SA Express May 2013 magazine - Southafrica.to

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Hogsback
Some landscapes are a dime a dozen. One
passes through them unaffected, except for the
urge to be somewhere else. But once in a while
one comes across a very special place. It starts
gradually, the charm, with glimpses of vivid
caterpillars curled around sharp, white acacia
thorns growing beside farm fences. Then more
and more cows start appearing on the verges of
the road, until even the road signs warn of their
crossing. Goats scatter across a crest in the road,
hog families turn up, and in the background, dozens
of circular huts sprout out of the green earth like
multicoloured toadstools. Finally, even the hillsides
erupt with silver fountains and waterfalls. Where
else in South Africa does the countryside come
alive with such appeal?
The Hamlet of Hogsback has such a distinct way
of life for many reasons, chief among them is that
it is not too easy to get to, located as it is more than
220 km from Port Elizabeth and about an hour
from Grahamstown.
Of course, once the effort has been made, the
place feels a world apart from the usual tourist
town. The ancient Afro-montane forests, the
mists, the waterfalls, the abundance of green,
all makes it feel very much like Tolkien’s Middle
Earth. And while some of the more mischievous
and imaginative locals would have you believe
the area is home to Hobbits and Elves (and that
Hogsback was the inspiration for Lord of the
Rings), it is plausible, but not quite reality. On a
local website, a reporter writes somewhat tonguein-cheek:
“We have the mountains, the snows,
the forests, the flowing streams – Hogsback is
obviously the inspiration for Middle Earth. Many
of our inhabitants also closely resemble trolls and
dragons! How could some central Free State town
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