15 kilometers south of Underberg on the R617 towards Pietermaritzburg, the Reichenau Mission stands on the banks of the Pelola River in the foothills of the incomparable Drakensberg range.
This historic mission, founded in 1886, was the first satellite station of the famous Mariannhill Mission near Durban. The redoubtable Abbot Francis Pfanner, of the New Reformed Cistercian order of monks, commonly known as Trappists, came out to South Africa during the early 1800s. He first established Mariannhill, and broke away from the monastic tradition of silence to serve and missionise the population of the early Natal colony. Today its the rally's turn to empower the locals with knowledge learning and education. There about 160 pupils at this school which is now based at the mission. As we drive down the leafy driveway children run to greet us with their parents, they cheer and dance around as the vehicles park up.
This place is quite unlike anything I'd expected... I think its fair to say that every school on the rally so far has been totally different, this is no exeption. The buildings look like they have been been lifted from the Yorkshire Moors and plonked in Zululand... how very quaint!
It was an incredibly loud and vibrant welcome.
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