Tomjachu is an exclusive private nature reserve set in over 550 hectares of mountain bushveld, located within the Crocodile Valley Nature Conservancy. Now owned by the third generation of the Fillery family, the property has experienced a number of transformations over the years to become a wildlife haven for our guests enjoy today. We invite you to be part of the continuing story of Tomjachu.
THE NATURE RESERVE
Be Part of Our Story
Once an extensive tobacco farm, the Tomjachu nature reserve now comprises 550 hectares (1300 acres) of game-fenced mountain bushveld, and includes a number of diverse rehabilitated habitats including dams, ravines, dense bushveld, streams, open grassland, marshes, cliffs and kopjies. Each of these provide homes for an abundance of animal, bird and plant life. Beyond the swaying grasses and grazing animals Tomjachu also holds a wealth of recent and ancient history.
The dramatic hills of the Lowveld around Tomjachu contain evidence of the area’s fascinating geological and human history. Including dramatic granite kopjies with traversing quartz seams; sedimentary rocks such as banded chert and even biomats which contain fossilised bacteria which are believed to be the oldest life forms on earth from 3.2 billion years ago!
Red ochre mines which can be found nearby at Dumaneni, 6km south of Malelane, and at Lion Cavern, a site in the Ngwenya mountains, are some of the oldest mining sites in the world which attest to the early presence of man in Mpumalanga, some 46 000 years ago. A steep hike to Zebra Heights, the highest point at Tomjachu at 1050m above sea level, reveals spectacular panoramic views over the property and all the way to Legogote Mountain. Legogote Mountain is an impressive landmark between Hazyview and White River, where paintings of the ancient San (bushman) who inhabited the area thousands of years ago can still be found.
The property also has a lively recent history, including an original Voortrekker road which runs through the valley, the beginning of which is marked by a large upright stone which can be found near the Lapa.
The Voortrekkers (Afrikaans and Dutch for pioneers, literally “fore-pullers”, “those in front who pull”) were Boer pastoralists from the frontiers of the Cape Colony who migrated eastwards during the Great Trek. The first Voortrekkers arrived in the Lowveld in 1815. To hike the road is a challenge in itself, but one can only imagine what it would have been like to have driven the steep slopes with an ox and wooden cart, with lion and leopard lurking in the bush.
In recent history the area surrounding the reserve has been traditionally farm land, just as Tomjachu was once a tobacco farm, until it was purchased in 1985 by Gordon and Vikki Fillery, the grandparents of the current owners.
Gordon and Vikki Fillery bought the property in 1985, with the intention for it to be home to them and their family. The property was originally named Valbonne Farm – Valbonne (meaning ‘beautiful valley’) being an area of France where Gordon and Vikki had lived before he moved to South Africa. The name lives on through our Valbonne Villa.
The Homestead was constructed between 1988 and 1991 and was home to Gordon and Vikki but shortly after completion and the family’s first Christmas here together Gordon passed away suddenly, leaving the property to his only son Brian Fillery.
Recognizing the property was imbued with tremendous potential due to its beauty, energy and history, Brian and his wife Sara set about renovating the Homestead and began construction of the cottages. In 1995 the property was renamed Tomjachu after Brian and Sara’s three sons Tom, Jack and Hugo demonstrating the great pride and deep roots the family has in their heritage. Memories and family artifacts, artworks and antiques from the families’ many travels are displayed throughout the accommodations, and each tells its own unique story.
Following Brian’s sudden and tragic death in 2016, it fell to his son Jack, with help from his brothers Tom and Hugo, to continue the vision of Tomjachu. Today Brian and Gordon’s aspiration of building a paradise in the African Bush is truly being fulfilled.
Over the last few decades more land has been acquired, and the property has been lovingly and carefully rehabilitated through careful land management, with many indigenous animals re-introduced. The reserve is now home to an abundance of indigenous plant and animal life, creating a conservation paradise for our guests to enjoy.
After a large scale renovation, Tomjachu was reinvented in 2012, and rebranded in early 2015 to its current form, with Jack and his brothers continuing to expand their family legacy, and share it with guests from around the world.
TOMJACHU TODAY
Guests & Accommodation
Tomjachu can now accommodate 14 guests across the Homestead and three nearby cottages, and a further 12 guests at our multi award-winning Valbonne Villa. Each accommodation has their own unique character and romance, but all are surrounded by the splendours of nature. Around the reserve we have spectacular bush locations for enjoying picnics and spectacular open-air bush dinners, and invite you to explore the reserve at your leisure.
Our relaxed and professional team will make your stay an indelible memory.