The cache is a regular and
is situated in a garden. It is road side cache and is dedicated to
the cachers in Piet Retief. Muggles could be a problem but that is
part of the challenge. A camera and a relaxed attitude will help
you to find it. Weekends will not be good - too many muggles. Late
afternoon or early morning is maybe the best time. Use your vehicle
as a shield.
Piet Retief is a very
interesting town and the following is worth noticing. If you pass
the town on your way down to the coast you have the impression that
this is a layback town where nothing of interest is occurring which
is not true. My intention is not to create a commercial cache but
to highlight some of the features of this town without focusing on
specifics or on entities. If you need detail and exact locations
you can contact the Info Centre at Piet Retief on 017 826
5477.
Geography:
This town is situated in
the Assegai Valley. Nearest border post for entry to Swaziland is
Bothashoop at a distance of less than 20 km from Piet Retief.
Mahamba border post is open until 22h00 and is approximately 30 km
from Piet Retief. Rainfall is about 1000 mm per year and frost is
not a problem. Between the years 1900 and 1911 large scale of
wattle was planted in the surrounding areas. Piet Retief is
surrounded with about 150 000 hectares of plantations and today
pine, gum and some wattle can be found. The estimated number of
residents in this region is about 147 000 people. The municipality
area covers roughly 4 868 square kilometer. The town Piet Retief
have about 53 919 inhabitants.
History:
Piet Retief is named after
the Voortekker Piet Retief who was killed by Dingaan, the Zulu
King, in 1838. The town was established by his descendants in 1883
on the farms called Osloop and Geluk. This town was nearly
completely destroyed during the Anglo Boer wars. During 1886 an
independent state was formed nearby and was called the Republic of
Little Free State. It even had his own president and this lasted
for more than 5 years until 1891. Today this area forms part of the
Mkhondo Municipality which was established in 2000. Mkhondo means
“animal or foot trail on natural terrain”. Mkhondo municipality
forms part of the Gert Sibande district - one of the three district
municipalities.
Arts, culture and monuments:
There are eight indigenous
and numerous other cultures presented in this town. The Germans
forms the main core of the other cultures and it is still spoken as
a first language. Several small villages and farms still bear
German names. There is even a German school and church nearby.
There are several monuments in this area. There is a war memorial
and a gravesite of the British soldiers that died during the
Intombe Wars. You will also find the Heinrich Filter monument – he
was killed by Swazi fighters with spears after his son shot and
killed a Swazi which was related to the Royal family. The Dutch
reformed church is declared as a national monument and is the work
of Gerhard Moerdijk.
Science and nature:
There are several game
farms in this area. Various 4x4 tracks and an active 4x4 community
and club can be found in this area. Forestry forms a main part of
the activities in this area. Close by you will also find the Oribi
conservatory – the only sanctuary in South Africa for this
antelope.
Sport & Entertainment:
Cycling is a favorite sport
and several routes exist. Bird watching is also high on this list.
A nice golf course is available and fishing is available in well
stock dams and rivers.
Geocaching is also an active sport in this area and a number of
cachers can be found in this area. The cache concentration is
acceptable with new ones added at regular
intervals. Several
hiking trails are available in this area in some of the most
beautiful locations and endemic aloe specicies can be found in this
area. There are several farms that offer horse riding to the
wetlands and to the surrounding mountains.
First to find honours
go to geobizkit. Well done.