Editor – Mermaids, ghosts, ghouls and demons – what a strange town we live in! If only we could just take a break from it all and let reality wash over us, what fun this little town of ours would be. Let’s be honest, where else would you find ghost hunters, goats cursed by sangomas, midget mermaids and of course the odd demon? Only in Ladysmith.
Who needs to travel when the crazies have come here to visit? More importantly, if you add this all together with our historical significance with regard to the Anglo-Boer War, we should truly be on every tourist’s ‘Reason to visit South Africa’ list. Add singing superstars Ladysmith Black Mambazo and you have it all!
So when you next feel the need to venture far from Ladysmith, remember what keeps you coming back. Friendly people and stranger-than-fiction facts help of course, but for me, I think it’s something in the water. Once tasted, you’re bound to it. Tradition has it that when King Shaka passed by this little hovel, he drank from the Klip River and exclaimed “Emnambithi” which, roughly translated, means “The water is nice”.
