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Publication

KHULUMA

Page

46-52

Date

Fri 01 Mar 2019

AVE (ZAR)

84777.62

COUNTRY BUMPKIN

Biénne Huisman takes a peek beyond Dullstroom's postcard-pretty fagade >» = wi

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MARCH 2019

FISHINGFOR COMPLIMENTS EXPLORE

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EXPLORE FISHING FOR COMPLIMENTS

48 MARCH 2019

soneofSouthAfrica'shighesttowns- at 2 077metresabovesea level, it's roughly two Table

Mountainsup - Dullstroomliterally has itshead in the clouds. Swathed in mist mostof the year,with rollingthunderst ormsin summer, this eastern escarpment

settlement in Mpumalanga packsa prettypunch:think jewel greenhills, water fallsand lakes curled in lush crevices.However, beneath this picturesque

lethargybeats a bristlingheartthat doesnot ebbwhen weekendvisitorsleave.

Indeed,city dwellers flock to thetown for fly-fishing, goodfoodand allthingsquaint; it'sa two-and-a-half hourdrivefrom Joburg(256kmaway)andthe weekend influx is knownas 'theDullstroom Dash'. But even thoseresidentswho remainbeyondSundaywillhave you know: there's nothing dull aboutDullstroom.A fact possiblyevidencedin a recent namechange;the town's fullname is now Dullstroom-Emnotweni.EmnotweniisZuluslangfor 'placeofprosperity 'or 'wherethe moneyisat..

It's not all about weekenders and fastcash, though.Twokilometr esoutsidetown, at the

2 >(birdsofprey.co.za),conser vationistFrith Douglasworksaround the clock to heal wild animals -she refersto them as her 'patients'.Presently23 birdsare beingrehabilitatedat the animal hospital,includinga lesserspotted eagle, admitted last year witha brokenwing. 'Wesuccessfullypreparedthe wing, but he startedto moult beforehe couldmigratebackto RussialastMarch,' says Frith. 'We're hopinghe canleavethis March,but he ismoultingagain,sowe're usingmedicationto speed upthe process - we really want to getthis guy up in the air and backtoEastern Europe.) &

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The centreacceptsany wildlife- andevenfertilisedeggs. 'We hada casewhereunfor tunatelyamum spottedeagle-owlgot shotona farm nearBelfast,saysFrith.'Thefarmer knewthe owl hadbeennesting,andwent to the nest andfoundtwo chicksand two eggswhich hebroughtto us.Oneofthe eggswasfertile,meaningit hadan embryoin it. Soweimmediatelyput it in an incubator,hatchedit, and then our surrogateowlMolly raised it for us.'

Intotal, the centrehas90 residentbirdsthat cannot be releaseddue to 'physicalormental issues, she says.TheyalsohaveleopardtortoisesconfiscatedbytheSPCA, and a servalcat namedButtemut.

Frith hasmanagedthe centretogetherwith MagdaliTheron,who hostsdailypublicflight demonstrations, since2014. 'It'sjust the two ofus hereandwe really run around, saysFrith.'Often itgets hardto go fetchour patients,sowereally appreciate it when members of thepublic bring them to us, or agree to meetushalfway.

Waylaid raptors aren't the onlyDullstroomresidentsto havedefectedfrom Eastern Europe.One of thetown's moreenigmatic characters isBranko Dimitrov,owner of the famousDimitrov Art Gallery in TedingvanBerkhout Street. The tall, black-bear dedexpressionistpainter (whowill renderyour portrait in vivid brushstrokes if youbook in advance) speaks English withslight hesitation, perhaps expected ofa Serb who emigratedto South Africain1993. Branko, hiswife Buba, andtheir daughters Zoritza and Anjelina,movedto Dullstroom11years ago.He saysthe Highveldsky with itsstark clouds reminded him of hischildhoodvillage in the far southernreachesofformer Yugoslavia.

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'In 1991,the trouble started inYugoslavia.| was not interestedin beinga partof theviolence,hesays.'If I hadremained, Iwould have been expectedto pick upa gun and shoot people,whichIwas not preparedto do.South Africawas the only countr yto grant visastomy family.Inthe beginning,it was verydifficult.But I believethat ifyouhaveanability and are preparedto keepon trying,youmust eventually havesuccess.Nowmywork isshownaroundSouthAfrica- Iam content.

InhisDullstroomstudio,Brankopaintsevocative explosionsof colour and light,often landscapeswith moodyskies,whilelisteningto the hauntingstrainsof Chopin.Hisself-built homeoffers360-degr eeviews over the escarpment.

While Brankopaints,Bubamanagesthegallery;it isa family businessand Zoritzaand Anjelina are artists too. 'We are veganssopreferto cookat home,'saysBuba.'We liketo goout to explorenature,thereis so much to see here.'

In 1893, Dullstroom was named afterDutch merchant Wolterus Dull, whofoundedthe village'sfirst tradingstoreand planted its trademark elm and beech

FISHINGFOR COMPLIMEN TSEXPLORE

Artist BrankoDimitrov and his

wife, Buba, in theirgallery on Teding van

Berkhout Street

trees. The area's present municipality damwas built in1965, and stockedwith 17000trout fingerlingsthe followingyear.Fishwould come to shape the town's future.

Today Mavungana Flyfishing(flyfishing.co.za)isoneof severallocalbusinessescateringto those castingfor rainbowandbrowntrout insurroundinglakes,.It claimsto beSouth Africa'slargestfly-fishingoutfitter,cateringforyoungandold atits premises, which features a 20mcastingpond inhabitedby pet rainbows,golden trout and black bass.

Itsfounder,zoologistJonathan Boulton,says that - as a rule -he 'would rather befishing'.Mavungana is based in a sprawlingconverted house inNaledi Drive at thetown's entrance, with lawns and a pondwherewannabeanglersareofferedcastinglessons.'Instructorsexplainthe gearand how to cast on the lawn.It's tricky, asfliesweighnothing,they'remadeoffluffand feathers, saysJonathan.'The artandchallenge isto lure trout with the fly,which ismadeto resembleactual food.Soyou'retrying to foolMotherNaturewith animitationof nature.

He says trout fishing quotas dependon individuallandowners,but that &

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52

n vaar waens eken enmeentTer: ors 28

generallyfly-fishing isgoverned by a catch-and-release principle.

Jonathan moved toDullstroomin 1994.He recalls how thetown hasswelled sincethe 1990s, when itconsistedof the Dullstroom Innanda handfulofshops.'Traditionallyitwas made up of hardworking cattlefarmers, mielie farmers and trout farmers,saysJonathan.'Then, as the town grew,more andmore pubs shot up, competingfor clients; I mean there was a happy hour

at a differentpubeverydayofthe week.Peoplejokedthat Dullstroomwasa smallfishingtownwith a bigdrinkingproblem.'Today,at the village 'scosy bar,

, youwill findwhat'sbelieved to be the southern hemisphere'sbiggestwhisky selectionandan incrediblevariety of tastingmenusto help guideyouthroughwell over 1000 differentsinglemalts and blended malts, bourbonsandsinglegrainwhiskies- mostare Scotch,but there are Irish, American, Japanese,Australian,Indian,Welsh, Belgian,Canadian and even South African whiskies,too.Plus a fewother spirits.

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.- am l

Forthose eager tohit the town's culinar y

scene,, also

in Tedingvan BerkhoutStreet, is a preferred

haunt. Founded bycouple BryanWolmaransand

Stephende Meyer14 years ago,theflamboyantlydecoratedrestauranthasbright walls covered in portraits, with rowsof vintageclutch bagsand shoesdonatedbydiners.Knownfortheir signatur efresh deboned trout (supplied byLunsklip Fisheries, a trout farm in thenearbyKwenaBasin),it'snamedaftertheAmerican divorcee, MrsWallis Simpson,the late DuchessofWindsor, who causeda stir in 1930s London society withher intended marriage to British kingEdward VIII.

A notable regular isWallis, thecouple 'sfurry tiger-stripedcat. 'Wallishasbeen herefor 14 yearsaswell,saysStephen. 'She hasnumerousgodmothersand friends,gatheredfromamongour returning diners- manyof thembecome friends. Stephen, who movedto Dullstroomin 1993,sayshetakesjoyfromthe town'scommunitylife.'I enjoy

Kliphuisjes

the local residents, who tend to be kindand nurturing towards each other.

'Well, most of them, he addsas anafter thought, hiseyes rollingat thethoughtof thoseunrulysoulsonefindseven in the mostgenteel placeson earth.. R

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Pictures:Shutterstock;MiaLouw,MavunganaFlyfishingCentre,DimitrovArtGallery,SouthAfricaTourism