Do you ever wake up some days feeling like you need to get out into the fresh air and escape the city? You don’t want to go far, but you just need to get away for a few hours. Well, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Midlands is the perfect place to spend a day in the fresh air with the family.
After waking up one morning in the school holidays with said feeling, we decided to the Midlands we should go! Not wanting to pack too much into the day, we decided to spend most of our time at Midmar Dam, stopping at just a couple of interesting spots.
VT Coffee Café, Lion’s River
There are a few great coffee spots in the KZN Midlands, so we planned on just stopping somewhere to have a cuppa along the way. As we turned onto the R107, we were pleasantly surprised to see the VT Coffee Café sign, so we veered off onto the gravel road as instructed.
It’s not your typical coffee shop, and that’s probably why we liked it so much. Housed in a shipping container with seating spilling out into the surrounding garden and upstairs on an open deck, this little Café has so much character.
Serving wonderful Terbodore Coffee, as well as products labeled as “not coffee”, the Café also has a drive-through which was well supported while we were there, midmorning on a working day. It’s not surprising really, as the ladies who served us were incredibly friendly and full of the joys of spring, or rather, autumn.
Our two (adult) children enjoyed smoothies and declared them spectacular. VT Coffee Café does have some delicious food options too, but we were saving ourselves for our picnic later in the day. Their “Monster Pies” looked just that!
Midmar Dam, Howick
The next stop was Midmar Dam. We have always enjoyed visiting the dam, however, it is often busy at weekends, so we stick to holidays when we hope most people are at work. We were fortunate to find that we were only one of three other families at the picnic site we like the best.
The weather was beautiful – KZN Midlands at its best! Midmar Dam is located within the Midmar Nature Reserve, managed by Ezemvelo KZNWildlife. In April, it is warm during the day, and the water is warm enough to swim in for most people – not me, but the other three members of the family enjoyed a dip, and the men swam across part of the dam.
Midmar Dam is home to the Aquelle Midmar Mile, an annual international swimming event. Gary has participated in this event eleven times, once even completing the double! It is held in February at the height of summer, and I remember vividly pushing a pram to the start to see him off and then pushing the pram back to the finish in the event held at the start of the new millennium. Yes, I have walked the “double” eleven times too!
Midmar has great facilities for families wanting to have a day out in nature. While parents would need to watch their children near the water’s edge, there is ample space for picnicking, braaing ( a South African barbecue), and fishing. Water sports are confined to designated areas of the dam so as not to cause any mishaps with unsuspecting swimmers. Visitors can also enjoy long walks or cycles around the dam.
Those wanting to visit for longer can stay in self-catering cottages overlooking the dam, as well as the popular camping sites.
The entrance fee to the reserve is R50 ($3) per adult, from 06:00 – 18:00.
Nelson Mandela Capture Site
After our picnic, a quick walk, and a snooze in the cool shade of the trees, we made our way to the Nelson Mandela Capture Site, a short distance away. We have visited the site before, but the children were much younger, and we have been wanting to go again for some time. For South Africans, Nelson Mandela will always be a hero, one of our all-time greats. So much has been written about him that I will not venture there this time.
The sculpture is a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s capture and comprises 50 laser-cut steel columns ranging from 6 to 9.5 meters in height, spanning a length of 30 meters. The columns, representing the prison bars of his Robben Island cell, amongst others, are arranged in a linear vertical pattern.
To view the sculpture, you must take a path from the Visitor Centre that represents ‘the Long Walk to Freedom.’ The path leads to the sculpture, ending at a viewing point where the steel columns converge and focus at a point 30 meters away from the sculpture.
Boasting a fully immersive 360-degree film, the Visitor Centre also exhibits a stunning range of artifacts and photographs and an authentic replica of the Austin Westminster that Mr. Mandela was using at the time of his arrest on August 5, 1962. This wasn’t on show the first time we visited, so it was great to see this addition. What is interesting about the Visitor Centre is that it includes resistance to colonial rule and apartheid dating back to the Bambatha Rebellion of 1906 and ends with the building of a new South Africa.
Disguised as a chauffeur, Mr. Mandela was in the passenger seat of the car belonging to Cecil Williams, a member of the ANC underground movement. They were driving along the R103 highway connecting Durban and Johannesburg when he was apprehended by the apartheid police. After a 17-month pursuit, they finally succeeded in capturing him on this quiet, peaceful stretch of road.
We found the site a profoundly moving testament, to not only the life of Nelson Mandela, but all those courageous South Africans who gave their all for a democratic South Africa.
The Mandela Capture Site Visitor Centre is open Monday – Sunday, costing R100 ( $6) for adults, from 08:30 – 16:45. The sculpture can be viewed at any time for free. There is a Café on site should you need refreshments.
After this sobering end to our KZN Midlands trip, we took a slow drive home, remembering it as a day of quality coffee, cherished family moments and a brief yet significant glimpse into our past.
