With the clear skies star gazing at Treeferns Trout Lodge is absolutely spectacular.

A hot new attraction here at the lodge, is a telescope to look at the stars, milky way, star clusters, nebulae and some of the planets like Saturn, Venus and Jupiter. Other planets like Uranus and Mars are also visible later in the evenings.

Milky Way

With the  8” refractor telescope, on a clear night sky we can see the most wonderful stars our

Creator provided  us.

I have to admit, I am also only an amateur in this fantastic new field, but with new software and a laptop, we explore the night sky with amazement

People are stunned when they see the ‘rings’ around Saturn, Jupiter and it’s moons and most of times they are totally speechless when they take a look at the moon with its craters.

We are in this fortunate position to show some of the constellations like Scorpio and Orion’s Belt. With a very powerful laser beam, people can also see exactly which star we talk about when we point at it.

We also explain how to look at the night sky and find your way through it just to look at the stars, eg. the “Southern Cross/ Crux”.

If you have binoculars or telescopes, bring it with next time.

Happy gazing.

Morne.

The pictures on the web site are mostly subject related and a fragmentary representation of Treeferns Trout Lodge, eg. foto’s of flyfishing showing trout, etc. However, the majority of guests are also keen environmentalists, nature lovers and/or photographers. To specifically show first comers what they can expect when they consider Treeferns as a break-away, we have compiled a slide show of an overview of the most beautiful and representative scenes of the farm. So sit back and relax.

On Christmas day 2009 we uncharacteristically experience our own white Christmas at Treeferns Trout Lodge.

In the late afternoon a thunderstorm built up, and after a few big raindrops the clatter on the roof signified something more ominous than ordinary raindrops – what else than hail. All of a sudden havoc broke loose, and hail stones of  5 – 10 mm came down with brut

e force. Soon the grass was covered with a layer of pure white like snow.

Hail is a sudden downpour or precipitation of solid balls or lumps of ice, normally measuring between 5 and 150 mm. With most thunderstorms there is a chance of hail, and when it occurs it mostly lasts for 5 – 10 minutes.

Fortunately no damage was suffered, and guests experienced  a wonderful white Christmas, as can be seen on the slide show :

The most spectacular scenes meet one’s eye from almost any point on the farm, offering numerous opportunities for sight-seeing, hiking, and photography. Imagine standing on a vantage point 2000 m above sea level with a 360 ° view of the environment with neighbouring towns, mountains, slopes, and valleys at your feet. It is an experience not to be missed.  One has to personally experience the grandiosity of our awesome Creation, which these pictures can only try to convey :

Age-old Mpumalanga

The solid bedrock of Mpumalanga tells a rich story of immense antiquity; a story that projects so far back into the past that it is almost impossible to comprehend.

It involves a time scale stretching to infinity, and takes us back to when the earth was a mere 20 per cent of its present age.

Africa’s oldest known rocks come from Mpumalanga and adjacent Swaziland, exposed in the rugged Barberton mountain chains that run all the way from Elukwatini and Tjakastad to Komatipoort, straddling the Swaziland border.

Because the world’s oldest fossils have been found here the area is a Mecca for scientists interested in how the young earth worked 3 500 000 millennia ago, and in searching for new clues to the origin of life.

In a real sense, Mpumalanga represents the cradle of life.

The earth is about 4 550 million years old, but no terrestrial rocks that old have ever been found: the oldest known rocks are from Canada where, in a small area near the Arctic Circle, the Acasta gneisses have been dated to just more than 4 000 million years in age.

Click here to read the whole story written by Prof Maarten de Wit: A History Of Deep Time

We are truly living in a colourful country and Mpumalanga province, and more specifically Treeferns Trout Lodge is no exception :

rainbow nation                  rainbow trout                 rainbow skies

“How appropriate ! “

Taking the lead from this colourful display, every new day explodes in a kaleidoscope of colours

with the rising sun —-

throughout the day —-

to the last colourfull rays of the setting sun—-

reflecting back on clouds in the eastern skies—-

and the spellbound shadows of full moon on some “enchanted evening” —-

” what a wonderful (colourful) world ! “

♣

We are proud to be part of Mpumalanga, the most scenic and fascinating province in the country. Lying on the Eastern Escarpment between Belfast, Dullstroom, Machadodorp, and Waterval Boven on one of the highest points in South Africa, Treeferns Trout Lodge could easily claim co-ownership of the description “place of the  rising sun”, which is what “Mpumalanga” means in the Nguni languages Swazi, Zulu, and Ndebele, in which  “mpuma” means “coming” or “rising”, and “langa” translates to “sun”.

“Die lewenskringloop word voltooi… Mpumalanga, ‘n pioniersgees wat jou op ‘n reis van selfontdekking neem. Tuimelende watervalle en swewende kranse. Betowerende somertuine wat in ‘n magdom lewendige kleure uitbars. Diverse kulture. Mpumalanga voltooi die kringloop as wieg van die lewe. Kom kyk wat ‘n nuwe dag bied. Kom kyk na Mpumalanga.” ( “Mpumalanga, A Pioneering Spirit”, 14/12/08, Tourism and Parks Agency)

Kom kyk na Treeferns !

♣

°Treeferns Trout Lodge is situated in the north-eastern part of South Africa, as shown on the Google Earth map below. I have sticked the pins into Treeferns Trout Lodge and surrounding towns.

If we zoom into the South African map and have a look at the Mpumalanga province and the location of the pins related to Johannesburg and Pretoria, we see:

Finally, the Google Map’s big zoom. Here we see that the pin indicating Treeferns Trout Lodge is about the centre between Dullstroom, Belfast, Machadodorp and Waterval Boven, a region with spectacular views from mountainous routes.

Exceptionally, from a view point on the farm,  one can see the towns of Dullstroom,  Waterval Boven and Machadodorp.  Only the town of Belfast is not visible, due to a small hill in the line of sight.

Imagine standing on one of the highest points in the country with  a 360° scope of approximately 40 km in diameter, circumference of 125 km, and an area of 1300 km². Awesome !  How great Thou art !

A sight to enjoy  – from the lookout point – is to view these towns at night with the town lights shimmering against the night sky.  Come and experience this unbelievable view.

You will notice on both sides of the pin indicating Treeferns Trout Lodge  farms indicated by dark blocks of  cultivated land.

Also notice the Eastern escarpment between these farms with  Treeferns Trout Lodge situated on the edge of the escarpment, which falls away hundreds of meters eastwards down to the Lowveld.

T

he village of Waterval Boven is nestled in the Drakensberg Mountains on the fringe of the escarpment, at the foot of the southern hills. It is rich with historical sites and buildings, which belonged to the old NZASM and are now proclaim national monuments.

There is also the old ZASM Tunnel and Five Arch Bridge, as well as President Paul Kruger’s official residence where he resided in 1900 before going into exile in Europe. The Elands River Waterfall is visible from the mouth of the old Railway Tunnel.

Waterval Boven has always been a railway town. The Nederlandsche Zuid Afrikaansche Spoorweg Maatschappij railway line reached Waterval Boven in 1894, opening up a direct line from Pretoria to the port of Lourenco Marques, known as the “Easternline” or “Oosterlijn”.

Today the Oosterlijn Steam Company has preserved this dramatic piece of history in the operation of class 15F and 25NC steam locomotives, as well as the “JAN WINTERVOGEL” the last remaining NZASM steam locomotive. Vintage rail safaris run through the lush semi tropical lowveld following the course of the Elands River or up through the Mpumalanga highlands into trout country covering some of the most scenic and adventurous steam locomotive routes in Africa.

Accommodation in the town ranging from budget and backpacker to upmarket fraternity chalets.There are numerous fly fishing dams and rivers of the Waterval Boven Trout Association for the fly fishing enthusiast.

For the more adventurous the world-renowned rock climbing cliffs offer challenges to the outdoor enthusiast.

Visit us for accommodation, fun, flyfishing, bird watching, rock climbing and other adventures in the Western Middleveld!

Machadodorp was named after Joachim Machado – the Portuguese surveyor and Governor of Mozambique who established the route of the railway line from Maputo (formerly Lorenzo Marques) to Pretoria.  A railway station opened  on 10th July 1894.

The town started as a railway village in 1894. in 1900 it became the capital of the old Republic for 3 weeks when President Kruger ran his government from railway carriages in a siding of the Machadodorp Railway Station. Following his defeat at the Battle of Berg-en-Dal he went into exile in Mozambique.

Machadodorp is therefore an interesting historical village where President Kruger ran his parliament for 3 weeks during the boer War during 1900. There is a very interesting Boer War Grave Yard at the outskirts of the village, and many other historical sites
Ruins in the form of round stone circles, built by  ancient people, are evident in the area.

Machadodorp is similarly well known for its fly fishing in the Elandsriver, the municipal dams and at a number of private dams in the area.  In 1907 a consignment of trout fry destined for a local farm were too weak to travel to the farm, and in stead tipped into the river and grew to large fish. This is how Machadodorp became a trout fishing destination.

Machadodorp has developed into a little service village for the surrounding sheep, cattle, and trout farms and lodges in the area. It also houses people working for the Asmang Manganese Processing Plant just outside the village. In and around the town various venues can be found for the accommodation of fly fishermen, tourists, etc.

The climate is warm to hot in summer, and brisk and cool in winter.