Who is Zachary?​

Zachary is often referred to as the local Bear Grylls. When it comes to the outdoors, there is very little he does not know. His insatiable thirst for adventure has taken the 39-year-old geologist on some of the world’s most dangerous wilderness trails. It is said that he once disappeared along the infamous West Coast Trail in British Columbia. When he reappeared 14 days later, he had a nasty scar on his left shoulder and a haunted look in his eyes. 

The scars buried deep in the mountains

By Franz M B Jackel.

Zachary cleared his throat almost as a gesture to grab the group’s attention. “My story is not about me, but someone who disappeared in this very mountain, not far from where we are, many years ago,” he started, taking a sip of coffee.

“As the story goes, a borehole driller was exploring the western Soutpansberg when he found a gold nugget. It was in the year 1933 and Dries, a self-taught prospector, decided to show his wife, Miem, where he had found the nugget,” he said.

Zachary paused for a moment and pointed to the west, in the direction of Medike, where the deep crevices in the mountain were clearly visible. “I’m going on what Miem herself told people in later years, but I have traversed the area on numerous occasions, and I have often heard people talk about Dries and the gold nugget,” he said.

Zachary leaned back against a giant yellowwood tree before starting his tale of one of the most intriguing mysteries of the ancient mountain.
“Miem was apparently highly sceptical of the prospect that some gold was hidden below the cliffs of the Soutpansberg. ‘No, my dear husband, there is no gold in the Zoutpansberg range. Where is the nugget?’ she asked him,” Zachary continued, mimicking Miem’s apparent scepticism by sticking his hand on his hip and raising his eyebrows.

“Dries explained that he took it to a geologist in Pietersburg, who told him that it was ‘fool’s gold’, or iron pyrite as they call it. However, the geologist agreed to send the sample away for further tests. ‘I’m waiting for the outcome,’ Dries tried to soothe his wife.”

It was Zachary’s turn to look sceptical about Dries’s ability to mollify the difficult woman.

“Miem was not too impressed with the explanation and even less impressed with the route. They had to venture through dense bushy areas and scale some steep cliffs before they arrived at the crevice where Dries had found the nugget.

“When Dries told her exactly how he made the discovery, she was not convinced. ‘I found the nugget in a skeleton’s hand bones. The skeleton was wedged in that crevice,’ Dries told his wife. She, of course, being an inquisitive woman and perhaps a bit superstitious, immediately wanted to know what had happened to the skeleton,” said Zachary with a smirk, taking another sip.

“Dries mentioned that he had contacted the University of Pretoria and told them about it. ‘They came and took it away for deeper study and age testing,’ he told Miem. But Dries was very secretive about the nugget, only disclosing the discovery to his wife.” Zachary nodded, as if agreeing with this lack of faith in humanity. Then he continued, leaning forward a bit.

“‘Let’s say your story is true, then surely there must be explanations. A gold nugget here in the Zoutpansberg could only have come from Greefswald,’ Miem told him. She was quite a remarkable woman, with a vast knowledge of just about any subject. She was a travelling nursing sister for the Department of Health, but she also enjoyed reading newspapers and learning about history,” Zachary said, nodding his approval. The others weren’t quite sure if he liked the woman or not.

“Now, the year before, in 1933, the news about the findings of what would later become known as Mapungubwe Hill became public. Geologists of the University of Pretoria confirmed that a golden rhino figurine was found on this farm, just north of the mountain. ‘The skeleton, when he was still alive, must have brought a nugget here from there,’ Miem tried to explain to her husband. ‘How do you know it was a man?’ he asked. ‘Because only a man is foolish enough to go searching for gold in some godforsaken place and then fall into a crevice with the gold clutched in his hand,’ was her answer.” By now, Zachary was clearly enjoying telling the story. Marelize was starting to think his mug did not contain coffee!

“But Dries was not convinced and rejected her theory. ‘Gold was found here; thus, there must be more! I’m going after it,’ he said.” The expression on Zachary’s face said exactly what he thought of that idea.

“Dries was probably influenced by the tales of many of the prospectors who scoured the area since the early 1800s. He had possibly read the memoirs of one of the earliest Voortrekkers, JGS Bronkhorst, who accompanied the Potgieter trek around 1836. Bronkhorst explained how they had encountered many of the local people wearing golden beads. They were also shown a mining camp from where the gold was extracted,” Zachary added, a sparkle in his eye.

“I am sure Dries followed the tracks of the Potgieter and Trichardt treks, so he could trace the whereabouts of this camp. In his memoirs, Bronkhorst describes the location as just opposite the camp where Trichardt stopped over. Now, that could be either near the salt pans, or just north of where the Schoemansdal town was later established, which means just about where we are now,” said Zachary, looking around the circle of listeners. They were hanging onto his every word. Even Edwin, who normally seemed Mr Cool himself, looked like the idea of gold lying around here somewhere, just waiting to be discovered, was making him antsy.

“But the story did not have a good ending. A few days later, in the middle of the night, dynamite explosions thundered through the gorge of Waterpoort. Dries was never to be seen again,” added Zachary, a wistful look on his face. He cleared his throat again, looked at his coffee mug and saw that it was empty.

“The story is really about the scars of the mountain. It’s about mining companies wanting to rip out the treasures the mountain has collected over millions of years, as well as the scars of the people left behind, like Miem, who never saw her husband again,” said Zachary, getting up and walking over to the coffee pot to pour himself another mug.

You could hear a pin drop, with the only sound being that of the cool mountain breeze!