The cache is a regular cache hanging from the lowest part of the fence at the corner of the open plot that I still own in the Village. We moved from Nieu-Bethesda in June 2023, but a part of our hearts and souls still remain behind. From time to time I still visit the Village and our dear friends that live in this special place.
Who was Martha? I give up, searching Google did not yield any clue to the identity of Martha. As soon as I find out from any other source who she was, I will update the listing with the information. What I do know however, is that I bought the house from Professor Marianne McDonald. She is a distinguished Professor of Theatre and Classics in the Department of Theatre at the University of California, San Diego. She has published more than 250 articles and books and specialises in the study of classic Greek and Roman theatre. She worked closely with Athol Fugard and he previously lectured at the same university as Adjunct Professor of Playwriting, Acting, and Directing. In 2004 she established the Marianne McDonald theatre in Nieu-Bethesda. The theatre has subsequently been donated to the Owl House Foundation who sold it to one of the local churces. The theatre remains available for rental for performances.
And Stokkiesdraai? That was the name of a restaurant that a previous owner of the house operated in what was our TV and living room.
I first heard of Nieu-Bethesda and the Owl House in 1992 when my wife and I watched the cinema adaptation of the famous Athol Fugard play “Road to Mecca”. The movie was released in 1991 and was his debut as a film director. Kathy Bates and Fugard starred in the film together with Yvonne Bryceland, who was also the original Miss Helen when the play was first performed in 1985. This was the origin of my fascination with this little village. However, it took us to 2006 to visit the valley for the first time. Thereafter we visited the village regularly and in 2011, when our family made the decision to make a lifestyle change, it was an easy decision to relocate to the Gats river valley in the Karoo to live in the shadow of Kompasberg.
If you sit at the cache location on a clear day and look East across the street you will see the top of Kompasberg, 2503m above sea level, the location of the Kompasberg geocache GC3T6TP. If you walk some 50 - 60 m down the street towards the Church you will see our famous mountain even more clearly.
REMEMBER:
There is no ATM and no filling station in Nieu Bethesda.