Madwaleni Bush Pub & Pool

If you're en route to Tankwa, pull over and have a refreshing drink in our pub. Jai Yen Yen is a little oasis in the rugged, remote environment at the end of the Biedouw Valley.

We're right alongside the road just a stone’s throw from the Doring River. There's some welcome shade under the trees that we're re-establishing and a small pool in which to cool off.

We serve tea, coffee, beers, spirits, cold drinks and, possibly on request a toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwich. So if you're passing through, or you're one of our guests spending time on our wild bush campings, rustic chalets, or our nature picnic spots we've got you covered.

Seasonal hiking, fishing, river rafting

Braai packs are available on request for those of you staying the night.

MADWALENI

Madwaleni means 'Place of Rocks', which is literally where you are (look around). But on a deeper, spritual level, it means that you are on your journey, you're not there yet, but right now you're exactly where you need to be...

UITSPANKRAAL

Uitspankraal is the name of the area and could 'folklorically' get its name from the 'Great Trek' days when the intrepid Boer 'Voortrekkers' set out from the Cape in the 1800s, in search of a new life and new adventures. They would load all their possessions onto a wagon that would be drawn by a brace of oxen; dragging, sweating, and carving their way over the rocky hills and valleys.

At the end of every day, they would unyoke (or ‘uitspan’) their cattle to graze, and after a long week of hard driving, they would spend a couple of days in one area to rest and recover. The oxen would be grazing far and wide until a young man was sent out to find and recover them, ready for the next leg of their journey. Uitspankraal is probably one of those regular stops those ox-wagons made through this part of the country, so they introduced a 'kraal' - a rudimentary livestock enclosure to keep the animals from wandering off too far.

Or that's as close as we can get to the history of the region, and in the words of Mark Twain: "Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story". If you know more about what went down here all those years ago, come on by and grab a drink at the bar, we're happy to talk and learn more...