Hands-on heritage experience at Melville Koppies
MELVILLE - Melville Koppies Nature Reserve, the last conserved remnant of Joburg's ridges, offers visitors a wealth of natural and cultural heritage.
Guided walks and hikes that take place over weekends give visitors the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty with unique sensory experiences.
One of the experiences offered at the koppies is that of grinding sorghum, traditionally a woman’s job in South African rural areas.
“Sorghum can be ground for porridge or for sorghum beer, and there is a song for each purpose,” said reserve spokesperson Wendy Carstens.
“A man really prizes his wife if she can make good beer. I praise [the breweries] and let my husband buy the beer.”
Carstens added that, while the koppies doesn’t have a brewery, the sorghum ground by visitors does not go to waste.
“Birds polish off all the sorghum left on the grindstones,” she said.
Other than sorghum grinding stones, visitors can also see the remains of an Iron Age smelting furnace, Middle and Late Stone Age living floor, and stone-walled cattle kraals.
August events:
10 August: Enjoy a guided walk on Melville Koppies Central at 8.30am. Parking will be available at Marks Park Sports Club, Judith Road, Emmarentia, opposite the reserve entrance.
16 August: The Melville Koppies Management Committee AGM will take place at Melville Koppies Central, Kafue Road, at 2pm. Guest speaker Barbara Shaw will discuss the culture and rituals of the people who worship on the “Holy Hills”, Melville Koppies West.
17 August: Go on a guided walk of Melville Koppies Central at 2pm. Parking will be available at Marks Park Sports Club, Judith Road, Emmarentia, opposite the reserve entrance.
24 August: Explore the reserve with a three-koppie hike that will begin at Melville Koppies Central at 8.30am. Parking will be available at Marks Park Sports Club, Judith Road, Emmarentia, opposite the reserve entrance.
Details: 011 482 4797; www.mk.org.za; fomk@mk.org.za
