THE ABBOT PFANNER TRAPPIST TRAIL IN SOUTH AFRICA
“There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa.
About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu, on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill;
and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and East Griqualand.”
© Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu, on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill;
and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and East Griqualand.”
© Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Walk the first long-distance pilgrimage trail in South Africa established in the beautiful southern regions of KwaZulu Natal, between the Southern Drakensberg, the Midlands Mistbelt and the Eastern Cape. Strung out across the hills and valleys between the Drakensberg and the sea, like knots on a string of Rosary beads, are twenty-two historic Trappist missions. Established over a century ago by extraordinary Trappist monks, led by Abbot Francis Pfanner, the Mission churches are hidden treasures that we want to share with the world.
September Trail
Read the Booking Coniditions, complete a Registration Form and
send to Helngiwe to secure a place:
[email protected]
Call or Whatsapp Hlengiwe at 073 709 6966 for more information.
Numbers limited.
Read the Booking Coniditions, complete a Registration Form and
send to Helngiwe to secure a place:
[email protected]
Call or Whatsapp Hlengiwe at 073 709 6966 for more information.
Numbers limited.
two_eaglez_trail_booking_conditions_2023__2_.docx | |
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First group of 2023!!
Join the fabulous 6 day Trappist Trail from 19 - 24 May.
We will meet at the Tea Gardens at Mariannhill Monastery, 98 Abbot Francis Rd, Mariannhill, Pinetown at 9am. Parking for your cars is in front of the St. Joseph church. Please let us know if you need parking.
Bring a packed lunch for today. Sibeko – our wonderful driver for the duration of the tour - will pick us up at 10:15 and drive us to Reichenau Mission established in 1887 by Abbot Francis Pfanner and Trappist monks near Underberg.
Mdu Zuma will take us on a tour of the St Andrew’s church and the recently restored mill, which were built by Abbot Fanner and the Trappist. After the tour and lunch Sibeko will drive us to Centocow Mission for our first night.
We will visit Kevelaer Mission, Centocow, Lourdes, Emaus and Mariathal.
Contact [email protected] or Whatsapp Hlengiwe at 073 709 6966 for a registration and indemnity form. (or download one below). Please read the Booking Conditions below.
Spaces are limited so don't delay!
apt_trail_registration_form_2023.pdf | |
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January 2023: A group of new tour guides have been trained to lead groups. Contact [email protected] for information.
In December 2022: Urban Econ was contracted to investigate the feasibility of expanding tourism in the Region.
In December 2022: Urban Econ was contracted to investigate the feasibility of expanding tourism in the Region.
- UE to submit the Inception Report to EDTEA on the 9th of December 2022
- PSC to supply UE with any additional information and documentation
- District and Local Municipal LED and Tourism Strategies
- IDPs
- Background research on Mission Tourism
- Site datasets and maps (Shape/KML/GIS files)
- PSC to supply a list of stakeholders to EDTEA and UE
- Site visit to take place in February 2023
About Abbot Francis Pfanner
Abbot Francis Pfanner, born Wendelin Pfanner on 20 September 1825 in Langen-Hub, near Bregenz (Austria), was ordained as a priest in Brixen, Austria in 1850. His health was not good and he suffered from tuberculosis during and after his studies. Father Pfanner journeyed to Rome, and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1863, before entering the austere Trappist Priory of Mariawald in Germany. “I am doing this after long and careful consideration; my thinking is completely rational…I do not seek to become rich, I do not want any high office. I do not want to become famous in this world. I would rather be poor and live totally unknown in a remote monastery somewhere, hopefully for the rest of my life, if they have need of me…” After setting up a new Trappist monastery in Donaumonarchie in Austria in 1867-1868 he was mandated by Propaganda Fide (Vatican) to found a new Trappist monastery near Banjaluka, Bosnia (in what was then the Osman empire). At the age of 54 in 1879 at the General Chapter of Sept-Fons in France, the visiting Bishop Ricards of Grahamstown (South Africa), made an appeal for a Trappist foundation in the area of the Sunday River. None of the Abbots in the council put up their hand. Prior Francis Pfanner stood and said, “If no one will go, I will go.” Little did he or anyone else know that this would be the beginning of the most extraordinary adventures in the Roman Catholic Church and that he would became the leader of the largest Trappist house in the world. Continued..... APT TRAIL in the Media
Video in two parts of the 2018 Test Trail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1EXI7ud0ws https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJd2PhGSMkg&t=34s Hugh Bland's beautifully illustrated coffee-table book of the Trappist Missions.
Available from: [email protected] |
About the Abbot Pfanner Trappist Trail pilgrimages
Most pilgrimage trails lead to a shrine or Holy place and for this reason our walking pilgrimage will start at Reichenau Mission, the first outreach mission built by Abbot Pfanner and his monks from Mariannhill in 1886. Visiting 8 of the missions the pilgrimage will end at Mariannhill, where the Abbot’s story started and where he is buried. Some stages between the 8 missions are ±40 km. This meant dividing some stages into two days. A hired bus and driver fetches pilgrims from predesignated places on the road and takes them to their overnight accommodation. The next day they return the pilgrims to the place where they were picked up so that they can continue walking. The vehicles also transfer their luggage from one overnight place to the next. Local walking guides accompany the groups on each stage. DETAILS OF THE WALKS OFFERED TO FAR
'Walk and Ride' SLOW TRAIL
5 night, 6 day trail focusses more on the history of the Trappists and the Missions, on the areas you walk through, the architecture and folk lore of the region. In the slower ‘Walk and Ride’ group we walk half the distances of the regular trails ± 8km – 10km per day. All groups meet at Mariannhill Monastery and the cost of the package includes transport to the start at Reichenau Mission and return to Mariannhill at the end of the walk. There is accommodation available at Mariannhill in the Retreat or at Tre Fontane for those coming from out of town. The bus transfers pilgrims to and from the trail and our luggage to each overnight stop. NB:
Until further notice, the APTTA will no longer offer group walks on the APT Trail. Please contact Hlengiwe for information on group walks: [email protected] If you are a church, club or other interest group, you can organise trails on this trail by using the resources on this website. |