Three Towers Farm Stall on the N3

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On the N3
at the Winterton Interchange Exit 207 (West)

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Ben Warden

Four Corners on the N3

“The internet can bring together the strangest pairs.”

In South Africa, you have to have more than one arrow in your quiver if you want to survive – and many more if you want to thrive. Ben and Susan Warden farm on their land in KwaZulu-Natal, but they are also active in Winterton: Ben as manager of the maize mill and Susan selling the grain.

“We are exactly the same distance, about 16 km, from Colenso and Winterton,” says Susan. “Kopleegte covers all four corners around the intersection of the N3 and the P294.”

Ben has been on the farm for 50 years. “I grew up here,” he says. “My family has been farming here for three generations.” Susan arrived much later. “I grew up in Bloemfontein and later studied fashion design. Then I met Ben at Reitz – and before I knew it, he kidnapped me to Kopleegte!” she laughs.

Meanwhile, the family has expanded: one daughter is in primary school in Winterton, while the other is at boarding school in Bethlehem.

Now the Wardens have added another arrow to the quiver: a hectare on the northwestern corner of the farm – where the commercial Brahman cattle used to graze – has been transformed into an electric vehicle charging station, CHARGE N3 Tugela.

“We saw an advertisement on Facebook and just replied there,” Susan recalls. “Shortly after that, Joubert turned up here, and that’s when we reached an agreement.”

CHARGE N3 Tugela is the third solar-powered EV charging station in South Africa. Since completion in May 2026, along with CHARGE N3 Roadside at Leeukop Padstal – it provides EV drivers between Johannesburg and Durban with much-needed peace of mind.

However, Kopleegte doesn’t only light the future; its deep heritage is just as strong.

“There are many traces of early inhabitants,” says Ben. “From the Stone Age to the Boer War. Especially in the northeastern part of the farm, which has never been ploughed, sown or grazed.”

Thus the present, the past and the future intertwine. “We are very excited to be part of the green progress,” says Susan. This is where the next arrow in their quiver comes in: she is the manager of the Three Towers farm stall has arisen alongside the charging station.

“My mother-in-law always looked at the traffic on the N3 from the porch and said: ‘If only you could give every traveller a cup of coffee…’” smiles Susan. “Now that wish is coming true.” She has never run a farm stall before, but she is not shying away from the challenge. “I trust that CHARGE will give me the necessary guidance and support.” Mother-in-law herself will not be participating, however – at 80, it is quite understandable that she does not see a future in such a new and active enterprise.

Ben and Susan have already experienced a ride in an electric vehicle during the Berg & Bush cycle race in Winterton. “But we are still waiting for a proper 4×4 EV,” says Susan. “When it gets wet here, you need something that can handle the mud!”

The Wardens: a pioneering couple. CHARGE: a pioneering energy company. Together on course for a carbon-free future on the four corners of Kopleegte.