We drive past Old Joe on a regular basis as we often visit a game reserve near Hectorspruit in Mpumalanga. I'm surprised no one has placed a cache here yet. I guess it might be because no one really picnics anymore for safety reasons. Nevertheless, stop here and stretch your legs... below is the story of Old Joe...
Old Stone Joe is an enormous 2.5 meter high rock that was unearthed and loosened by road builders when they constructed the original main road in the latter part of the 1920’s. He was named Joe after the man Joe Barbas who helped unearth him and has the appearance of a sculptured man who must have been recognized and saved as such. He has an enormous paunch as he gazes down at you. He was used as a fence post at one stage.
The story goes that one had to open and close “concertina” wire farm gates all the way from Nelspruit to Middelberg before the public road was proclamated.
The road was eventually upgraded to a comfortable new tarmac highway during the 1950’s by the P.C.Zaanen Company, who constructed the road all the way from Middelburg to Nelspruit. The new highway still went over Patatas Nek and followed more or less the original route. Old Stone Joe was retained as a mile-stone as he kept a dutiful eye over all travelers.
After some years of just being a silhouetted fence post, Joe eventually took on a personality through the ingenuity of the late Major Claude Graham from White River, who kindly and enthusiastically used to guide groups of bored teenagers on expeditions and picnics during school holidays to decorate him. He has taken on many colourful personalities over the decades being decorated as a chef, toff, pirate, or waiter, etc. Now that the highway has been upgraded into a “super” highway, the services of Joe have been retained and he still does his duty as a sentinel landmark along the N4.
These days he has been placed on his own pedestal/cairn where tourists can stop for a picnic, or to have pictures taken. He has been adopted by various organizations who regularly commission Ghost the Cartoonist from Nelspruit to decorate him.
By the way…observe Joe carefully. He may just wink at friendly kids 