There’s life in Pilgrim’s yet
In 1993, John Pringle baptised his newborn daughter in the "church bar" of the Royal Hotel in Pilgrim's Rest.
The bar was once a Roman Catholic chapel in old Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), once a Portuguese colony. In the 1870s, the congregation outgrew the chapel and the building was sold to the owner of the Royal Hotel, who broke it down and had it transported by ox wagon across the mountains into South Africa, where it became one of the best known bars in the country.
In 1994, Pringle and his family moved to Pilgrim’s Rest and today John is a treasure trove of stories about this quaint town and district.
He can keep you busy for hours from his corner in the bar.
Ironically, the song “Die Byeboerwa”, sung by Carike Keuzenkamp, played over the speakers as Pringle entertained the bar visitors with his stories. The song tells the story of a bee farmer that decided to leave the hustle and bustle of a thriving Pilgrim’s Rest in 1891, in search of tranquillity on a farm near Barberton.
Pringle has seen Pilgrim’s Rest move through many phases, from the heydays of this national monument to the absolute ruining of the town due to political shortsightedness.
“Maar in 1930 Pelgrimsrus is die dorp se gees geblus / Dis ‘n spookdorp, wat in stilte wurg / Al wat oorbly is Johannesburg,” sang Keuzenkamp in the background.
“You see, it is nothing new. In 2018 we nearly became a ghost town again,” said Pringle. The once thriving tourist destination’s economy declined rapidly and the town became ransacked. The turning point came when the community united across political differences, cleaned up the town and improved certain features.
“Today we are starting to harvest the fruits. Business improved visibly. We can clearly see more visitors coming to our town, a slow, continuous increase. We miss the buses filled with overseas visitors, though, but at least things look promising again,” said Pringle’s wife, Elzette.
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“Of the 35 businesses in town, only about eight are still closed,” said Johnny Reinders, owner of The Vine Restaurant and Johnny’s Pub. Reinders is a living legend in Pilgrim’s Rest, not scared to tackle any problems himself. You will find him in the frontline when any physical work has to be done, always making plans for the maintenance of the town. Just last week he helped to fix a stretch of the main road where a big pothole had caused a truck to overturn.
Across the road in Skoonplaas, the owner of Paradise Shebeen, Joe Buthelezi, said he is also satisfied with the current climate. “We had difficult times in Pilgrim’s Rest, but at the moment everything is peaceful and we can see business is growing.”
Located on the outskirts of Pilgrim’s Rest and on the foothills of five surrounding nature reserves, the Pilgrim’s Rest Golf Course is one of the most scenic and picturesque in South Africa. Although it is Sunday, 20 players of the Gophers Club decided to tackle the nine-hole, 18-tee par 69.
“We love to play at Pilgrim’s Rest,” said Piet Atlas of Atlas Panelbeaters in Lydenburg, who sponsored the day.
Two of his teammates, Jacques Joubert and Louis Carstens, echo his sentiments. “It is one of the most beautiful courses to play and we regularly make use of the facility.”
In other good news, announced on the town’s Facebook group this week by Leona Oosthuizen, the Pilgrim’s Rest Caravan Park is under new management after the tender for the establishment was awarded, although the company has not been officially named yet.
