Welcome to the Slowveld
You have probably driven through White River on your way to the Kruger National Park – Numbi Gate is only 30km away – but this Mpumalanga town deserves more than a quick stopover on the way to the Kruger. A surprising number of creative people call White River home.
Macadamia, avocado and citrus farms are interspersed with rocky outcrops and enveloped by vegetation. The locals are considered a “sporty bunch” because of the veld, forests, dams and dirt roads on the town’s doorstep – and the lovely climate. White River is positioned higher than nearby Mbombela (Nelspruit) and is on average about 4ºC cooler.
Winter is cold enough to call for red wine by the fireplace. In spring, coral trees flaunt their fiery blooms and the air is crisp, but only for a short time, as summer arrives hot on its heels. “Autumn is characterised by exotic trees showing off their amber and apricot attire, and a sense of melancholy in the air,” says ceramicist Esra Bosch.
She lives on a smallholding called Die Randjie, about 5km out of town. She and her sister, Andre, a writer, live in a house built by their late father, the renowned master
