Waterval Boven
Encyclopedia
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
to Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
in Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Hence the name which means "above the waterfall" in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. It is the sister town of Waterval Onder
Waterval Onder
Waterval Onder is a small village situated at the base of the escarpment on the banks of the Elands River below a 228m waterfall in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Hence the name which means below the waterfall. The village did not develop into a town like its sister town of Waterval Boven which is above...
which is at the base of the Escarpment below the waterfall. Both settlements were established because of the Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
- Delagoa Bay railway line, built by NZASM (Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansch Spoorweg-Maatschappij).
History
The railway from KomatipoortKomatipoort
Komatipoort is a town situated at the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati Rivers in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is 8km from the Crocodile Bridge Gate into the Kruger Park, and just 5km from the Mozambique border and 65km from the Swazi border. It is a small, quiet town with some...
to Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
reached Waterval Boven in March 1894. In order to establish a supply depot, The Transvaal Republic acquired about 78 ha of the farm Doornhoek, lying on either side of the line. Between Waterval Onder and Waterval Boven, the line rises from the Elands River valley and the Lowveld to the eastern edge of the Highveld
Highveld
The Highveld is a high plateau region of inland South Africa which is largely home to the largest metropolitan area in the country, the Gauteng City Region, which accounts for one-third of South Africa's population.-Location and description:...
- 208 metres over a distance of 7.5 km - which necessitated a rack-railway and a steep, curving tunnel over this stretch. This route was later changed to a less severe gradient over a 14 km stretch with two tunnels. After this diversion, the old tunnel was used for road traffic until 1936, when the Elands Pass
Elands Pass
Elands Pass, Is situated in the Mpumalanga province, on the National N4 road , the road between Waterval Boven and Nelspruit ....
was built. The original tunnel, and also the bridge just below the tunnel, were proclaimed historical monuments.
The area is a major rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
attraction, with some 450 sport
Sport climbing
Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, and possibly bolts, for protection,...
and 150 traditional
Traditional climbing
Traditional climbing, or trad climbing, is a style of rock climbing in which a climber or group of climbers places all gear required to protect against falls , and removes it when a passage is complete...
routes. A lodge with mountain chalets provides accommodation for climbers and visitors, and a comprehensive guide exists to climbs in the area.
Oosterlijn Steam Company, today has maintained this dramatic piece of history in operation of SAR Class 15F and SAR Class 25NC
South African Class 25NC 4-8-4
Between 1953 and 1955 the South African Railways placed fifty Class 25NC steam locomotives with a 4-8-4 wheel arrangement in service. The Class 25NC is the non condensing version of the Class 25 condensing locomotive, of which ninety were placed in service at the same time...
steam locomotives, as well as the "JAN WINTERVOGEL" the last remaining NZASM steam locomotive. Vintage rail safaris run through the lush tropical lowveld accompanying the course of the Elands River up through the Mpumalanga highlands through trout country enveloping the most scenic and adventuresome steam locomotive routes in Africa.
Name change
In October 2009 Waterval Boven (along with other Mpumalanga towns) underwent a name change. In Waterval Boven's case, the town was renamed after its township, Emgwenya. Other towns renamed in Mpumalanga were NelspruitNelspruit
Nelspruit is a city of more than 500,000 people situated in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province . Located on the Crocodile River, Nelspruit lies about west of the Mozambique border and east of Johannesburg. The towns of Nelspruit are Kanyamazane and Pienaar...
(to Mbombela), Belfast
Belfast, Mpumalanga
Belfast, now also known as eMakhazeni, is a small town in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa ....
(to eMakhazeni) and Machadodorp
Machadodorp
Machadodorp is a small town situated near the edge of the escarpment in the Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The Elands River runs through the town...
(to eNtokozweni).