The legend of the Lost Valley
The legend begins in 1837 when the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief descended on the foothills of Kerkenberg accompanied by nearly 55 oxwagons and hundreds of Voortrekkers. They were on their way to a new world named Natália by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.
Retief and his men were amazed by what they saw and when they returned they informed the trekkers that the journey would continue.
Five of the families apparently decided enough was enough. They didn't want to continue trekking or negotiate for land with anyone – Zulu or Brit. They headed west and came across a picturesque valley about 30 km from Kerkenberg. It was surrounded by cliffs and had only one natural entrance.
The trekkers’ oxwagons could not pass through the entrance, so they were fotced to use pack animals to carry their belongings into the valley. Each family found a spot to settle on.
Legend has it that these families lived in complete isolation in the valley for more than 100 years. They knew nothing of outside events. Knew nothing of telephones, stoves of showers. Their children never attended school.
These forgotten people of the lost valley were discovered and reported to the world for the first time by Sep de Beer, a journalist from the Harrismith Chronicle newspaper in 1948.
Or so the legend goes.
IF YOU'RE AIMING for Geluksbufg, Memel is a detour. However, it is here that the dirt road begins to wind towards Normandien Pass. To the Drakensberg. To the legendary Lost Valley.
Located on the town's main street, the Memel Hotel is a historic landmark. It never seems to be
