Durban was hot and busy at 8.30am as we passed road works and accidents. We were driving inland to Howick for the first coffee stop of a long day – 398 kms from Umhlanga Rocks to The Golden Gate National Park.


Howick is named after Howick Hall, the home of Earl Grey, the British Colonial Secretary, whose tea blend we still enjoy today. We visited the Falls of the uMgeni River, carefully avoided the wonderful craft shops, and headed for a cup of tea – coffee stops in South Africa tended to be Five Roses Tea and something sweet!


Suitably fortified, we drove onwards, over Van Reenen’s Pass to Harrismith. The town was named after Sir Harry Smith, a British Governor of the Cape Colony, 1847-53.


The town has a darker side from the years of the Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902. The Free State Boers moved through the town to Natal, and later the town was occupied by the British forces. It was a site of one of the many concentration camps for women and children authorised by Lord Kitchener.



The last leg, Harrismith to The Golden Gate National Park.



You may be interested in
A history of Harrismith during the Anglo-Boer War
Concentration Camps
Cemeteries in Harrismith
Athinameetsworld
Lovely Photos!
Candy Blackham
Thank you, and thanks for visiting. Lots more to come!