This month, I’ve decided to change our main subject from fly fishing to what Treeferns really has to offer!!

With new innovative technology, all info about us is just a mouse click away, but sometimes you just want to hear/read about it in a paragraph or two without browsing through the whole web page.

A frequently asked question is:  ” What of the women and children/ non-anglers…what are they going  while dad is fishing?”

This past week for instance, we had a group of 20 guests some of whom from the Netherlands, who accompanied a honey-moon couple, Roel and Wilma Janssen,  on their vacation.  They saw some of the most spectacular places in South Africa:  from The Kruger National Park to St Lucia, game drives etc.     ….till they arrived at Treeferns!  Everyone was amazed by the awesome surroundings, clean air and water, and absolutely no disturbance of sirens, vehicles driving, crazy taxi drivers and all the other horrible things you get in the cities!

Marina and Willie, the bride’s parents/  Wilma and Roel/   Morne, Marina and Willie

Their visit started off with a traditional farmhouse dinner prepared on the old coal stove in the main house that was re-built in 1908.  After a very long journey they were early in bed after this delicious meal.  Early next morning after a huge breakfast, we went to our neighbouring farm, Greystone Lodge for clay pigeon shooting.  And the winner was none other than  the bridegroom,  Roel Janssen, with his new wife, Wilma, almost in tears when he received his certificate and bottle of mampoer,  distilled in one of the smallest towns in South Africa, ‘Tonteldoos’…about 60km from us. After the clay pigeon shooting, we all went on a scenic hike on our farm;  a good 2-hours hike. The alternative hiking trail takes about 4 hours. After the hike it was  fishing time!  With a quick lesson in casting, it was all fun for the rest of the afternoon with Donè, one of the guys in the group who caught himself!!  Luckily no serious injuries occurred. When fishing was done; it was party time: A quick ‘braai’ at the lapa, music and then we  introduced them to real South African boere-musiek…..this went on till 01:00am!  Next morning it was the last breakfast on the lapa deck overlooking the trout dams and then lots of tears  saying goodbye!  Thank you very much, Roel and Wilma Jansen from Maastrich, Netherlands, and your families for honouring us with  your visit. Can’t wait for the next one in September!

In short: If you don’t fish, you can decide on a few things from, hiking, bird watching (129 species!!), clay pigeon shooting, game drives on our other neighbouring farm, or a visit to places like Dullstroom with it’s restaurants, curio shops, Belfast, Waterval Boven and Machadodorp…. If you’re into the so-called ‘unexplained’, then you have to visit the stone circle museum in Waterval Boven….ever thought of other forms of live in the universe…..?? Then I need to say no more!

Our hiking trail is very popular as well as our star gazing (weather permitting!). After 4 very long misty months, we can see some of the favourites in the night sky again like the planet Saturn with it’s planetary rings, moon phases (with rocks and craters clearly visible through the telescopes), Nebulae, Stars clusters and other galaxies during the ‘Dark Moon’ phases.

Our annual fly fishing competition is still on for the last weekend in October in conjunction with Diabetes South Africa.  This will be a fun-filled weekend for the whole family. Remember to book your entry and accommodation ASAP. More on this in next month’s news letter.

About fishing the past 3 weeks:  The biggest one came from  dam no 11:  A whopping 3.6 kg by Dirkie Joubert, a new addition to the farm.  Flies and patterns that still works:  DDD with small droppers (size 18 or smaller!) and all your smallest flies in your box (sizes 16 and up) like Red Humpy’s, Buzzers, Adams and Midge Pupae.

A tackle shop in Dullstroom, The Village Angler’s new owner, John Hunter, and I,  fish  regularly   and then we put some flies together for our anglers to buy at our shop on the farm.  These patterns are tried and tested!  (Our shop/kiosk still offers the best home made jams in this area! )

Our new chalet/ house ‘The Oaks’ is completed and  very popular.  Johan de Waal is our first syndication member. Only 7 syndications available:  4 weekends and 2 midweeks for 8 persons: Only R 17500-00 per year (a total of 20 nights)!! For more info on this, feel free to drop me an e-mail: mornejansevanrensburg@vodamail.co.za

Inputs from our guests are always welcome! We are now also on Facebook, thanks to my sister-in-law, Sonya Smith, owner of  Sonya Smith Funeral Group.

Till next time…

Enjoy fishing!

Morne van Rensburg: Manager: Treeferns Trout Lodge.

072 403 1895.

There is more to taking pictures than just a camera and a click. It is the person behind the camera who is taking the picture. He/she decides whom or what  to snap. Furthermore it is not enough to only know your camera. More often than not a few vital principles of photography are ignored, i.e. using the flash, focussing properly, levelling the camera, using a tripod, playing with the ISO setting, making sure of your memory capacity, and charging the battery. These are but  a few basic rules but they are essential for taking quality photographs.

Over time we have collected some good photographs at Treeferns Trout Lodge which made us aware of the excellent opportunities we have for professional photography of a great variety. We therefore remind our visitors to not forget their cameras. You are certain to find good use for it if only for that big trout waiting for you. Beautiful views, plants, birds, insects, water scenes, and rock formations will bring the best out of your photography.

There are everywhere so many opportunities for pictures and stories that one can’t afford to be without a camera. Every picture tells a story or conveys a secret message. Likewise every story has a picture.  Only be there at the right moment. Photographs are real life experiences that never lie. The big trout shot is the moment of truth for every fly fisher. In our line of business trout fishing photography is particularly challenging requiring much skill. Regrettably  taking photographs of fish is also the biggest killer among them !

We manage our web site ourselves, i.e. we publish, change and load stories and pictures as we like.We have found the Sony Cybershot D3302, 8.1 mega pixels, ideal for our purpose. Our guests have also contributed abundantly to our treasure of photographs, some of which we have used on the web site. We thank all of you for  sharing  your big moments with us. Keep on doing so, please.

We do not claim that  the  photographs that follow are good quality, for they have been selected more or less at random mainly for variety :

A frequently asked question is who our neighbours are. As there are naturally many from nearby to further away, we will only deal with the immediate ones adjacent to us :

Greystone Lodge.

This is our closest neighbour “across the road “, offering three star accommodation and facilities on a private nature reserve. The accommodation consists of one-, two-, and three-bedroom self-contained chalets, and spacious two-bedroom apartments in the main lodge all with views over the property and dam. Meals are available on prior booking.

Waterkloof Nature Reserve.

In a straight line towards Machadodorp lies Waterkloof Nature Reserve with 330 hectares of grassland. It is a shareblock developement with timber lodges. Twenty-five sites have already been sold and 21 of them developed. The reserve is stocked with a variety of game endemic to the area, viz. eland, mountain rhebuck, zebra, blesbok, springbok, etc. The picture also shows Machadodorp in the back-ground.

Cullen Farm.

On our South-Eastern border towards Waterval Boven,  three dams of Cullen Farm as seen from the FM tower.

Little Troutbeck.

Balbeggie view of Loch Logan

Little Troutbeck This self-catering cottage is on the doorstep of Golden Pond – a 1ha dam. It is a wooden cottage, set in a pretty private garden – not too far from the main farmhouse. It is a double-storied cottage with a large bedroom with  ensuite bathroom … read more

Loch Logan

Little Trout Beck is a 209 ha working farm, with a magnificent view of the Elandsriver Valley. There are three accommodation units sleeping 4, 8 and 12 people, two of whom are syndicated. Flyfishing stillwaters consist of 11 dams stocked with rainbow, brown, and golden on a regular basis.

Four Friends Country Estate.

This property lies approximately 5 km from Treeferns on the road to Belfast and is also a working farm. It has three cottages, and facilities for various activities , viz. fishing, hiking, golf, horseriding, hunting and more.

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From time to time we receive enquiries from our customers, but also in general, about outdoor activities other than flyfishing at Treeferns Trout Lodge and elsewhere. Therefore we think it appropriate to publish some info in this regard on our web site for the convenience of visitors to our web. We trust it will be of some value. Of course the list will not be complete by any means, and will be added on as information become available. Anybody who wants to contribute, will be more than welcome. We are also prepared to exchange links ( See “Links” ). Our web averages just about 100  hits per day for the past 6 months.

The main activities in our immediate surroundings we are aware of are hiking, horse riding, game viewing and hunting, birds of prey demonstrations, and 4×4 trails.

Hiking.

A number of hiking trails are available in the area of which those in the Steenkamps Mountains are best known. Treeferns Trout Lodge also has a new trail in the beginning stage of development. See “Hiking” on this web site.

Horse riding.

Horse riding in South Africa with its fine weather and beautiful scenery is a very popular outdoor sport.  The Eastern Highveld and Trout Triangle are no exception and offers fabulous riding. Many horse trails and horse riding opportunities are within easy reach of Treeferns Trout Lodge, and references are available.

Game

A few neighbouring farms also stock various types of game either for viewing and/or shooting, viz. eland, blesbuck, zebra, wildebeest, etc.

Flying Displays (birds of prey)

Dullstroom Bird of Prey & Rehabilitation Centre offers flying displays  with informative and educational talks on the habits and behaviour of birds of prey.

4×4 Trails

Mpumalanga and particularly the Eastern Escarpment boasts some spectacular scenery for four wheel driving. There are numerous fantastic 4×4 routes in this beautiful mountainous region. Vlakfontein farm, home base of Treeferns Trout Lodge, with its uneven rough terrain, is ideally suitable for 4-wheel driving offering breathtaking views.

Mountain Biking

Mountain biking is also very popular, and beautiful scenery can be explored with many exciting and rocky routes.

Photography

The area and Treeferns Trout Lodge alike also attract the keen photographer who wants to capture the most beautiful scenes, sun rises, sun sets, flowers, birds, game, rock formations.

More information.

Contact details of  venues are available at Mpumalanga Tourism, 086 010 4069, web address www.mpumalangatourism.info and Dullstroom Reservations, (013)254-0254, www.dullstroom.biz

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