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Botshabelo’s last song

Sunday lunches, a picnic under the cool shade of a tree, the beautiful and quaint little cathedral built by hand in the 1800's.

June 19, 2019

Sjani Campher 2 minutes read

The Botshabelo Village was established through the shedding of sweat and blood. From nothing to a vibrant little town that housed over a thousand residents.

A missionary named Alexander Merensky purchased the farm in 1865. With rolling pastures teeming with wildlife set in the background, a richly historical village, with Victorian styled buildings and a church, drew sight-seeing tourists from far and wide, to feast on the heritage site.

For years, the Middelburg Council dug deeply into their pockets to keep the tourist hotspot alive. Locals who remember their summer weekends in the wide open spaces are dismayed at the collapsing deterioration of what once was a community gem.

Ownership disputes resulted in the hand-over of the property to the Botshabelo Community Development Trust in 2005.

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The land was divided amongst over a thousand families and discrepancies in financial management led to a total standstill.

The Ndebele Cultural Village was abandoned after a fire.

In 2017, the Committee vowed to rejuvenate the tourism hub, a curator was employed and maintenance was done to get the infrastructure back on track.

Despite the promises, to date, Botshabelo remains a ghost town.

Also read: Botshabelo is back on track and open for tourists

Historical buildings have been left to collapse.

One of the first homes, overgrown with plants.

The destination remains open for visitors. Accommodation is available for R100 per person, per evening, the restaurant is available for functions but there is very little sign of wildlife, and ablutions and camping infrastructure have been out of use for years.

With the recent pop-up of shacks on the Botshabelo property, the number of visitors have dwindled and locals are wondering what is in store for the future of Botshabelo.