The Kamberg Tapestry …

The Beginnings of Kamberg – shaping our Valley
1. Voortrekkers
2. Bushmen, British and Bantu
3. From the Coast
THE TAPESTRY OF THE KAMBERG
Buildings of Kamberg
1. Sheltered Vale
2. The Culvers – John Brown story
3. St Peters
4. Kamberg Valley Association
People of the Kamberg
1. Ratsey
2. Armstrong
3. Buys – v d westhuizen
4. Nkosi Mkhize
Farmers and Farms of the Kamberg
1. Whyteleaf Farm – The Elizabeth Klarer story
2. Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse – through the years
3. Glengarry Holiday Farm – through the years
4. Thendela community – Elliott Ndlovu
5. Moller farming – Riverside Farm
6. John Armstrong – Kamberg’s farmer
7. Franco Esposito
8. Simon and Claire March
9. Crops of the Kamberg – dairy, chickens, pigs, potatoes, veggies – crops
10. Gardens of the Kamberg – Prosperity, Sandstone, Danesfort, Engaleni Lodge, Glengarry

NOTES FROM THE WRITER
Nothing in life is constant … except change. This is the same for farming and certainly for our Kamberg Valley. Owners change, enterprises change, and people adapt with the times. Farmers, and their wives, must constantly stay in a dynamic state to take advantage of all and any opportunities that come their way. And to thrive, and not only survive, is a constant challenge for all of us.
I have tried to capture the Kamberg Valley as it is in 2016/2017/2018. Unfortunately, I can only document and research into what I know of the Valley, I do not claim to know everybody and everything, so some people and enterprises may be excluded, I am very sorry for that.
I have tried to stick to facts as far as possible, but many details are taken from fire-side stories and pub-talk. The Kamberg Club, with the Wheel and Plough at its center, is one of the many places in the valley that gave me inspiration and so a handful of salt is required for many a story.
The Happy Farmer and I have been active in the KVA so I have tended to be biased along those lines and to the people that we have met, and got to know from the Club.
 
THE KAMBERG TAPESTRY ….
The Beginnings of the Kamberg – shaping our Valley
1. Voortrekkers
As we know the great trek was an exodus of various parties and various groups from the colonial rule of the Cape Colony towards the hinterland of the country. Piet Retief and Gert Maritz were two of the prominent leaders who lead their groups into Natal. It was in October 1837 that Retief stood on the top of the Drakensberg, looking down on the rolling green hills of Natal. Along the way many families broke off, settled, and began their “new life”. Either due to differences or the beauty and potential they could see in their surrounds. One of the groups was led into the Kamberg Valley by the Mandy family who eventually settled in the Orange Free State in the now Verkykerskop region.
The Buys family was one of these who decided to call the Kamberg their home and settled in the Valley. The original voortrekker wagon was housed in the shed well into 2017. Refurbished and sold or given away…. The stories abound.
The Van Der Westhiuzens were also a settler family in the valley. Generations later Corrie would marry Stoffie Buys and the farming legends would continue.
2. Bushmen, British and Bantu
The land that the voortrekkers settled on was not empty though. The Khoi and the San people lived in the Drakensberg, hunting, and migrating as the seasons changed. But they would not be the only human inhabitants for long, the green rolling hill of Natal and the beauty of the Kamberg attracted various people.
During the seventeenth century the Bantu people started moving into the foot hills of the Berg and the Bushmen were forced to relocate more into the mountains. But this influx of bantu people was enhanced when in 1848 the amaHlubi and the amaPutini tribes fled across the Buffalo River into the Klip River country following conflict in the northern sections of the province. Langalibalele (the King of the Hlubi people) appealed to Martin West, the lieutenant governor of Natal for protection. In December 1849, after negotiations, the amaHlubi, now reduced to 7000 in number, were granted 364 km2 of good land in the Kamberg Valley. One of the hopes were that the amaHlubi would provide a buffer between the bushmen and the settlers and so protect the settlers’ cattle from the bushmen. In 1873 a law was passed that required all firearms to be registered in Estcourt, disagreements ensued, and the result was Langalibalele and his people fled from Natal over the Drakensberg into Basutoland (Lesotho). Langalibalele was then captured, tried, and sent to Robben Island. There was great outcry about his trail and it was described as a “disgrace to British Justice”. Finally, in 1887 he was permitted to return to Natal but confined to the house arrest. He died in 1889 and is buried at Ntabamhlope. A mountain at the head of the kamberg valley.
As an interesting side note – an ancestor of Ed Erskine (a current resident of the valley – who grew up in the Cape Province) was involved in the chase of Langalibalele up the Drakensburg and lost his life at the top of the pass during an ambush. Another ancestor of Ed’s is the land surveyor after whom Mount Erskine (situated in Highmoor world heritage site at the top of the Kamberg Valley) is named.
British influence came mainly in the form of troops that were stationed all along the Drakensberg to try and assist the local farmers with the “Bushmen problem”. Local inhabitants were raiding their stock and fields and causing problems for the farmers.
3. From the Coast
People also came from the coast to explore the hinterland of the new country.
ROSETTA … the rose of the midlands … a hamlet with a big heart.
The existence of a market place is often the difference between a town and a hamlet, but what happens if there is a country market twice a month on Saturday mornings? A chance for Rosetta to show case local produce, hand-made products, and crafts and for general chatter and mingling. All ideally placed around the village dam under the big trees in a beautiful country setting.
Rosetta has an interesting and varied history. From a gateway to the fresh trout filled waters of the Kamberg Valley, a pit stops while travelling the R103, to the old mill constructed on the village dam which was home to the “oldest and most trusted” flour in KwaZulu Natal – Blue Ribbon.
Rosetta booked its place in KwaZulu Natal with the building of the Rosetta Hotel in 1896 while the construction of the Meshlyn bridge in 1895 across the Mooi River secured a route up into the Kamberg Valley and beyond. The Honourable TK Murray CMG Minister of Land and Works opened the bridge. Murray became a prominent figure is the defense of Natal against the Boer army. He was mentioned by Colonel Redvers Buller in his dispatches back from the front lines for his efforts in much of the Natal conflict
The farm Wellington is the original farm on which Rosetta was established, and the main house is a Sir Herbert Baker design. Sir Herbert Baker was a British architect under the patronage of Lord Milner. He designed many of the original farm houses in the midlands area of which Wellington was one. He is also credited for designing the Union Buildings in Pretoria and St. Johns ‘College in Johannesburg. His designs included a deep mosaic tiled veranda, intricate wrought iron pillars and wooden paneling with carved elaborate wooden fire places and stained-glass windows. The wide passages he designed, are wide enough to draw a horse and carriage through. He used dry local stone for the walls and iron for roofing.
Although trout are not a native species to Natal, by the early 1900’s the government of the day well stocked the rivers of Natal. They were considered the best fishing waters in the country. Trout fishing had become a significant tourist attraction for the midlands. The Rosetta hotel, as with many local hotels in the area, served as a base for travelers exploring the waters of the Kamberg Valley and beyond. In the early 1900’s The Rosetta Hotel was known for its excellent hospitality, the guests were pampered, and the beautiful scenery. It was also affordable so met the needs of the entire families and households when they ventured into the midlands on horse-drawn transport needing accommodation and supplies. The Rosetta Hotel advertised its electric lighting and hot and cold water and pitted itself as the “ideal holiday health resort” The Natal Midlands had it all for the fisherman. The perfect altitude, moderate climate, excellent accommodation, convenient situation to rail and river with beautiful typical trout streams. Clear water flowed over rocky bottoms, the banks were clear of shrubs and bushes and the river was on average 30 feet wide. In 1901 when the Natal Anglers Association was formed Mooi river and its surrounds was considered to have the best trout streams in the country and offered the best sport fishing in the colony. This tourist attraction remains to this day and is still plays an important part in the growth of the area.
It was in 1875 that the first attempt to ship Trout to South Africa occurred, which died during the voyage. Then in 1882 John Parker wrote to the British publication ‘The Field’, asking for advice on how to introduce trout to the area. In response, Sir James Maitland sent him a gift of 10 000 Brown trout ova, unfortunately none survived. Undaunted, Maitland sent another 10 000 ova the following year, but these also perished. However, the idea of breeding Trout motivated Cecil Yonge in 1889 to obtain a government grant for funding to introduce Trout into South African waters. Yonge selected Boschfontein in Balgowan as the site for the first trout hatchery in South Africa
In 1890, many of the 30 000 imported ova from Loch Lagan in Scotland hatched successfully, and in May of that year, the first 1500 fry were released into the Bushman’s River, followed by the Umgeni and Mooi catchment. This process continued each year until most of the province’s suitable rivers were stocked. By 1893 Trout were being successfully bred in captivity.
In 1897, Rainbow Trout were introduced from North America, a species that grow faster than their Brown cousins and two years later they were being successfully bred and introduced into rivers in the Western and Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and of course Natal.
Due to their ecological niche, only being able to breed in cold, clean, well-oxygenated rivers, viable Trout fishing areas were very rare. And by 1909 the Midlands of Natal was becoming known as a prolific Trout fishing destination and traveling by horse-drawn transport many a fly fisher first visited the Kamberg area
By 1926 Trout were well established and in these early years, a man kept what he caught, and the rivers of Natal became known as trophy Brown Trout waters with the Kamberg growing in popularity as prime Trout country. In 1947, the Natal Parks Board took over the administration of Trout fishing in this province, establishing hatcheries to supply fish. Notably the Kamberg Trout Hatchery was largely responsible for the initial stocking of all the dams that were being built for farming irrigation purposes with Trout.
By the 1960’s Trout were being commercially farmed and the pastime of catching a fish on fly was generally reserved for these naturalized species. The sport became quite popular in the seventies, resulting in the Natal Fly Fishers club being formed in 1972 to give recreational anglers access to productive Trout fishing waters.
In 1980 some provincial conservation organizations stopped supporting Trout, as they were not indigenous, and this gained momentum, until the closure of all Evemzelo’s – KZN Wildlife – hatchery’s and the listing of Trout on the exotic list.
Fortunately, commercial hatcheries, such as Giants Cup, Bushmens and Cathedral Peak continued to breed Trout for recreational purposes.
The Mooi and Little Mooi rivers continued to support a very healthy population of Brown Trout, that after generations of natural breeding, acclimatised to Southern Hemisphere conditions, becoming the apex predator in this catchment.
In 1986 The federation of South African Fly Fishers was formed – FOSAF – to unite fly fishers and engage authorities on water quality, conservation and promote the sport of fly fishing.
And over the next decades what was once a pursuit reserved for titled gentry became affordable and accessible to any passionate angler, resulting in the hosting of the Kamberg Trout Festival in1997, laying the foundation for the fly fishing festivities that this area is renowned for.
The Kamberg Trout festival was the brainchild of Mike Poplett, who along with the entire Kamberg community, opened their private Trout waters and homes to enthusiastic anglers for fundraising. The popularity of this wonderful event, has resulted in the distinction of it being the largest single fly fishing festival on the African continent. Hosted at the Farmer’s Association, it’s a festive gathering that is celebrates fly fishing, with all profits generated going back to the local community, assisting in many development programs. It has, over the last few decades highlighted the quality of fly fishing to be found in the surrounding dams and hospitality that the Kamberg Valley is renowned for.
At the turn of the century, the concept of catch and release only fly fishing was pioneered by WildFly, a club created to manage the local fisheries and conserve the quality of Trout waters in the Natal Midlands
In 2001 the Corporate Challenge was born as a mechanism to fund the necessary stocking required to manage these dams effectively. The atmosphere of the legendary Notties coupled with the calibre of fly fishing resulted in this growing from a single event, into one held over three qualifying legs and a grand final in the Winter season. Over the preceding years, WildFly’s fishing conservation initiatives have grown to include a television series that is now broadcast around the world highlighting the myriad of species that can be caught on fly.
The catchment waters of the Drakensberg remain an important sanctuary for Trout and at the heart of WildFly and the Kamberg’s commitment to protecting the Wild Fisheries of South Africa.
Contribution by GARETH GEORGE
Internationally renowned Aardmore pottery used Springvale Farm in Rosetta as it bases for a few years from 1996 but is now situated in the Caversham valley further down on the R103. Aardmore works of art are widely exhibited and grace many national and international galleries and collections.

One of the faces that have seen many changes in Rosetta is BB Sala from Sadecks Supermarket. Set up in a traditional trading store layout, the shelves are laden with brightly colored goods, the draws are bursting at the seams with all types of ribbons and hair accessories and her freezer and fridge and choc-a-bloc with homemade samosas, roti’s, and pastries. You can get anything here from aluminum bowls, glass ware, hair accessories, groceries, and your post from the postal agency. BB and Ahmed have been an integral thread in the weave of Rosetta for over 20 years. Hard work and an interest in their customers difficulties is what sets Sadecks (Ahmed’s second name) apart and makes it so important in the lives of many of the Rosetta locals. They interact and show genuine care about their customers and you are not only purchasing your items from them, but the general gossip and concern comes free of charge. Talking to BB about their lives and work is a very formal affair, she could make a taxi driver nervous! – she is not given into emotion and passion but the minute one of the regulars walk in it all changes. BB and Ahmed know their shoppers concerns and joys and share in both, throwing advice in the general chatter. This is while they are unearthing the special delivery they ordered.

 
Buildings of Kamberg
1.Sheltered Vale
In the early 1900’s E E Downing owned the farm Sheltered Vale. He was a renowned dairy cattle breeder in the county and was known for importing the best semen into the country and breeding top quality bulls. In 1910 Sir Herbert Baker, a knighthood architect, was involved in the design of the “new” homestead before his final return to England in 1912 on the farm and this building was completed in 1912.
2. The Culvers – John Brown story
Queen Victoria was labelled as the ultimate prude but the some argue that the truth was that she possessed a voracious sexual appetite bordering on nymphomania being very sexually aggressive. Following the premature death of her husband, Prince Albert in 1861 at the age of 42, Queen Victoria found solace in the arms of John Brown. John Brown was a game warden in her highland estate of Balmoral and by all accounts was an un-couth and arrogant man who was also a very heavy drinker. It is alleged that she married him in secret and that they had three children during their marriage. Following the death of John Brown, Queen Victoria was once more alone and found comfort in the presence of her Indian servant Hafiz Karim.
It is the grave of one of these children, also named John Brown, that is in the Kamberg valley. Situated on the farm The Culvers.
The headstone and brass plaque that was placed on the grave have been vandalized over time and their wording cannot be verified. During a deeds search following the purchasing of the land by a Kamberg farmer, a deed came up for the small area around the grave site. On the title deed were the words “protected by the British Empire”. The area is on its own sub-division and has always been sectioned off with fencing. In the later years the grave has been totally desecrated and disturbed. The rock covering the grave has been removed and all remains from the grave have been removed.
JB was openly homosexual and so never had any family to carry on his royal line. While he was alive he lived in a grand home with deep fire places and ornate door frames, made of local sandstone. The local story is that the male servant / valet of John Brown was present at the burial of JB. JB was buried in his full British royal family regalia wearing gold buttons and carrying his sword with a gold handle. This encouraged the desecration of the grave. Years later the same valet enquired for work from the land owner as a ditch digger and ditches were dug all around the burial site.
The local settlement, Lebanon, is in the valley and the land was given by the queen to the local people as a thank you for the kindness they showed John Brown during the time he spent in the Kamberg Valley. But nothing remains of the grave site today…. Just the quiet content cattle grazing on the hillside…
3. St Peters – Anglican Church
St Peter’s is beautifully situated in the Kamberg valley, under the dozy face of the Giant of the Drakensberg. Initially the little church fed the demand of the local faithful and created a place of worship for the valley’s farming community and friends. St Peters was built on farmland donated by Henry Lang who also very involved in its construction. The materials were carted all the way from the Rosetta railway by the local farmers by Arthur Ratsey. Built with stone and an iron roof, it is an attractive rustic church in the traditional English style and has hosted many weddings of locals and visitors over the years. Funding for the church building has always been through private donations and fund raising by the church community. The stone ablution block was added in 2015 with great help from Graham and Sue Armstrong.
In the early 1900’s the pastor instrumental in getting the church built was Herbert Henry Foster, Vicar of Mooi River. He was known as an energetic builder of churches in the district, building at least four of the smaller churches in the area. Herbert Foster was accused in some quarters of getting the parish into debt. After he left the parish he wrote a detailed letter to the Churchwardens at Mooi River justifying the building program and the resulting parish debt. It was a logical, well-reasoned explanation of the need for these churches and proof that the relatively small debts incurred were justified and would be easily re-paid. He emphasized the valuable assets the parish was obtaining.
St Peter’s was consecrated in 1907 by Bishop Baines with a strong congregation of 91 people attending the first of its monthly services. Over the years this has changed with the times and at present St Peter’s meet twice a month with a much smaller congregation. However, the Lord it has served has never changed!
The small graveyard and memorial garden tell many stories, like the tragedy for the Hamilton family who buried 6 children under the age of 3 in 7 years. No church records exit for the Hamilton Clan and so a large part of their lives and tragedy remain a mystery.
4.Kamberg Valley Association
The building in 1896 of the Meshlyn Bridge crossing the Mooi River just outside Rosetta opened the Kamberg for farming, fishing, fables, and the future. It has remained until today a hub of production, holding fine produce, quirky people, and a fabrication or two in the cradle below the sleeping giant.
The Kamberg Club is the very heart beat of the Kamberg Valley Association and is the place it all happens in the Kamberg. To be an active member of the club and its function is to really be a part of something bigger than yourself, it is a chance to give back to others and fun comes along as standard. It is the home of the very popular Kamberg Trout Festival and Kamberg Outdoor Challenge together with the monthly get-togethers and special occasion celebrations. It is also where the business of the KVA gets done. A very powerful word used in an article describing his overall impressions of the Kamberg by Stuart Pennington following his presence at our AGM in 2014 is “progressive”.
The club is built on land that was donated to the community by the adjoining land owner and still makes use of the surrounding lands during the events it hosts at the generous allowance of the current land owners. It started and continues as a major part of the Kamberg community. The Kamberg Club is known for its ability to adapt and is one of the very rare “farmers associations” that has survived the changing times. It has seen changes from the days of stock sales once a month, where this was the main social happening during the month, to the present day. In days gone by articles were written about the fashion of the day based on what the local ladies were wearing at these monthly get togethers. As with most farmers, work must end of with play and the end of the day would end with a” knees up”. The Fat Stock Show that was held at the club house was always very well attended and gained a reputation for the quality of the produce and animals shown. It was a very different time then when “going to town” was an event and not something taken for granted or loathed. Do not forget the Wheel and Plough which is the popular Kamberg pub. Many a yarn has been spun in here!
Over the years the club house has been upgraded by various members and they have left us with a lovely venue to keep our community together.
The KVA continues to run through the generous and self-less time given by the committee and active members. Support and help the KVA to grow from strength to strength … we will need clubs like this in the future!
THANK YOU TO PREVIOUS AND CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR ALL YOUR TIME AND HARD WORK …
WE SALUTE YOU

 
People of the Kamberg
1.Ratsey
The Ratsey family has been actively farming in the Kamberg Valley since 1872. The family orignally arrived in South Africa aboard the Minerva as Byrne settlers in the mid-1800’s. The Byrne settlers were emigrants who came out to South Africa following a scheme through JC Byrne and Co in which they could buy their passage and a 20 acrage of land in the Byrne valley near Richmond in Natal. Brothers Captain Edward and Captain Robert Ratsey embarked on this journey. It was the eldest son of Captain Edward, also called Edward who purchased Defense, Solitude and a portion of Middelfield farms.
Since then the Ratsey family have been very active in the community and a constant in the ever changing valley. In the last few years Pete and Veronica Ratseyhave retired and moved down to the Howick area and Garth and Kylie and Rory and Dene have kept the Ratsey name high.
2.Armstrong
Sue Armstrong (nee ….) grew up with family on Riverside (the current owned by the Moller family up at the top of the Kamberg). After her studies in textile design, she married Graeme Armstrong and so cemented her future and her past into the Kamberg Valley. Sue is a tour guide and specializes farm visit showing her extensive knowledge of the homesteads and beautiful gardens of the area. This coupled with her extensive knowledge of the equine legends, knowledge of horse and personal and intimate familiarity makes for a very interesting tour.
The Armstrong’s grew up on the farm Danesfort situated near the bottom of the Kamberg on the D450. John and Margo Armstrong bought the next door Whyteleaf Farm and then decided to relocate further up into the Kamberg Valley and moved onto Sourveldt. They have now retired overlooking the beautiful farm that they developed with the dams and avenues, rye grass circles and pristine grazing lands.
Graham and Sue lived and developed Danesfort like the generation before him following progressive and new ideas.
Moving onto Sandstone after their semi-retirement, Graham and Sue did what they do best and developed a home, garden and farming enterprise that is both beautiful and functional. This they did using mostly reclaimed materials, eg the sash windows came from an old cattle shed… True curators of the old successful ways but always keen to follow new ideas.
3.Buys – v d Westhuizen
The marriage of Corrie v d W to Stoffie Buys cemented two farming families of the Valley whom could directly trace their heritage back to the Great Trek and the beginnings of the Valley.
4.Nkosi Mkize
Nkosi Mkhize ( Spanelo Nka Mkhize) is the King of the Hlatikulu lands where the KVA supports four of the five primary feeder schools; he is a dynamic young leader who pushes boundaries with a passion for uplifting the community and the education. Nkosi was born in PMB and grew up in Ulundi while doing his high school at PMB College as a border. Being a future Nkosi of an area means that you can not grow up in that area, thus limiting boyhood friendship bonds. After high school Spanelo went on to major in Economics and Finance at the University of Kwazulu Natal. Nkosi then spent two years in London where he worked in the banking sector. Sponelo married xxxxxx in xxxxx. Xxx has her masters in English and following her studies at Rhodes University xxxx also travelled, studied, and worked abroad. Her passion is in literature allocated as set works in schools and making it understandably and applicable to current learners especially in rural schools. Spanelo and xxxx met at a political function in East London and have formed a dynamic duo together since then.
Nkosi Mkhize feels that the “spirit of the leader” plays a vital role in the behavior of a community and his words and actions prove this to be true.
The Mhize’s were people from Abambo who originated in the Congo and settled in Krantzkop. Their family is part of the Zulu Monarch. Mkhize primary school in Hlatikulu was started by, and therefore named after, Nkosi Mkhize’s (Spanelo) grandfather Nkosi December. In 2003 Nkosi December passed away. Vusi Mkhize (Spanelo’s father) acted as regent and together with Thandiwe (Spanelo’s mother) they administered the Mkhize lands until Vusi sadly he passed away in 2005. At a family meeting, Nkosi Spanelo announced that he was still not ready to take over the leadership of the Mkhize lands, and once again luck was on his side and his uncle Jabulani, who was the principle of Mankonjane primary, took over rule while Nkosi continued in the banking sector in Johannesburg. In February 2008 (two days before Nkosi’s 30th birthday) Jabulani passed which meant that Nkosi Mkhize in 2009 had to come in and take over his rightful place as King.
Nkosi Mkhize (MK) has a council meeting every second Tuesday of the month at the Tribal court where the Isikoti (ward of the area) will bring forward disputes that could not be resolved and NM then decides how to proceed. If it is not a criminal matter NK makes a ruling to resolve any conflict. This hierarchical structure assists Nkosi with his role in governing. One of passions that NK pursues is that of high schools education and he along with fellow educated friends from the accounting and engineering sectors have held Saturday classes to assist matriculates in improving their grades. He understands the importance of education and one of problems he finds with the current systems, is that many positions are filled by people with limited education but the correct blood lines. He discussed various of the current issues that he is dealing with now and some solutions that have been forwarded. He described the practice of umtwala and the way this has evolved from a tradition to something that can easily be misinterpreted to be used in a harmful way. He also spoke about how the role of Nkosi gets transferred down according to sex but how this is evolving to include daughters and wives.
Farmers and Farms of the Kamberg
1.Whyteleaf – Elizabeth Klarer – Space Traveller
“The farm, Whyteleafe, …, where Flying-saucer hill rears up like a guardian mountain with a dip in the top …the steep southern slopes… tumble into the blue waters of the lake where the wild geese and the duck skim over its tranquil surface to land and nest in the reeds and willows bordering the far distant shorelines”.
This is how Elizabeth Klarer describes the surrounding area where many of her encounters with the love of her life occurred. Elizabeth Klarer is the heroin in a story of an intelligent and gifted young woman, an internationally acclaimed meteorologist and her love affair with Akon, an astrophysicist from the planet Meton. It is the story of star crossed lovers coming together to create a star trekker prodigal son. It has been called one of the great love story of the 20th century.
In 1957 when Elizabeth Klarer boarded the spaceship with Akon, an astrophysicist “alien”, from “flying saucer hill” in the Kamberg Valley and spent 4 glorious months on Meton , was not the first encounter Elizabeth had had with Akon.
Elizabeth Klarer was born in 1910 on a farm in the Kamberg Valley. This was one year out of 75/76 that Halley’s comet could be seen in the night sky. Was this a coincidence that would set the tone for her love of the unknown and her fascination for “what is out there?” ? In her early years she had a strong connection with the Induna, (Head of the farm staff) Ladam on the farm and he always spoke to her of “Skygods… spider threads in the clouds …. And of meetings between the worlds”. These stories intrigued her and strengthened her belief in the outer world. Elizabeth had a very happy childhood, riding horses, exploring, and enjoying nature on their farm at the base of the Kamberg Valley.
Her first encounter with the outer-world happened when Elizabeth was only 7 years old. While in the farm yard, she was saved from a flash in the sky, by a big silver spaceship that took the flash off course.
Elizabeth went to St Annes College in Hilton from 1920, she was a bright child getting a 2nd class prize before leaving in 1924. After her schooling at St Annes in Hilton, Elizabeth went on to study music and art in Florence and meteorology in Cambridge. Bearing in mind that St Annes was established in 1877, the children who attended private schools in the early 1900’s were very limited, add to this the fact that her parents supported and most probably encouraged her studying overseas and you conclude that Elizabeth was no country hick or earth child. Spending time and money on a daughter in the early 1900’s was a very unusual thing. Women were expected to be raised to continue life as a supporter of her husband and not to think and act for herself. Both of Elizabeth’s sisters (Mary and Barbara) completed St Annes and matriculated becoming active in the Old Girls Guild. Elizabeth was both gifted, highly intelligent and a shining light showing the ways to come. During her life, she practiced meditation and telepathic communication, honing her skills, and practicing on anything that showed a spark of life. From then on, she looked for this saviour and practiced telepathic communication, being very aware of herself and her environment. Her first husband Captain WS Phillips tried to alleviate this constant restlessness by teaching her how to fly. It only allowed Elizabeth to continue her search through the skies.
Phillips was present and very involved in an encounter she had with the spaceship during one of their flights in 1937. He was also a witness to her remarkable escape from a fire that broke out in an aero plane hangar at the Ysterplaat air base in 1943. Despite this he did not share her passion for flying saucers and the unknown and this ultimately led to divorce. They had a daughter together, Marilyn who was to study and become a Doctor.
Her next marriage was to Paul Klarer and they had a son David. Paul Klarer however could also not handle her passion with the unexplained and this too lead to divorce.
During this time, she still came to the Midlands of Natal from her home in Johannesburg for her annual visit to her sister May and her husband Jock (they lived on Whyteleaf Farm). In 1954 she experienced her first real contact with Akon, but it was only on his visit to her 18 months later that she boarded the space ship. In her book “Beyond the light barrier” Elizabeth Klarer goes into considerable depth describing Akon and the ship. The overall impression of the space ship was that it was spartan but very comfortable and Akon was “the most beautiful man she had ever seen”. With him they shared a “complete love” and she spoke of “higher octaves of sensual delight”. It was on another visit in 1959 that she conceived Ayling and gave birth to him on Akons home planet, Meton. The birth was a natural birth, completely painless and her gestation period was less than 4 months. In her book she only dedicates a few paragraphs on Ayling, but he is described as a perfect gentle child.
The effects of the multiple time-fields however limited her stay on Meton and so Elizabeth had to returned to earth after 4 months. Meton is in the Alpha Centurion constellation which is 4.5 light years away from earth and is our nearest stellar neighbour. The main message that EK was conveying from Akon and his people was their anger at the rate humans were destroying the planet through wars, pollution, nuclear power, and violence. She describes the world as hostile. She also gave detailed explanation of the light propulsion system that Akon’s spaceship used to the United States National Aeronautical and Space Administration as well as the South African Air force. Elizabeth was also an accomplished speaker lecturing many audiences, including the 11th International Congress of UFO research groups and her speech on “The secrets of light” was applauded by scientist from over 20 nations.
She never met with Akon or Ayling again but was in contact with them through telepathic communications. One the middle finger on the left hand she wore a large crystal stone on an unusual silver band, this was the only evidence she had of her relationship with Akon.
Unfortunately, on the death of May and Jock, Elizabeth remained in Johannesburg not returning to the midlands and was constantly plagued by ill health. In 1963, she married Aubrey Fielding who was 100% behind her in her work with UFO’s and spaceships.
She never stopped believing that Akon would rescue her from this life, she believed this until her death in 1994 at the age of 84 of breast cancer.
2.Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse – through the years
Fred Poynton (Richard’s grandfather) bought Cleopatra in the 1940’s. He was a pioneer sugar farmer in Zulu land and found the Kamberg the ideal location to escape to. The trout streams and the cool mountain air was a welcome retreat from the heat from the North Coast.
The original tiny cottage was built using local stone masons and local materials. It started as a basic two roomed cottages with the veranda used as the bedroom for all visitors. Over the years rooms were added onto the cottage and indoor plumbing also eventually arrived. It remained as a getaway from the Zululand heat and many of the Poynton family and friends used to gather at Cleopatra for mountain holidays with lots of fishing.
Leaving school Richard followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and studied farming but gave this up and followed his passion for the arts through pottery and finally cooking. It was only after the start of their family – Richard and Mouse have two daughters, that Richard and Mouse started in the hospitality industry with Granny Mouse’s Country House. They ran this for 8 years before spending time in Europe and UK furthering their love for all things culinary.
To date Richard has many awards, including:
· KZN Tourism – Best Service Award
· “Oscar” from Anne Stevens – Food Critic
· American Express Fine Dining Platinum Award
· Diner’s Club Top 10 Awards
· 5 Star Chef – Wine Magazine (one of only 19 chosen in South Africa)
· Best New Restaurant – Eat Out
· AA GOLD ACHIEVER AWARD (one of only 30 chosen in South Africa)
· Top 100 Restaurants
It was only in 1993 that Richard and Mouse moved up to Cleopatra permanently and they opened their dream – a gourmet getaway – in September 1998.
A visit to Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse is an experience to be valued and treasured and thoroughly enjoyed. necessary for everyone …. And they are the Kamberg’s very own!
3.Glengarry Holiday Farm – through the years
Revell & Rose Sivright returned from New Zealand in 1980 to reopen a caravan park on the banks of the Little Mooi River in the Kamberg Valley, on land purchased in 1977 by Rose’s father Mike Harburn. They had a daughter, Hayley and a son, Gareth.
They had a dream to develop Glengarry into a Holiday Resort and in 1983 they started building the first Chalet. Today there are 3 homes, 10 chalets, 4 ablutions and 40 campsites. In the process Revell became an electrician, plumber, mechanic and baker and Rose turned her hand to catering and gardening.
Eskom lines were introduced in 1987 and the Kamberg Road was tarred in the early 90’s and Glengarry became a family favourite holiday destination. Revell and Rose continued to build this outdoor enthusiast’s playground with a 9-hole golf course, trout dams and a bowling green. And more recently a function venue, pub, and swimming pool.

Revell’s passion for Mountain Biking led to the development of trails throughout the Kamberg and the Glengarry Classic MTB race. Today this race is the Kamberg Classic and attracts 100’s of riders.
Roses great love is her garden which she has established over 30 years. Every year this delightful English Country Garden is part of Open Gardens.
In 2012 Rev and Roses son Gareth, and his wife Kelly returned to the farm to continue this legacy and the wonderful magic that is Glengarry Holiday Farm.

Contribution from KELLY SIVRIGHT

4.Thendela community – Elliott Ndlovu
Under his imposing appearance lies a softly spoken man who believes and lives the spirit of uBuntu. A Renaissance man using his Sangoma powers with traditional African medicines to heal the present-day ailments of many. Two lives, spiritual and physical, integrated together for the benefit of others.
Elliot is a traditional healer, born and raised in the Thendela community deep in the Kamberg valley who now shares his time between his rural home and Fordoun (a five-star Hotel and Spa in Nottingham Road) He shares his medicinal and spiritual healing with whomever needs it, he is also called an herbalist and ethnobotanist.
Living uBuntu he treated meeting Queen Elizabeth II with the same courtesy he offered the Mexican house keeper in his hotel. He gives everyone equal attention, respect, and energy. Amongst Royalty he has also met president Thabo Mbeki and many modern-day stars including Leonardo di Caprio. He remains respectful and polite yet unchanged by the presence of people who are considered by many to be important.
His calling to become a traditional Sangoma came late one night including periods of mental illness and struggle, a process of suffering necessary to become a healer
In many of his herbal products and healing processes Elliot uses a white clay harvested from mountains above his home. He also has an extensive and ever growing indigenous plant nursery.
His message to Dali Lama but which was never read by him as he was barred entry into South Africa
My message of Africa
When you have a quiet moment. When you are alone. When you have time to contemplate. Be still and take this simple clay ball in your hands. Caress it. Let it warm slowly to you. Feel the fine dust. Be comfortable by its solidarity. As you gently fondle it, think of our precious planet, the universe, and the miracle of this moment. Think of your ancestors, your loved ones who are no longer with us but who are with us. Let the earth of Africa soothe away your grief, your stress, your concerns. Let any negativity drain away, absorb the positivity, the hope, the love. Embrace the spirit of Ubuntu. You are home. Welcome to the energy of Africa. Africa never leaves you. May this most simple piece of Africa be your comfort and remembrance that what is good and positive and fulfilling comes from the most basic yet natural resource, our planet earth. Look after it and it will look after you. Practice Ubuntu in all you do in life, in your relationships, in the way you view other people’s religious and cultures. It will change the way you act to them. It will change the way they act to you. Practice Ubuntu. It can change the world.
Elliot Msawenkosi Ndlovu
Taken from the book a Sangomos story by Melanie Reader
5.Moller Farming – Riverside
TRUE TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS …. LIVING ON AND WITH THE EARTH … UBUNTU

When you google the definition of uBuntu, you get – a quality that includes the essential human virtue, compassion, and humanity…. Think Moller. True to their surroundings – think Moller. Living on and with the land … think Moller

Sitting snuggly in a little piece of paradise with the Mooi river running through it and overlooking a beautiful naturally occurring dam is the haven of Riverside Farm which has been in the Moller family for upwards of 50 years. With the local Tendela community, Ezemvelo and commercial farming all being direct neighbors of Riverside, they have adapted farming and living practices to work in harmony with their very varied neighbors. Choosing a symbiotic relationship and realizing the importance of Ubuntu with their fellow man, animals and birds of Riverside.

Tendela is one of the very few community settlements to have land owners amongst them, given to the families by Queen Victoria. Partly as a thank you for their involvement in the Anglo-Zulu wars and partly as a buffer between the prospering productive farms in the fertile Kamberg valley, and the raiding San from the mountains, who used to raid the hinterland through Game Pass. Four families were given the rights of the land by Queen Victoria. The Bushman paintings remain as the main attraction at the Kamberg Rock Art centre. The San people integrated with the local population forging a relationship that is still ceremonially celebrated yearly in the community with Brett called on to cull for the feast.

What started off as a retreat from the heat of Elandslaagte, Brett’s grandfather bought Riverside because ‘it reminded him of Scotland”, has turned into a family enterprise and budding dairy farm. Brett and Carmen together with their two boys show total dedication and hard work putting blood sweat and tears into the Riverside dairy. What immediately catches your attention is their general approach to food. The family eat very much with the seasons. When Brett talks about farming, food and Riverside his face lights up showing that cooking and farming is in his blood passed on from his grandfather and father.

Winter is the time of year that Brett can cull some of many Eland that wonder down onto his green pastures from the sanctuary of the game reserve. Brett grows rye grass as the major source of food for his dairy cows and herds of up to 100 eland have been recorded on his pastures decimating the pastures for his farming operation. This has improved over the years as an “eland fence” has been erected to limit this damage and works well, Ezemvelo also did a game capture and relocation of over 400 eland a few years ago. Once an eland has been culled, Brett processes the meat, from head to hoof, on the property and the whole animal is then consumed. This is done mainly making eland boerewors and biltong and processing eland meat steaks. Brett however does not waste any of the animal and cooking the tripe, is real theatre in action. As with all things edible, if there is anything to spare he will share that with his staff and the larger community of Tendela.

Spring sees various mushrooms sprouting up all over the farm and these get collected and sorted. They collect a variety of wild and porcini mushrooms that grow in amongst the pine tree groves they have on the farm. During spring you can also hear the frenetic activity from the bee hives that Brett keeps, as a sideline for family use.

In Autumn the rock pigeons are prolific and Brett will cull a few for the pot. These he will add to the free range guinea fowl, resulting in really hearty meals to offset the winter chill in the air. The rock pigeons raid the newly planted turnips that Brett plants for food for his dairy cows. So Brett does try to keep their numbers down.

Throughout the year Riverside produce pigs for Esposito Cured Meats. These animals are happy pigs who forage all day and get fed on dairy milk and acorns, season dependent. Never doing more than 8 carcasses at a time, Brett can ensure that they are raised as naturally as possible and spend happy years growing up and thus they produce delicious meat after processing by Franco Esposito. Wild bushpig are also culled when necessary and processed by Franco into delicious cured meats. Bushpig can cause devastation to cultivated crop lands and so Brett must keep their breeding numbers down.

Another naturally found food source is the brown trout swimming in the river that runs through their farm, below the houses. The section of river running here is one of the two last remaining sections of river in the country that still holds solely brown trout, the rest of the rivers in the area hold a mixture of rainbow and brown trout. This makes the river and fishing rights highly sort after and strictly managed by the Natal Fly Fishing Club. Water plays an important part in any farming operation, preserved and valued by the family. This is also processed and eaten by the family by making gravalax, smoked trout etc…

To go with all the protein available naturally on the farm, the Mollers have a prolific vegetable garden. Managed, mainly by his father, Peiter, this garden produces enough fresh vegetable for the family to eat and plenty to share with the neighbouring community. Apples, plums and various other fruits are prolific in the garden and Jo (Bretts mom) turns them all into delicious homemade jams and preserves. Brett has many memories of the homemade jams making days and the raspberry jam bottles filling up the farm pantry.

6.John Armstrong – Kamberg’s farmer
Farming oozes out his pores ….
The view from the pool house says it all. He loves the land, the mountains, the trees, and the dams. His telescope is focused on the Giant. When asked what he misses most when he has been away – his answer is quick “the Giant”. From one giant to another ….
John Armstrong has been the most decorated farmer in the Kamberg Valley in recent history. He has been the Master Dairy Man in Natal and runner up in the SA competition, and the Seed Potato Grower Farmer of the Year and the South African Potato Farmer of the year in the mid-1990’s. He is quick to mention that he served the Kamberg as Chairman for years and he ran the Kamberg Trout Festival for 8 years. This shows that John is not only successful on a country scale but that he takes as much pride in his service to his community.
This sense of community is obvious when in the early 1990’2 he was instrumental in the building of several of the local schools in the area. He was a trustee of the7 Midlands Education Trust and the IDT. One of the schools that they were instrumental in building was the school Dabulamanzi in the Kamberg Valley. Before Dabulamanzi there was no high school servicing the farms and only a handful of small little farm schools scattered in the valley.
John has built a few dams in his time. When he first bought Whyteleaf Farm in 1973 it was totally un developed. He built 2 dams on the farm, all the cattle handling facilities and did extensive alterations to the farm house and yard. This also proved the case when he moved onto Sourveldt Farm in 1988. He established many avenues, the pastures, and more dams. This dam building runs in the family as his dad built the first dam in the valley on Danesfort Farm. John remembers the tools that the workers used, there were no heavy machinery around, so they dug the dam by hand with spade type equipment and oxen. Building dams and storing water for the years ahead is one of the major developments which John sees as being positive in farming.
John has seen many farming developments during his time in the Kamberg Valley. The spreading of lime on the acid soils made a major impact on the valley. No longer was it only viable to drain and then plant in the vlei areas but lands could be made and limed to change the Ph balance and sustain maize and ryegrass. The high acidity of the soils is one of the main reasons why potato growing is so successful in the valley. Potatoes are tolerant to the acid soils. Even though various crops (asparagus, popcorn, and yellow primrose oil) have been grown in the valley, farmers always revert to what works: potatoes, dairy, and pigs.
Growing up on Danesfort farm, John remembers his father’s movable dairy. This was a structure built onto huge logs and run by a portable pump. Milk was then empties into milk cans and transported to the railway depot. John can really appreciate the development in the milk industry with the use of the bulk tank and milk tankers fetching the milk in bulk. The first calf to be fertilized through Artificial insemination was born on Danesfort farm, showing that John comes from a line of progressive farmers.
The use of irrigation and the setup of centre pivots have been another giant leap for farmers that John has seen, especially in the valley. Land that was not utilised is now an active part of a farming operation. To be able to control the water application onto crops, on this scale with minimal human involvement, has seen huge development in the agricultural sector.
In the early 1950’s a huge run-away fire ran through the valley ending in Rosetta, the destruction it caused was catastrophic. This had an impact on the various farmers organisation in the area and led to more regulated and controlled burning in the district and the burning of fire breaks.
John is a gem in the farming community of the Kamberg Valley …. a man whom makes the Valley proud.

7. Franco Esposito
Franco arrived in South Africa and studied politics at the university in Durban in 1969, this proved to be a base from which his life would grow and it all grew through hard work, passion and determination and a focus to do things the right way – the only way. His colourful past took him to London and ultimately back to South Africa. Learning along the way following his passions of food and photography. Names like Terence Conran from Habitat are mentioned as mentors. What is so obvious is that Franco was following his passions and not the money! He had no formal education in photography or marketing but became very successful in both when returning to South Africa. He worked in the “rat race” for over 25 years accumulating awards in all directions. He was at the top of his game.
As time passed and Franco and Debbie thought about following their hearts and their focus was shifted to the midlands and the Kamberg. Here Franco started to follow his artistic endeavours and food to him was a natural outlet. He believes in food theatre and that creating food is an artistic outlet. He learnt his encompassing love for food from his mother. As an example of his families love for food he showed me the family what’s up group. It is full of recipes and food hints, tips, and photos. After buying the property the day he saw it, he decided to follow his food dreams and went over to Italy to learn first-hand the way of charcuterie. He has been on many food tours back to Francessca, in the Apennines of the Latium province in Italy to follow his charcuterie dreams. In all his travels over time and countries Franco has always been very aware of the food and its progress. He can say with conviction that when he arrived in Durban in the early 1970’s there were on 2 freestanding restaurants to eat from, and in 1974 London got its first “organic” bread outlet. In the last 3-4 years Franco has seen as shift in food awareness and he wants to be at the forefront of this and help lead the way for it. Franco is going to be a mover and shaker in the new food awareness and he will be someone to watch in the future.
Esposito Meat Products is only available locally from the Rosetta food market held bi-monthly. The rest of his stock goes up to Johannesburg to fill the ever-increasing demand. He wants to keep his operation small so that he does not compromise his product and can keep total control on what is produced. He can therefore watch and control his limited pig supply and work from there. His two aims with the Rosetta market is local education in food awareness and to help this grow. His twitter handle describes him as a “photographer and maker of natural cured meats in the Italian tradition”

8. Simon and Claire March
A pioneer family (self- sufficient, constantly evolving with the times, resilient and smiling while doing it) is the best way to describe the March family (although I do not think Claire would like that). After studying at the local Agricultural College in his home town in Wales, Simon followed the travel bug and visited relations in Africa. During a return visit to Wales he met Claire they decided to get married and made their way back to South Africa to raise a family and tackle life in Africa. As a dynamic duo they have raised two beautiful girls and live a very busy life in the Kamberg Valley. Very active in the Kamberg Club and always eager to help wherever they can…
Claire’s berries keep her extremely busy with making jams, liquors and many things “berry”. A good few parties at the Kamberg Farmers Association is a direct result of Claire and her berry liquor. She manages all this from her beautiful farm-style kitchen. When you go visiting during berry picking season – which falls directly over Christmas and New Year – you will find bottles of Vodka, most empty, and trays upon tray of graded berrys. She sells the 1st class berry’s, while turning the rest into her liquor and jams. When she is not doing open gardens she is busy with her worm farm, elderflower cordial, veggies or with her furniture renovation with lots of scraping and sanding. Whatever she does, she keeps it real and is hands on to see it is done to her very high standard. Simon also keeps up with Claire on his “off time” from the farm by making his Kamberg Craft beer and potting around the kitchen. He is always sharing his yield where ever they go and if there are any bottles to spare they get sold through the pub at Glengarry Holiday Farm which is just up the road. Known in the community for his orator skills, Simon is always good for a laugh when you are around the pub at the Wheel and Plough (KVA). Putting some fun back into daily life on an African farm, and sharing his innovations and people relations skills. Simon is an asset to any conversation, often taking his view on the situation and making all around him laugh with his ideas.
There is a lot more to this couple than what meets the eye, and when you meet them they will invite you into their lives with open arms. But hang on tight – it will be a fun, hectic ride.

Claires Raspberry Liqueur
450 g fresh raspberries (you can use frozen)
710 ml vodka (or 1.5 cups pure grain alcohol and 1.5 cups water)
350 g sugar
Rinse and check the raspberries and place them in a jar, add the vodka and mix. Stir daily during the first days and later at least once a week for 3-4 weeks.
Filter the mixture of berries and alcohol and transfer the liquid to a bottle. Add sugar and shake until dissolved. After 3 months strain the liqueur thru a cloth. Add some more sugar if necessary. The liquor should mellow for at least 6 months before drinking, preferably for 12 months.
The colour of the raspberry liqueur is bright red, and the flavor is delicious if the sugar content is correct and if the liqueur has been properly mellowed.

Claires Raspberry Champagne Punch
½ cup raspberry liqueur
½ cup brandy
½ cup orange liqueur
½ cup granulated sugar
3 lemons unpeeled
5 oranges unpeeled
2 cups raspberries – fresh or frozen
6 bottles champagne
Combine raspberry liqueur with brandy, orange liqueur and the sugar in a large container and shake to dissolve the sugar. Slice the lemons and the oranges and add to container. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 to 3 hours. Shill the punchbowl. To serve add ice to the punch bowl, and pour in the chilled mixture of liqueurs. Add raspberries to the bowl. Pour in the champagne serve immediately. Enjoy.

WARNING:
THE AUTHOR IS NOT IN ANY WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS AFTER COMSUMING THIS ALCHOL….

9.Crops of the Kamberg – dairy, chickens, pigs, potatoes, veggies – crops
DAIRY
Dairy is the 5th largest agricultural industry in South Africa with KZN only accounting for 280 milk producers. The coastal regions (of which KZn is one of the 3) are the major contributors of this industry with the mild temperatures and good rainfall of the Kamberg creating a very high milk density (milk volume per area) area. Another factor that makes a good dairy farming area is the proximity to the market. As fresh milk is a perishable product this is vital for the dairy companies.
The main dairy industries in the Kamberg Valley are commercial operations, selling product to dairy processors, some big and some smaller. Dairy used to be labour intensive which helped with the employment of staff, but the innovative highly sophisticated machinery is leading to less but skilled or well-trained staff. Over the years dairy operations have grown bigger herd sizes with fewer numbers of farmers but the industry is still productive and advancing in technology at a rapid rate.
Danesfort Farm was one of the first dairy farms in the Kamberg Valley. xxx Armstrong had a little portable shed that used to follow the grazing around and only house xx cows. The milk was put into milk cans and taken up to the holt by cart. From there it was sent on the railway to the production plant . The introduction of the bulk storage of fresh milk on the farms in the form of “bulk tanks” allowed the farmers to milk bigger herds and store their milk and offered the companies the flexibility to collect the milk after a few milking’s. The technique of Artificial insemination (AI) is practised widely in today’s commercial dairy operations and John Armstrong being the progressive dairy farmer that he was, was the first farmer in the country to use this method of breeding successfully.
The introduction of irrigation was in the form of hand moved big silver pipes with static spray nozzles that were placed on the land and moved every few hours. This progressed to pipes with flexible hoses and spray nozzles which allowed the pipes to be moved less frequently as these could be extended on both sides of the pipes for the length of the pipes (about 10 metres). Irrigation took a giant leap for the farming industry and particularly the dairy farmers with the introduction of the centre pivots. A large area could now be watered with no labour needed to move the water pipes etc. The introduction of the liming of the land meant that land that was previously un-utilised could be used in production.
CHICKENS
Near the top of the Kamberg, Rowan and Fiona van Aardt are carrying on the tradition handed down to them by Rowan’s father, . was a renown
PIGS
The Kamberg Valley is home to the Butt pork enterprise. To work with this farming the Butt’s grow a lot of maize and a trip up the kamberg valley means traveling past their massive meilie stands of truly magnificent maize.
POTATOES
Both seed and table potatoes are grown in the Kamberg Valley. It is mainly the cool crisp and clear air that has made the Kamberg on the premier areas for growing potatoes, KZN produces 25% of SA’s seed potatoes and the Kamberg makes up the bulk of that figure. With seed potatoes disease free is king and to produce healthy potato tubers and then a healthy potato crop is the aim. Seed potatoes are sold onto to commercial potato growers who in turn produce potatoes for the market.
One of the producers of both seed and table potatoes is Ed and Debbie Erskine. Together with Mike and Penny Green, Mighty Mazambane, has become a formidable force.
ED ERSKINE – A man of the earth … lover of life
The smell of the earth is intoxicating… It is everywhere and makes you want to touch it and run it through your hands. It is potato lifting time. A time for Ed to see the crop that his team has been looking after for 7 months. Angus Buchan and his book “faith like potatoes” rings true for potato farmers. Ed has not been able to see his crop for months and continually believes that his care for the plant above the ground is giving the potato the best possible outcome come lifting time.
His passion and enjoyment of farming is very evident when he describes the lifting process and packaging of his crop. And during our visit to the production shed, while I am busy dodging the busy fork lift drivers, his description is very easy to follow.
The potatoes are lifted out of their cosy home deep in the thick red rich soil and gently roll out onto the top of the lifting machine. All the soil falls back through the webbing of the machine and the potato lands back on the soft soil behind. They are left for a few minutes to dry in the summer midlands sun. A team of ladies then come and put them into big bulk bags for hoisting with a crane onto the back of a farm trailer and carting back to the processing shed. A fork lift meets them at a bay to take the bags off the trailer. They then get dropped gently into wooden crates falling out the base of the bag through a trap door that is held closed with a shoelace. This wooden crate is then transported to the sorting machine where the potato is sorted by hand and then by the sizing machine into the various sizes. The process is watched by more ladies that ensure that only top-quality potatoes continue through the process. The smaller potatoes are pocketed for seed potatoes and go off to be bagged into hessian bags.
The potatoes to be sold for eating potatoes continue onto the washing and drying process. They go through a bubbling bath of rolling brushing and water jets and this gently takes the mud off. They then get dried by a commercial “hair dryer” which is mounted high above the machine with heating elements, here they go into another lane depending on their size and go for bagging into paper bags and this ends with the sewing process for closing the bag. They get stacked, in various colours, which show the sizing on palettes and placed in their correct area awaiting transportation off the farm.
Another producer of potatoes in the valley is Ivanhoe farming, trading since the early 1960’s. Owned by the Rolls family based in the United Kingdom the farm has been ably managed over the years and most recently by the Pringle family. Paul and Di Pringle came to the valley in 1972 from the Nottingham Road area? Besides the valley changing from being mainly a sheep producing area to the establishment of many dairy’s in the last 20 years, Paul and Di also found the introduction of electricity in 1975 and the upgrading of the Kamberg road as major events. The road used to be an endless nightmare before it was tarred especially during the summer thunderstorms. Many a story can be told regarding trips to school and visitors to the valley but all end well, but with a laugh.
The original owner Mr Nicholson had no heirs to leave his farm in Africa too, and so he convinced the son of the manager in his Impendle farm to add Nicholson to his surname and therefore inherit the farm. This he did and became Rolls-Nicholson. Ivanhoe farming still carried on …

9.Gardens of the Kamberg
Tribute must be paid to the ladies of Kamberg who find themselves living in old homesteads with established gardens and who keep up the beauty of house and surrounds to be carried on to future generations. As young wives with the pressures of children and a new farming business with their husbands they work together with the “old bones” of the garden and keep it looking beautiful and a pride of the valley.
PROSPERITY
Our garden is an old English style garden laid out many years ago by the famous SA artist, Gwelo Goodman. We have tried to maintain the essence of his design. Originally the driveway came in along the hedge further down and ended under the big tree at the end of the pergola. The entrance to the house was on the other side where our spare room is now so the idea was to park under the tree and walk under the pergola to the front door. The pergola is a wonderful flush of double purple wisteria and yellow banksia rose is spring, looking through at the rose garden with a carpet of “snow in summer”. Nowadays, we spend much more time outside our kitchen in that part of the garden, so we added the pergola of white iceberg roses and developed that part of the garden trying to keep to the original theme. The Vegetable greenhouse we built about two years ago to enable us to grow veggies for the House all year round. The asparagus beds Ed put in last year and we are hoping to get some delicious asparagus next year. In winter everything dies back but in spring it is fantastic how it comes to life again. The garden gives us enormous pleasure and I am often grateful for the insight of our predecessors for laying out and creating such a beautiful little piece of paradise.
Contribution by EDWARD AND DEBBIE ERSKINE
SANDSTONE
Established by Sue and Graham Armstrong following their semi-retirement from farming and move from Danesfort this is a new garden full of surprises. A water feature cascades naturally down the cut of the platform and Sue and Graham have incorporated this into an indigenous waterfall with Ou Hout, red hot pokers and indigenous grasses. Around the side of the house Sue has placed her formal rose garden. Here there is a selection of roses that Sue has arranged with the input and help of Ludwig (from Ludwig’s Roses). A summer gardening room opens into this English rose garden, this is where Sue gets much of her inspiration from. Further around the house a pergola dripping with wisteria leads into the stable yard and their guest bedrooms. Beyond the garden Sue and Graham have a very productive vegetable garden fill of produce in season. Pumpkins mielies and asparagus are grown along side artichokes and potatoes. This vegetable garden feeds the household as well as the farm workers and their families.
DANESFORT garden has been nurtured over the years. It is predominately an English style garden and during the years as the homestead of the Armstrong family may plants were brought over from the English countryside. Dedicated gardening trips abroad with collecting seeds, cuttings, hints, and tips has contributed to the beauty of this garden. This knowledge and love for gardening was passed down to Sue while she and Graham were living and farming Danesfort. Luckily for the valley and for the future generation, Mel Edkins continued this fabulous garden and added an extensive rose garden on the front boundary. Steve and Mel have made caring and looking after their garden a priority of the farm and this beautiful garden continues to thrive. There are a few prominent trees on the edge of the lawn. Under one there is a mass of clivias that are a show when in flower, while under the other they have placed a seating area backing onto the bed of periwinkle. Of course, the ever- present farm rope swing is also attached to one. At present Mel and Steve have young children, so the garden is full of farm animals. Ducks, geese, chickens, and rabbits all live in harmony. Mel grows here vegetable in raised beds. Spinach, tomatoes, and strawberries lie happily alongside basil, thyme, and rosemary.
ENGALENI can only be described as park-like. Surrounding the dam, big shady trees are the only interruption of the beautiful view while around the sides of the park are mass bushes of azaleas. The walk ways and “secret paths” lead to many nooks and secret gardens with one path leading into the pool area. Little sculptures can be found hidden in the groundcovers, and old entrance posts can be found under the trees covered in rambling roses. A true exploring adventure…
GLENGARRY HOLIDAY FARM – ROSE SIVRIGHT
Thirty years ago, Rose and Reville created this garden. Beech, Birch, Nyssa’s, and Dogwood trees show structure in the garden while viburnums, azaleas and rhododendrons surround thatch cottages. Sprinkles of Russell lupins and annual pansies and poppies bring delight to this English country garden. Glengarry gardens have been the backdrop to many country weddings in the area.