A Mental Trip Through KwaZulu-Natal with Historian Steve Kotze
Historian Steve Kotze (author of Gate) brings to life the stark landscape of southern KwaZulu-Natal with his historical tour of the region, where he tells the story of the Mariannhill Monastery, the mission stations and the extraordinary man who founded them. Franz Pfanner was an Austrian monk of the Trappist order, which uncompromisingly endorsed frugality and back-breaking labour. Not only did Pfanner’s missions have an impact on the local South Africans, but South Africa made its mark on the order – putting into effect transformations not only at Mariannhill, but changes as far afield as the Vatican.
The symbolic significance of creating meaning in landscape is captured in Kotze’s collaboration with photographer Ian Wolstenholme, Gate which looks at how landscapes are inscribed with stories that are seared into popular memory – tales of ownership and loss. If you are interested in an intellectual as well as physical journey through the Drakensberg, Kotze’s Mission Tours are a good place to start.
Religion, history, geography and the clash of European and African cultures somehow manage to get involved in a multiple-narrative pile-up in the dusty, desolate roads of southern KwaZulu-Natal.
In a nutshell, one could call it the Heart of Darkness in East Griqualand — but with a far less calamitous conclusion.
In terms of cultural tourism South Africa is certainly no slouch. Several iconic destinations such as KwaZulu-Natal’s battlefields of Isandlwana and Blood River, Sterkfontein’s Cradle of Humankind and the Iron Age marvel of Mapungubwe immediately spring to mind. Yet these are merely the tip of the iceberg of landmark locations that tempt the tastebuds of the intrepid traveller. The country has more unexpected sources of interest to those determined to remain far off the beaten track.
Book details
- Gate by Ian Wolstenholme, Steven Koetze
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EAN: 9781770078819
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- KwaZulu-Natal: Adventures in Culture & Nature by Sue Derwent, Roger de la Harpe
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EAN: 9781770073951
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Image Courtesy Kim’s South Africa
