NZASM-BRIDGE Traditional Cache

NZASM-BRIDGE, APIES RIVIER, PRETORIA

Many occupants and travelers in Pretoria who drove on the portion of the Nelson Mandela drive between the Fountains circle and Railway Street did this without noticing the remarkable historical engineers’ work of the city. South of the present railway bridge, on the western side of the road is a chiseled rock structure to be seen from the road. This structure is about 10 meters high, 5 meters wide and 9 meters deep with two bow openings which overlook to the north. That is the remaining of a NZASM-bridge which was built over the Apies River in the Elandspoort gateway in 1893. NZASM mean “Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij”. The company designed, built and managed a railway network for the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) from 1887 to 1899. The NZASM-bridge was from Pretoria the first important bridge on the approximately 500 km railway line to Lourenço Marques (Maputo) in Mozambique. The contractor who was contracted to build the bridge was Johannes Marte Mante (*1861 - †1920).

In 1960 a new double line bridge was built and the Nzasm bridge became obsolete. In the 1980’s the Maria van Riebeeck drive (presently the Nelson Mandela drive) were broadened. The eastern side of the bridge was demolished, to the dismay of many people. With thanks to the initiative of Willem Punt of the (Pretoria Burgerlike Trust), a blue sign was brought onto the bridge with “NZASM 1893”.

This information was retrieved from notes from Mr Anton Jansen from the Tshwane Heritage Association. He used the article of Dr Robert de Jong in the Pretoriana nr 91 April 1987 and Dr de Jong’s book The Buildings, Steam Engines and Structures of the Netherlands South African Railway Company (1988)





The Cache is hidden at the remains of this old bridge. The bridge is in the Fountains Valley resort in the Groenkloof nature reserve. Every nature reserve, game reserve, national park etc must have a public resort where leisure activities can take place. Nature reserves need to be made available to the public for various reasons. To preserve a place with its vegetation and wild life we must make it available for people to enjoy the environment that we preserve. The funds generated from the visitors are essential in the funding of the preservation of these reserves. That is why most reserves have a resort area with leisure activities, and limited access into the resort area. Groenkloof nature reserve and the Fountains Valley resort is such a place where the resort is the high density public leisure facility, and the reserve is the limited use sensitive area.

To get to the cache area one must enter the resort at the entrance gate, (S 25° 46’ 878 E028° 11’ 624 ). Once inside the resort you can follow you’re GPS to (S 25° 46’ 569 E028° 11’ 727) Enter through gate and follow your GPS coordinates to the cache. Entrance is free as you go to the open zone which is free access. There are presently contracting work done in the area for the Gautrain development. Please be careful as it is a remote area in the resort, and the climb to the cache is very steep and slippery. Rather go west and walk up the steep climb next to the diamond fence, and move in a group. Take care as there are muggles in the vicinity.