Next came the slender, graceful palm tree. When the baobab saw the palm tree, it cried out that it wanted to be taller. Then the beautiful flame tree appeared with its red flowers and the baobab was envious for flower blossoms.
When the baobab saw the magnificent fig tree, it prayed for Fruit as well. The gods became angry with the tree and pulled it up by its roots, then replanted it upside down to keep it quiet."
For many indigenous tribes it is the embodiment of wisdom, reverence, teaching, respect, leadership, longevity, health and life. The name Baobab means "The time when man began" and it is therefore no wonder that the San people associate it with the origins of creation, others believe it presides over the animals who go to it to settle disputes. Some use it to cure ills, ward off evil spirits and to gain protection from crocodiles.
Magoebaskloof After spending time at the baobab tree we turned back to Tzaneen. On our way back we noticed an Anglo Boer War memorial and stopped to have a look at it. It was the site where the infamous Lt. "Breaker" Morant had a battle with the Boers. To my utter shame I had to confess that I knew nothing about Lt. Morant but as usual Peter was one ahead of me and told me about this man who was accused of a series of vicious events that lead to his execution for the murder of 12 Boer prisoners of war. This particular monument related to that incident. On our way to Pietersburg we decided to take the road through Magoebaskloof in spite of warnings that the road was not good at all. The beautiful scenery along the Magoebaskloof road made up for the poor condition of the road and we stopped half way up the mountain pass to appreciate the scene and to allow Peter to enjoy a juicy mango - displaying his skill to peel a mango with his fingers as taught by the Filipinos.
The scenery changes drastically from rain forest to bushveld along the way from Tzaneen to Pietersburg. The "Bush "as we like to call it, claims the title of "wild country". The white people are predominantly Afrikaans speaking. This area is renowned for its abundance of wild animals and is therefore popular hunting country with many game farms. In the Limpopo Province lions reign supreme, elephants stroll unconcernedly and rhinos snort and stomp across the veld.
Peter eating his mango Moria The headquarters of the Zionist Christian Church, usually called the ZCC deserves to be mentioned briefly. With well over 3 million members The ZCC is the largest Christian Church in South Africa and about twice the size of any other church. It was founded in 1924 by Ignatius Lekganyane who had been influenced by the work of John Alexander Dowie.
Over the Easter weekend up to more than three million Christians undertake a pilgrimage to Zion City. The ZCC combines elements of traditional African beliefs with Christian values. The emblem of the Church can be seen from far as it stands out against a hill. In spite of its enormous congregation this church does not have an impressive cathedral or church building. Sadly this Christian pilgrimage also contributes largely to the horrendous road accident toll over the Easter weekend when thousands of buses, taxis and other vehicles carry the worshippers to Zion City.
The great North The Limpopo Tourism Board describes the Northernmost Province of South Africa as follows: The Northern Province offers a mosaic of exceptional scenic landscape, a fascinating cultural heritage, an abundance of wildlife species and many nature-based tourism opportunities.
It is a land of legends and myths and of ancient civilizations. Those in search of history will find many places of archaeological significance that yielded relics dating back millions of years.
But probably our greatest asset is our people. They are warm and friendly and ready to share the abundance of their province.
[Reference: http://www.tourismboard.org.za/info.asp ]
Click here to go to the web page of the SA Tourism Board Well, we could not disagree with any of the above statements... Let me tell you more about them?? specifically about the wonderful people who were our friends and hosts on a farm near Dendron. 
Roses for export "Die Bosveldplaas"
(The Bushveld Farm) We did not spend much time in Pietersburg since we were on our way to visit my friend Lenie Serfontein and her brother Arend De Wet. I knew that Arend is one of the biggest potato farmers in the country and was keen to show Peter what a real bushveld farm looked like. However since I had never visited this farm in spite of many invitations to come and visit them, I was in for a real good surprise!
We arrived at Lenie's home just in time to share the Sunday lunch braaivleis. Then she took us on a fascinating tour to her other brother's neighbouring farm, (first stopping at a tobacco field). Well "Marlo?oses "was a complete surprise for me! I stood in wonder at the millions of long-stemmed roses in the huge tunnels! It was hard to believe that a truckload of roses is exported EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR from this farm to none other than the Netherlands!! This can only be Boere ingenuity! Exporting flowers from the mostly arid bushveld to Holland renown to be THE country where flowers are a major commodity! Well one cannot describe it! You have to see these roses to believe it! 
The rose tunnel It was hard to decide not to spend the night with Lenie and rather drive on for a further 80 or so kilometres to stay over at Arend's Boskamp for the night. On our way there I noticed that Peter was studying the road map very intently before he mentioned to me that we would possibly cross the imaginary line for the Tropic of Capricorn on our way. When I later on asked Peter what fascinated him most about our visit to Arend he replied:
"Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn! When I was in Geography class in grade school that name caught my attention, not because of where it was located - that was just too far away to be real, but because of the "corn" in the name. Every fall I had to help with cutting the corn and putting it into the silo as silage on the farm so when the teacher mentioned a word with "corn" in it I would began to daydream about better places to be.
When we were driving north that day I was tending the map and that was one of the things I noticed on the map, the Tropic of Capricorn. So when we kept on going north it appeared to me that we might actually cross it if the people we were going to visit lived far enough north. While you were driving I kept hoping you wouldn't find the turn and we could keep driving north until we crossed the line but I wasn't sure there would be a roadside marker on that rural road so I was sitting there with the map doing all sorts of interpolations in my head trying to be absolutely certain I had crossed the Tropic of Capricorn". 
Tropic of Capricorn After he told me about this possibility I started looking out for a road sign and lo and behold there it was! A signpost stating: "Steenbokskeerkring"!! Needless to say Peter was a bit baffled by this Afrikaans name. So we stopped and he requested a photo of himself holding up our little communication board with "Tropic of Capricorn" written on it to explain what the Afrikaans name meant...I immediately chucked when I saw the misspelled English sign on a signpost at the opposite side of the road. It just said Tropic of Capricon - no "corn" in the name LOL!! The Boere in the Northern Province are NOT good at speaking or rather, spelling strange English names...and I have a photo to prove that as well! 
My lovely "Meerkatjies" 
Arend and Karina's home
It was late afternoon when we arrived on Arend's beautiful farm. Arend's wife Karina immediately treated us on a fresh cup of Rooibos in her spacious kitchen and Peter was so fascinated with the interesting home built with clinker bricks that he requested to walk around to admire the interior. He was surprised to hear that this beautiful abode was the brainchild of none other than Arend and his artistic wife. Karina also showed us beautiful craftwork that she was creating for an annual charity Christmas Market in Pretoria and some woodcarvings done by one of her workers. I immediately asked if I could buy ALL the delightful carvings of "Meerkat" ("Suricats"). These were the first art pieces created by Sam (the sculptor) for commercial purposes.
Well I like baobab trees and birds but these little Meerkats really touched my heart! Meerkats are small, very curious animals that live in burrows in the veld and come out to stand on their hind legs to observe their immediate environment and watch out for predators. I had a tame Meerkat as a pet on the farm when I was a small child - an incredibly clever and funny little animal. 
The boskamp bar
Sam with an example of his art The Boskamp was delightful and the source of more interesting creations of Arend, Carina and Sam. The camp consists of three wooden huts (each of which can sleep about eight people) under shady indigenous thorn and other trees with a lapa and pool and even a crocodile pond and a water hole. The crocs were safely fenced in (So I did not have to watch Peter testing the water temperature again) while Eland and other antelope were lazily grazing on butternuts put out for them!
Well the lapa was also something to behold. The interior decoration had a "bush theme" with the main feature a bar built from rough railway sleepers with a real railway rail for a bar rail!! Peter insisted that Arend patent this invention and promptly sat with his foot on the rail to have a photo taken! All along the walls and elsewhere were stuffed animals including many antelope - eland, kudu, giraffe, a wild cat, and others. Some of Carina's ceramic tiles were also on display as wall decorations and in the bathrooms. Another interesting feature was a circular indoor steel barbeque that could easily seat eight people each "braaing" his/her own meat on hot coals placed in the middle of the barbeque. I could just imagine what a super party such a barbeque would be. 
Picking corn-on-the-cob for supper We were attended to by another man, Robert, who made the fire for a barbeque, cooked us some corn on the cob and acted as bar tender and what not to ensure that we had the best bushveld treat and show of South African hospitality that one could wish for. Arend took us on a sunset drive through the game camp to a maize field where he picked the fresh maize (corn on the cob) that was cooked for us later that evening. What delightful company we had that evening chatting with Arend, Lenie and Pierre, the young guy who looks after the forty or so horses that they keep to arrange horse-riding trips to the Blue Mountains. 
Maid carrying tobacco After our hosts went back home Peter and I walked out under the star-studded heaven. The stars were so bright it seemed as if one could touch them by merely stretching out your hand. It was a perfect night for identifying the constellations. Orion was easy to identify and so was the southern cross but much more than that I did not have any knowledge of and I just stood in wonder as shooting stars criss-crossed the heavens...a perfect end to yet another wonderful day...
Some more interesting things were in store for the next day. When using the bathroom I noticed two frogs on the towel rail but did not pay much attention to it since I thought they were part of Carina's interior decoration. The next morning I was quite surprised to hear Peter ask Robert about the frogs. They were live rain frogs that made themselves at home in the shower! 
The Boskamp Lapa After Robert served breakfast Karina came to take us around on the farm. Arend was already busy in his office and with his early morning rounds with the workers. After saying goodbye to Arend Karina showed us the extensive irrigation system and explained that they were preparing for the next potato season. They employ about 250 workers on the farm. Some workers were packing butternuts that were ready to be marketed and Karina was "complaining" that the butternuts were too large to fit into the bags!
We also made a tour of the tobacco barns. This was a new experience for me also since I am not at al familiar with tobacco farming. I took lots of photos and the African women working with the tobacco all wanted to pose for photos.
Karina took us through the game camp for a last look at the antelope and to look for the five giraffes. Well we were not disappointed! The giraffes appeared right beside the dirt road just before we reached the exit to the farm. We reluctantly said goodbye to Karina and I had to promise to come back soon for another visit.
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