Wakkerstroom is in the middle

Photograph by George Angus

Wakkerstroom is in the middle.

Not of South Africa.

That spot is usually reserved for Bloemfontein.

It is in the middle for us.

Matilda loves the warmer, wetter northern part of our country.

Tzaneen, Magoebaskloof

with its mountains and forests.

I am more of a plains person.

The vast expanses and far off

horizons of the Karoo stir my soul.

We meet each other somewhere

in the middle.

Wakkerstroom is not warm,

but it is wet.

It does not have forests

but we’ve discovered klofies¹

with beautiful streams,

shady spots under big Ouhout² trees,

larger than we’ve ever expected them to grow.

Mist often covers the landscape,

making everything silent and soft.

On clear days

you can see for miles on end,

across vast valleys that are held

by gentle mountains and hills on the edges.

During the cold winters

frost turns the delicate greens

into all shades of brown, yellows.

I have seen the grey gravel road

that goes past Zaaihoek dam before,

near Petrusville I think.
It folds over the hills

like a carelessly forgotten ribbon –

dipping out of sight, appearing, dipping out of sight…

And draped over everything is the quiet.

When you love someone

you move to Wakkerstroom.

Often.

__________

¹      "klofie” – diminutive of “kloof”, an Afrikaans word for a deep glen or ravine. It is commonly used by English speaking South Africans as well.

²       Name of an evergreen shrub or tree. The name literally means “old wood”, an indication of its straggly growth that resembles a plant growing for many years amidst many hardships.

George