Van Reenen's Railway Pass

Next time when you travel between Johannesburg and Durban on the N3 and follow the Van Reenen's pass – just pause a moment and notice the beauty around you. 

  This road is often mistakenly called the Old Van Reenen’s Pass, which is incorrect because the original pass mostly followed the course of the present-day N3 route. The road tracks the course of the railway line, which follows a series of contorted loops and tunnels to keep the gradient to a reasonable level. There does not appear to be an official name for this pass, so it can be confusing to research and to locate. The road, which is mostly gravel, is in a surprisingly good condition and can be driven in any high-clearance vehicle, provided that the weather allows; like Van Reenen’s Pass, the route is subject to both snow in winter and violent thunderstorms in summer. Thanks to Mountain Passes South Africa for the information

 The landscapes around the Van Reenen Pass are stunning and the railway service roads and tunnels top off the adventure. The route is a superb gravel pass but easy going and we duck off the N3 just after Van Reenen. We travelled on the downhill mode. The scenery is stunning. This is the service road of the railway line and we travelled pass sidings, tunnels and farms. It includes a 200m tunnel built-in 1925, with a curve.

 Watch the video that will take you with us Van Reenen Railroad pass

Bookmark this pass for a sunny day and get lost in time and space and escape the frenetic traffic off the N3.

Till next time

Hennie & Sandra

A small church with a big heart

A small church with a big heart 

We are paying a tribute to the smallest church in the southern hemisphere. It's design is based on a wing of Cardiff Cathedral in Wales. This unimposing little building sits on the pass between Harrismith and Ladysmith. 

Blink and you’ll miss the sign and the small road leading to the church

Tiny it certainly is, about 20 bricks in length, with a small curved apse, and the front façade just 15 bricks wide. It is charming, resting under old trees on its sandstone base, with its quaint bell-tower surmounted by a stone Celtic cross. 

Below is a marble circle with the inscription ‘Landaff Oratory 1925’.

Only one person at a time can fit through the entrance. Inside, there is a narrow aisle leading to a small altar and, beneath the beautiful stained glass windows with their iris motif are just four pews, each able to seat two. 

There is no doubt that the tiny church was built by eccentric local Van Reenen Magistrate Maynard Mathew in 1925. Mathew was a peculiar man who was the grandson of Viscount Llandaff 2 of Ireland and he was a friend of General Jan Smuts.

 The death of his favourite son, Llandaff, affected him deeply.

And therein lies a story that is huge, the story of a retired magistrate Maynard Mathew, whose son Llandaff died while saving miners from a coalmine accident at the Burnside Colliery in KwaZulu-Natal on 19 March 1925. Llandaff’s bereft father, Maynard, was determined to erect a plaque to comemmorate his son’s bravery and that his son should not be forgotten. He decided to build his own church and sidestepped the restrictions by building a church himself. He had plans drawn up on a similar design to a wing of the famous cathedral in Cardiff Wales. So he purchased a quarter acre of land from Bob Bloy of the farm Scottstan and commissioned Mr John Smith, a contractor from Pietermaritzburg, to build his little church.

Mathew was also clearly a devout Christian, for the stone plaque on the left wall proclaims ‘To the Glory of God’ first, and then follows ‘And in loving memory of Llandaff Mathew, who gave his life to save those of others at Burnside Colliery on March 19th 1925 Aged 28 RIP.

The oratory seats just eight people, apparently the same number of people Llandaff saved in the mine accident 

The quirky little church has passed through many hands since it was built in 1925.

When Mathew died, the chapel was sold to a George Tierny, and later to a Mr Osborne.

In 1960 Mr Charles West-Thomas bought it and put up a tribute on one wall dedicated to his first wife, Terry. After her death, he remarried, and gave the chapel to his second wife, Mims, as a wedding present in 1974. On October 28, 1983, the Little Church was declared a National Heritage Site by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).

Mr Maynard is remembered as a very colourful, family figure. His wife, Sadie, apparently had to endure bigoted good humour.

Till next time 
Love from South Africa 
Sandra