Wagendrift Dam

Description

Wagendrift Dam, found 6km outside Estcourt, takes its name from yesteryear, when transport wagons used to travel through the area alongside the Bushmans River, as they returned from Port Natal to the gold fields of the Witwatersrand.

The dam is set within Wagendrift reserve, a 980 hectare protected area which incorporates Moor Park Reserve. It is a quiet, picturesque resort within easy reach of other Drakensberg holiday areas.

Directions

Located in Wagerdrift 6km from Estcourt on the road to Giants Castle and White Mountain.

Activities

Boating and fishing are the main activities, while a resident yacht club, the Bushman's Boating Club has its club house there for the benefit of it's members. There is a 3 km self-guided trail along the Bushmans River where several species of game occur. This area abounds with birdlife, including fish eagle and black eagle which have nested in the reserve for many years. Species of fish commonly caught in the dam are scaly, bluegill, bass, carp, eel and the occasional trout.

On Makhabeni hill overlooking Moor Park is one of the oldest iron age sites in KwaZulu-Natal dating back to AD 1300 and on the southern side of the dam are large fossil beds with many fossilised trees lying exposed on the surface of the ground.