go! YOUR JOURNEY STARTS HERE

Chrissiesmeer has lots of old sandstone buildings. The town is so small that you can walk through it in less than an hour. Stop at Froggies coffee shop near the turn-off to Breyten and get a map of the town, or download a map beforehand from www.chrissies meer.co.za – just be aware that it’s a little dated.
There are five attractive church buildings, and the premises where Simmer & Jack ran a shop before moving to the Reef to found the mining company of the same name and the town of Germiston.
Two enormous oak trees planted by John Jack in 1886 still stand in front of the building. Later, a hotel was built here, in which the notorious serial poison killer Daisy de Melker is reputed to have stayed.

<i>go! says</i>Also visit the grave of Lieutenant Arthur Swanston of the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons, killed in the Anglo-Boer War in 1900. For more than 60 years afterwards, his Scottish fiancée sent flowers every year to be placed on his grave.
 

“If you’re not into nature or eco things, you might not take to Chrissies­meer,” says bird enthusiast Aretha Strydom. “We don’t have a supertube.”
The town does, however, harbour 287 bird species, with a particularly wide variety of waterfowl (about 180 species) lured by the numerous lakes and pans: red-chested flufftail, Rudd’s lark, blue korhaan, chestnut-banded plover, yellow wagtail, three crane species, you name it.
In the late summer thousands of lesser flamingoes stop over here. “One year we counted 18 000 flamingo chicks on Blinkpan,” Aretha says.
Island Lake is the next-biggest lake in the region after Lake Chrissie. A farmer who used to keep goats on the island would ferry them to and fro in his boat, Aretha tells me.
You can drive the 60 km-long HighveldInyoni birding route on your own (ask for a map at your guest houses.) It’s mostly gravel, but you shouldn’t have trouble driving it in a sedan, as long as it hasn’t rained. You can also go on a birding outing with Aretha, who has permission to take birders onto private land. The best time for bird­watching is between September and March.
Get a birding list from www.misschrissies.co.za/birding.php.

<i>go! says</i>Look for wildflowers and 15 wild orchid species in summer. Or book a flower guide at 082 804 1771 – cost is R100 per group, plus R20 per group member.

When you stand outside the cave next to Lake Banagher in which the Scots­man Alexander McCorkindale and his wife lived in the 1800s while building their house, you understand why people say Mary-Ann McCorkindale must’ve been a very patient woman: The cave is only about 3 x 2 m and you can’t stand up straight in it.
Teriesa Serfontein has built a lapa next to the cave, and visitors can hang out here or go swimming or paddling. There’s also a lovely hiking trail next to the lake. 

Where? About 4 km from Chrissiesmeer on the way to Swaziland, turn right onto the Lothair road. Continue for 13 km and turn right at the Liefgekozen sign. The turn-off to the lapa is 4,7 km further on the left.
Cost: From R20 per person.
Contact: 082 479 4048

The Chrissiesmeer region is also called Matotoland, which is derived from maxoxo, the Swazi word for frog. Thirteen frog species have been recorded in the area. These include the tiny Boettger’s caco (Cacosternum boettgeri) and the rattling frog (Semnodactylus wealii).
The annual frog night is the perfect opportunity for tearing your kids away from their PlayStation. But a frog-catching session can be arranged at any time of year when the frogs are calling.
Wear wellies or shoes that you don’t mind getting wet, and take a powerful torch and transparent plastic bags for the frogs.

<i>Go! says</i>No frogs were injured and all were released.

Cost: R100 per group, plus R20 for each member of the group with their own guide.
Contact: 082 804 1771; info@florence.co.za
 

Jan Randall doesn’t do things by half measures. He farms with 40 000 sheep, and for 20 years he played the piano at local gatherings every Saturday and Sunday night. Since starting with his tractor collection in August 2007, he has collected nearly 150 machines, dating from 1920 to 1960.
And then there are the engines (like the one that generated electricity for the bioscope at Amersfoort), veteran cars and motorbikes (among them the BMW motorbike on which Ermelo’s traffic officer patrolled the town streets in the 1950s) and a 1948 Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft. And in his house are miniature models of just about all the tractors in the shed.
“I have a great love for tractors,” says Jan. “It’s part of the farming business.” His favourite is a Lanz Bulldog that he himself drove between 1950 and 1970. After that the tractor stood under a tree until local restorer Hannes Rothmann restored it. That’s why the collection is named after Hannes.
All the tractors in the shed are still in working condition, and as he shows you around, he starts up the odd one so you can hear what it sounds like.

Contact: 082 807 5515

<Go! says</i>There are even two veteran wheelchairs in the collection.

More things to do
Visit a sheep farm. Sheep are shorn throughout the year. Ask someone at your guest house to arrange a visit to a sheep farm.
Go for a walk. Florence Guest Farm has two hiking trails on which you can see birds and rock art.
Bait a hook. Fish in Island Lake for R20 per person per day. Call Ben on 076 358 0683. Trout have also recently been released in two dams on Florence Guest Farm.
Hoist the sails. Get permission to sail or paddle on Lake Chrissie. Contact Aretha Strydom ( 082 821 3081), the Genesaret camp­site ( 017 847 0094 or Celia Beukes ( 082 449 6551).
Learn to make cheese. Guests at Miss Chrissie’s Country House can learn how to make cheese. Lessons cost R150 per person.
How to get there
The town is 36 km from Ermelo on the N17 to Swaziland, but rather go through Carolina if you’re coming from Gauteng.
Get directions at www.chrissiesmeer.co.za.

Stay over
Miss Chrissie’s Country House ( 082 821 3081; www.misschrissies.co.za). R180 per person sharing; breakfast costs R40 and dinner R80. R50 per person per night to camp.
Florence Guest Farm ( 082 804 1771; www.florence.co.za). From R260 per person sharing; extra for breakfast and dinner.
Other accommodation. You can also spend the night in town at the prison or church, or at many other guesthouses. Visit  www.chrissiesmeer.co.za for more information.

Eat out
Froggies coffee shop ( 073 194 6801) Toasted sandwiches and baked goods.
Lake Chrissie Lodge ( 017 847 0025)
Pub lunches and Sunday buffet for R65 per person.

Calendar
4 December 2010: Frog night
22 January 2011: Veld flower day

Find out more
www.chrissiesmeer.co.za; chair of the
tourism association Ané Stein 082 804 1771.

(Note: Prices accurate in March 2010)

Related articles:
Cradle of Human Kind
Reserve: Suikerbosrand