Valley of plenty

The place where the Wilge River cuts through the mountains about 40 km north-east of Bronkhorstspruit is known as Wilgepoort, Trichardtspoort, Zusterstroom... or simply "the valley". This river is the lifeblood of the people who live and farm here.

- MIA LOUW

First-time visitors to “the valley” tend not to have high expectations as they drive north on the R25 from Bronkhorstspruit. The road is flanked by grassland and maize fields – it’s a flat and unremarkable landscape. Then, at the Super Centre filling station, there’s a turn-off onto a gravel road that enters a poort. The road descends to the Wilge River and the mountains part in front of the driver like the Red Sea before Moses. The road passes through the “small valley”, a narrow passage with towering red cliffs. Then, towards the east, the “large valley” unfurls, and in the distance, the mountains stand sentinel over the river.

The various names for this picturesque valley each tell a tale: Wilgepoort is derived from the name of the river and the willow trees lining its banks. Trichardtspoort refers to Louis Trichardt, who travelled through the poort with his ox-wagons during the Great Trek. And Zusterstroom is the name of a farm.

"It was a huge farm; our piece of land is section 16 of Zusterstroom," says Vivia Joubert of Meulstroom, a wedding venue, conference centre and retreat. "One of our ancestors, Boer General Francois Gerhardus Joubert, bought the farm in 1875, and then he measured off sections on his horse and subdivided it. There were three sisters in the family, hence the name Zusterstroom."

And the name Meulstroom comes from the watermill that the general built in the late 19th century to mill corn. Today, although the water wheel still turns, Vivia and her husband Frans only use the channel. Eight years ago, Frans, who is a mechanical engineer, put up a water turbine to generate electricity. "Eskom's unreliability and a poor cellphone signal are major challenges, Vivia says.