Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Jock of the Bushveld

Has anyone out there ever heard of the story of a Staffordshire Terrier by the name Jock of the Bushveld? Well, just to give you a little bit of background info, he lived in the Mmpumalanga area of South Africa in the late 1800's. His owner travelled,hunted and lived around Pilgrimsrest,Baberton(Where I visited my lovely friend Jean and her daughter a while ago) Sabie,Graskop,Nelspruit,Lydenburg and even Mozambique! I love taking a road trip around those areas and starting just about 70km or so from where we live, we still have the old coach road where, to this day and age you can still clearly see the ruts the coach wheels made through the mountains! The road itself is clearly visible from a long way off, without any attempt of sorts being made to keep it maintained. This dog is a legend in South Africa having shown unheard of courage and loyalty out on the hunting field.He was known to jump into a river to protect his owner from a crocodile,has outwitted and killed a dog killing baboon, stopped a few meanies from hurting his owner and guarded a kill from lion and hyena throughout the African night until his owner could come to fetch it the next morning. The escarpment is one of the most stunning places to visit in South Africa and attracts tourists from all over the world. Everywhere along this route you will see little memoriams etc in remembrance of a dog called Jock. How neat is that!




Approaching the escarpment



On top of the world!








This man was very well loved by all his Pilgrimsrest friends to have had this memorial specially set up for him!






Jock was here,there and everywhere!





I expect Jock was well known to Edwin Blacklow
as they share this memorial site






Lover's Lane in Baberton,which Jean just had to show me!





The historical old town,Baberton.





The lovely Lorraine and her cute little girl.....and no,she was not conceived on Lover's Lane, I asked!


15 comments:

  1. That is so interesting! And such a pretty green landscape and town.

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  2. Absolutely beautiful! I just love that dog story. So neat to see the marker for him.

    Teresa

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  3. Lisl, I really enjoyed this entry. Your land is so beautiful, and so different from what I see every day. I loved the story of Jock. I wonder if anyone has written a book about him and his adventures?

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  4. Thanks for the chuckle at the end. :)

    Lovely road trip! Love that the dog is such a part of history there! A big heart in that one, for sure!

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  5. Louise, there is a book called Jock of the Bushveld and a movie was made as well. I am sure the book and DVD will be available on Kalahari.net
    The story about the dog and his adventures is really awesome and I wish I could tell the whole story here....but believe me,it takes a extraordinary dog to become a legend the way he has.

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  6. LOL I bet some kisses were shared on lovers lane! The countryside looks so soft and peaceful. Lovely story about Jock. We had a farm dog that attacked a big old bull to keep my dad safe. The bull had thrown my dad and the horse he was on, tight over the bulls back and then he was after my dad. Shep sunk his teeth in the bulls nose and wouldn't let go til dad was safe. Animals are such a great gift to us from God! :D

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  7. Nice post and just goes to show you that dog really is man's best friend.

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  8. My friends have told me often how beautiful South Africa is. Now I am convinced Liesl. These photos are very reflective, if not breath-taking of a beautiful country! And what a wonderful story of Jock, the hero dog!

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  9. Your landscape is beautiful! I'm so glad to have stumbled upon another blog with bring out my favourite ingredients: Africa, dogs, horses and nature!
    Warm greetings from West Africa,
    Esther

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  10. Wonderful....what an interesting story!
    And the views are stunning!

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  11. These picture are quite enchanting.

    http://swordsintoplows.blogspot.com

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  12. I never heard of Jock either -- now that I have I will not forget him. A good and faithful dog can be the best companion we can have.--Inger

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  13. All those who have not read the book "Jock of the Bushveld" are urged to do so! (Google it or try Amazon.com The book is far better than the movie which could never encompass the features of this great TRUE saga!!!)

    It is the ultimate story of man's best friend and the deep humanity of Sir Percy Fitzpatrick.

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  14. Hi there John! It is definitely a book every parent should buy their animal loving kids,my parents did and I still cherish it to this day!

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Hi,thank you for stopping by "A Little African Magic" and joining my adventures in South Africa. I do enjoy and appreciate to hear from each and every one of you!