The Hantam Karoo 81226 - Cultural · PDF fileModule 4: Component 4: Hantam Karoo Northern Cape Province ©Makiti Guides & Tours (Pty) Ltd 2008 1 The Hantam Karoo This is a vast...

Module 4: Component 4: Hantam Karoo

Northern Cape Province ©Makiti Guides & Tours (Pty) Ltd 2008

1

The Hantam Karoo

This is a vast ill-defined, arid region within the borders of the Northern Cape. Boundaries are the Orange River in the north and east, Calvinia in the south and Namaqualand in the west. The Hantam Karoo are divided into the following regions

Bushmanland • Roughly bounded by the Orange (Gariep) river in the north, Namaqualand in the west, the Sak and Hartbees rivers in the east, and Calvinia in the south.

• It was named after its earliest inhabitants, the Bushmen (known as the San today).

Roggeveld • To the south - includes portions of the Fraserburg, Calvinia and Sutherland districts.

• Both the plateau and mountains take their name from a species of indigenous grass (Secale africanum) that the first white settlers found here in the early 18th century and called wild rye (‘rog’ in Afrikaans). Easily confused with cultivated rye. It grows 1 m tall with thin stalks and delicate ears.

Nuweveld • This is the region north of the Nuweveld Mountains and south from Loxton. It is the Afrikaans word for ‘new field’ most likely referring to the different type of vegetation that was encountered to what the stock farmers new before, who moved into the area in the mid 1700s.

Hantam • Bounded by the Bokkeveld and Namaqualand in the west, Bushmanland in the north and the Roggeveld Mountains in the south.

• The Calvinia and Nieuwoudtville surrounds • The region is divided into a Voor ('front') and Agter ('rear')

Hantam by Hantam mountain itself (1 585 m), which lies to the north of Calvinia.

• The name most probably refer to ‘heyntam’ the Khoe (Khoi) word for an edible root (Pelargonium bifolium)- a small red onion-like bulb.

• The region can also be described as the ’land o the red tulip’.

• A special type of horse, the Hantam or Piet horse, used to be bred in the region. The horses were usually kept on Hantam mountain during winter to protect them against horse-sickness.

Kareeberg The region around Williston, Carnarvaron and van Wyksvlei



2

Knersvlakte

Borders West : Bitterfontein and Vanrhynsdorp Between the Bokkeveld Mountains near Nieuwoudtville and the Sandveld in the east.

Mineral deposits

The area is characterized by small white quartz pebbles. Gypsum is the most important of the mineral deposits found on this plain.

Rainfall 100 to 200mm per annum

Vegetations 10 to 50 cm high and are mainly of the “vygie” family. Between July / August the area is transformed to a carpet of colour when the blossom. The white pebbles are very important for the survival of these succulents. In summer the stones help reflect the scorching heat of the sun’s rays protecting them against dehydration. It also guards them against soil erosion. These little plants’ descriptive names include ‘baby toes’, ‘baby bottoms etc.

Farming activities

Small stock farming.



3

Brandvlei Population:

Altitude:937m/3074ft Rainfall:

Hantam Karoo

On route R27, 130km north of Calvinia

It is located in the heart of the Bushmanland on the banks of the Sak Rivier.

Origin

• It is said to have originated when the “trekboer” (migrating farmer) “Ou Brand” (Old Brand) once out spanned next to a “vlei” (marsh) to rest his oxen and settled.

• In the early1890s farmers started settling around the huge pan/vlei. • Brandvlei developed and gain municipal status. • It is also the terminus of the branch railway line from the Calvinia-Hutchinson

line.

Name

‘Vlei’ refers to a marsh • One account contributes the name to a man named Brand (common

Afrikaans surname meaning fire). Apparently, he was a “trekboer” (migrating farmer) who rested his oxen next to the vlei (‘marsh’).

• Others believe the name “Burnt marsh” is derived from an accidental fire (also ‘brand’ in Afrikaans) that burnt the veld.

Claims to fame

Salt Panning

One of the world’s largest salt producers, Saltcor is located here.

Many large floors of salt pans are located in the area: North

• Grootvloer (Great Floor) • Verdorskolk • Rietfontein se pan • Commissioner’s Verneukpan • Bitterputs se pan

South • Soutputs Vloer • Blomberg Vloer • Riet se Vloer • Swartkolkvloer • Voëlvlei se Vloer

(The word ‘kolk’ is a pan that holds water after rain.)

Large quantities of raw salt are collected from these pans and transported by railed elsewhere in the country for processing. It is used for local consumption and exported.



4

Episodic Sak River

The name of the river refers to ‘sinking; or ‘lowering’ (not to ‘bag’, the noun in Afrikaans. The river disappears (sinks) into its bed several times while flowing north to join the Hartbees River south of Kenhardt, which eventually flows into the Orange (Gariep) river. The area is well known due to the fact that the age old techniques used by farmers along the Nile in Egypt were also practiced here in the early 1900s and known as “saaidam ('sowing dam') cropping”. This ensured an output thirty times more than normal harvests. The railway line comes to a dead end at Sakrivier Stasie (Station) and testifies to the fact that such large quantities of wheat were produced that it had to be transported out by rail. However, with time the lands became too brackish for further use. The episodic river flows only in summer after heavy downpours. Once the water subsided, wheat is sown in the river-bed on either side of the course of the main stream. In general, this rich soil retains enough moisture in order for the wheat to mature without any more rain. Agriculture

• Sheep and wool farming • Main crops are wheat

Mining and industries

Salt production

Historical sites and monuments

Neo-Gothic Dutch Reformed Church

• Built in 1905 • Declared a national monument.

Attractions and activities

Die Windpomp

Some of the items on the menu • Windgat Burger (‘cheeky burger) • Climax Burger (honoring a wind-pump manufacturer) • Bokkos (buck/goat food – referring to a salad) • Traditional Bobotie (curried mince) and curried tripe can

also be ordered. • The owner of the restaurant is songwriter-singer, Wynand

Windpomp (stage name) and would put up a show every now and again.



5

Hardekop (966m)

• A lone hill 5 km northwest of the town. • Offers panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.

Blue Gum Tree

• 160-year old tree • Trunk has a diameter of 8m.

San Rock Art

• Various galleries of San rock art located on surrounding farms.

• Lekkerlê and Kans Farms host the biggest varieties of San rock art.

Salt-pan birds

• Can be spotted after the November-March rains at the surrounding pans.

Verneukpan

• Located more or less halfway between Brandvlei and Kenhardt.

• ‘Verneuk’ is the Afrikaans word for ‘deception’ and pan a shallow, flat-floored and hard-surfaced depression, mostly round or oval in shape.

• This was the site used by Sir Malcolm Campbell as a speed track for his record-breaking Bluebird in 1929.



6

Williston Population:


Hantam Karoo

On route R63 east from Calvinia and west from Carnarvon and also approximately 93 km northwest from Fraserburg on the branch railway line from Hutchinson to Calvinia Located at the foot of the two koppies (hillocks) that are locally referred to as the “singing mountains”.

Origin

• The settlement originated in 1945, when two missionaries, JH Lutz and FW Reinecke pitched their tents at a strong fountain where a wild almond tree was growing.

• They were sent by the Rhenish Mission station at Wuppertal on the request of the local “Basters” (people from mixed descent) who has had contact with the Christian faith before.

• About 700 Basters have been moving from spring to spring in the area in search of water and grazing for their cattle and horses making a precarious living and the new settlement attracted them from all across the region.

• White stock farmers (trekboers) and other settlers from Calvinia started moving into the area in the 1860s and many of the Bastards had to leave.

• One such group, accompanied by the Reverend JCE Heidmann, migrated north across the Orange River where they settled in Rehoboth in central Namibia.

Name

• Initially it was called “Amandelboom” (with reference to the wild almond tree).

• In 1919, it was renamed to Williston in honour of Colonel Hampden Willis. (Cape colonial secretary in the 1880s).

Claims to fame

Corbelled houses

The town is one of the four towns in the area that have corbelled houses. Some of these houses are more than 250 years old and are found on the farms Arbeidsfontein and Janklaasleegte, among others. The latter also has a few ox-wagons and carts on display. Make arrangements with tourism office for visits. Tombstone Route

An unusual route exploring the beautifully 1900s hand-crafted sandstone gravestone in the area. These were hewn and decorated by Cornelius de Waal who used handmade tools. The local museum exhibits the handmade chisels and tin stencils.



7

Agriculture

• In 1920, NE Hodgson introduced karakul to the area and today the main economic activity of the town is centered around the wool of the karakul.

• Wheat is grown under irrigation. • Boreholes supply water to the town. Historical sites and monuments

Dutch Reformed Church

• First church to be built in this town (1878). • It is built with local sandstone and worthwhile looking inside.


The town has an abundance of trees creating an “oasis” in this otherwise dry and treeless region. The tree-planting project was initiated by a local primary school teacher, J.H. Swart in 1930.

Vlieënde Piering (‘The flying saucer’)

• Located in Hodgson street (sign indicated to the right on route the R63 through town towards Calvinia).

• This interesting gift shop is owned by artists Pieter and Elmarie Naudé and a variety of arts and crafts are for sale.

• Also referred to as “The Williston Mall”

Sheep and Roses Gallery

• Offers items related to wool, as well as sheepskin and slippers.

Mural project

• From the R63 (main street through town) on route to Calvinia, turn left (at the hotel) towards the coloured neighbourhood.

• A few hundred meters further away a colourful decorated wall, mainly with animals and flowers, as well as other images, can be viewed. This was painted by local young people.

Old Horse Drawn Wheat Mill

• Located on the farm Rietvlei on the road to Fraserburg. • Exhibits also include a number of old farm implements such

as a bakkiespomp (Persian wheel).



8

Calvinia Population:


Hantam Karoo

On route R27, 150km south from Brandvlei, and approximately 70km east of Nieuwoudtville. On route R63, 116km west from Carnarvon. Located on the northern bank of the Oorlogskloof (‘war ravine’) River at the foot of the Hantam mountains. The table-top Hantamsberg (north of town) is 1672 m high and Rebunie (“roep-my-niet” – “call me not”), with its 6 657m high top, are located to the south.

Origin

• It was founded as a new Dutch Reformed parish on the farm Hoogekraal of Field-Cornet A. van Wyk in 1851.

• For many years it remained the only formal settlement in the largest district of the Cape Colony.

• About 6000 people, arriving with no fewer than 500 wagons, used to attend the Holy Communion gatherings at the village church.

• Calvinia is the terminus of the railway branch line from Hutchinson (on the main line between Cape Town and Johannesburg) via Victoria West, Carnarvon and Williston.

• The line reached the town on 13 August 1917.

Name

• Named for the Swiss Protestant reformer John Calvin. • His teachings had a profound influence on South Africa's three Afrikaans

‘susters kerke’ (sister churches) – The Dutch Reformed (NG), Hervormde and Gereformeerde (Dopper) church.

Claims to fame

The Dagsterwals By Johnita le Roux

A Recently published prize-winning debut novel “Die Dagsterwals” by Johnita le Roux, tells the story of Esau's life.

• It became known that the Boer commandos were operating as far south as Calvinia.

• Esau mustered a defensive force - 70 local 'coloureds'. • Free State commandos occupied Calvinia on 7

January 1901. • Esau became the focus for Boer hostility towards

loyalists. • He was arrested and thrashed in public. • On 5 February 1901(three days before the town was

recaptured by the British) he was shot dead by Stephanus Strydom.



9

The annual Hantam Vleisfees (Meat Festival)

• Locally known as “die beste blerrie fees innie” land (the best bloody festival in the country).

• It is held over the last weekend of August and includes floats and beauty pageants, sporting events, sheep dog and other championships, dances, shows and of course food, mostly mutton based.

The giant post box

• Located opposite the Hantam House. • In 1995, in an effort to promote the town, a water tower

was camouflaged by building a giant red pillar post box around it.

• One can actually post letters by using a slot at the side. A special flower stamp is used.

Agriculture

• Sheep farming for wool and mutton is the main economical activity of the town and district.

• Wheat and lucerne are grown under irrigation. • Wool production – It is one of the largest wool-producing areas in the

country.


Neo Gothic Dutch Reformed Church

• Built in 1899 • A national monument.

Hantam House

• The original town house of Field-Cornet Van Wyk and built in 1854.

• It is built in gabled Cape Dutch style and still has the original cedar wood panels.

• Recently restored and converted into a coffee shop that serves traditional Hantam dishes during the spring wild flower season.

• A national monument.

Dorpshuis ‘Town house’

• Built in 1855 in Victorian architecture.

Museum

• Located in Kerk Straat • It is hosted in an old synagogue that was built in the

1920s. • Exhibits features the history of the area, including the

original order issued in 1901 for the arrest of Abraham Esau (leader of the local 'coloured' community) who sided with the British against the Boers in the Anglo-Boer War. The Abraham Esau Memorial Stone is located east of town on the R27 towards Upington.



10


Rockery (1.5 ha)

• Located in the centre of the town. • Has been planted with indigenous succulents and other

plants.

Bothasdal

• A private residence. • Furnished in authentic 17th- and 18th-century style. • Viewing by appointment only.

Akkerendam Nature Reserve (2 300ha)

• Developed on the farm by the same name north of the town and includes parts of the slopes of Hantam Mountain.

• Offers two hiking trails in the reserve. • Karee Dam has become a natural bird sanctuary.



11

Nieuwoudtville Population:

Altitude:741m/2431ft Rainfall: 350 mm

Hantam Karoo

On route R27 approximately 30km beyond Van Rhynsdorp, on route R63 from Calvinia through Van Rhyn’s Pass in the Bokkeveld Range. The town is located on the Bokkeveld plateau. It is also the place where four ecosystems meet: the Hantam mountains, the Koue Bokkeveld mountains, the Nama Karoo with its flat open plains and the Knersvlakte below the escarpment.

Origin

• Local rock art in Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve and on farms in the vicinity testifies to the early Khoi San inhabitants

• A new Dutch Reformed Church parish was established on land bought from the Nieuwoudt brothers in 1897.

The ‘trekpaaie’

Most of the farms in the Nieuwoudtville area consists of widely separated portions of land. In the earlier years, a system of paths was laid out where along the live stock could be moved from one section of a farmers ground to another. The unwritten law was that water would be supplied by the farmer whose grounds were utilized for this purpose. The herders where not suppose to leave the demarcated areas, but of course there are always scoundrels who misused the system for grazing their stock on the neighbour’s farms. Most of the farms are fenced today, but in some portions the “trekpaaie” are still in use.

Name

• Named after the Nieuwoudt brothers. • The town and district are often referred to as the 'Boland of the Northwest'

Claims to fame

Known as “The Bulb capital of the world”

The area around Nieuwoudtville has the highest concentration of indigenous wild bulbs (309 species of geophytes). This is almost a fifth of the entire geophytes (1551) of the Cape floral and the latter being 4-5 times richer in geophytes than any other Mediterranean regions such as Western Australia, California and the Mediterranean basin. There are always flowers of some kind somewhere in the area. In spring, after good rains, the region is covered with orange bulbinella (katstert) and orange and yellow daisies. In March, the March Lilies (Brunsvigia bosmaniae) lasts for 1-3 weeks.



12

Quiver Tree Forest

Located at Gannabos on the Hantams River about 20km northeast of town, on route R357 to Loeriesfontein. This is on private property and the hosts (Merwe and Lisl van Wyk) should be notified prior to visiting (027 – 218 1349). It is the largest and southernmost concentration of Aloe dichotoma. The San used the branches for their quivers, hence the name. These trees can live up to 400 years and are able to store water in their trunks to resist droughts. They grow on the hot north-facing slopes and are in flower during June/July. Glenlyon Wild Flower Reserve

Located approximately one kilometer south of town on the working sheep farm, Glenlyon owned by Neil McGregor. In spring, over half a million BBC spent time on this farm filming “The Private Life of Plants” for the BBC.

Matjiesfontein Padstal

Approximately 15 km south of town. Local items, including jams, skuinskoek and honey can be purchased, but the farm also provides the opportunity to drive through the 1000 hectares to view flowers. World renowned experts have told the owners that the farm has the largest variety of bulbs per square meter in the world.

Agriculture

• Main economic activity for this region is sheep ranching. • Rooibos tea plantations, heuningbostee (‘honey bush tea’ – Cyclopia vogelii)

and wheat under irrigation.


Dutch Reformed Church

• Built in Neo Gothic style with sandstone. • The foundation stone was laid in 1906. • National monument.

Various Sandstone Buildings

• Located all along the streets of the village. • The sandstone was cut locally. • Some of the original dwellings of the Nieuwoudt brothers are still

visible on the banks of the Groen ('green') River. • The town and district are often referred to as the 'Boland of the

Northwest'

Glacier Tracks

• Located approximately six kilometer south of town. • Glacier tracks from the Dwyka Ice Age are still clearly visible.



13


Oorlogs-Kloof Nature Reserve (5 070ha)

• Located about 15 km south of the town (reached via the R27 towards Vanrhynsdorp).

• The reserve comprises of deep ravines through which the Oorlogskloof River run and are primarily for hikers.

• It is essential to acquire a permit in advance. • Home to several small antelope species and a colony of

baboons. • It also hosts several rare birds species such as the booted

eagles and black storks. • The vegetation is a transition between Western Cape

Mountain Fynbos and Renosterveld and the flora of the Karoo.

• It includes the rare elephant's foot plant.

Nieuwoudtville Waterfall

• Located 7km north of town, on route the R357 to Loeriesfontein.

• The fall is located on the Doring River and is a 100m high. • It offers several viewpoints.

Nieuwoudtville Flower Reserve (115 ha)

• On route R27, approximately 2km east of town. • It was established in 1974 and hosts 206 species of which

5.3% are endemic and 39.8% geophytes.

Geophytes definition: A perennial plant with an underground

food storage organ, such as a bulb, tuber, corm, or rhizome.

The parts of the plant that grow above ground die away

during adverse conditions, as in winter or during the dry

season, and grow again from buds that are on or within the

underground portion when conditions improve. Crocuses and

tulips are geophytes (www.thefreedictionary.com).

Bulb Nursery On the outskirts of the town

Hog’s farm Offers stargazing by means of a magnificent telescope.

Papkuilsfontein

• Located 23 kilometer south of town. • Popular for flower viewing. • Khoisan rock art in red, yellow, grey and black ochre. • Swimming in natural pools, including waterfalls. • Tours of the rooibos tea plantation. • 4 x 4 trail and overnight camp site.

Varhyns Pass

• Located in the Bokkeveld Range about 30km beyond Vanrhynsdorp.

• The plateau offers panorama views from the look-out (268 m above sea level) of the plains below. To the left is the Olifants River, flowing along the foot of the Matzikamma



14

mountains towards the Atlantic ocean. On the right is the Knersvlakte with its white pebble stones. On the horizon is Strandfontein, its location pinpointed by the mist clouds over sea.

• The original route was built by Thomas Bain • In 1962 it was widened and tarred.

Old Horse Powered Wheat Mill

• Located in town.



15

The only tarred road entrance to Sutherland is the R354, approximately 77km

north of Matjiesfontein. The road passes through the Roggeveld mountains through the Verlatenkloof ('deserted defile') and Rooikloof ('red ravine') to reach the Roggeveld plateau, of which Sutherland is the main town. Gravel roads

• On route R354, 162 km south west from Calvinia via the hamlet of Middelpos. • On route R356, 105km west from Fraserburg.

Origin

• Established on the farm De List as a new Dutch Reformed parish to serve the people of the Roggeveld.

• During March 1857, fifty residential stands were surveyed. • The first 30 of these stands were sold by public auction on 8th November 1858. • It gains municipality status in 1884.

Name

• Named in honours to the Reverend Henry Sutherland, Dutch Reformed minister of the mother parish of Worcester.

• Sometimes nicknamed Sidderland, the Afrikaans for Shiver land. • It is the twin town of Ford Davis, Texas. Claims to fame

(South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO)

SALT telescope

Said to be capable of picking up a candle on the moon

• Located about 15km east from town on the gravel road R356 to Fraserburg. • It is the largest in the Astronomical Observatory Southern Hemisphere and

run by the CSIR and the British Science Research Council. • The observatories in Johannesburg and Cape Town could not deliver

accurate recordings due to artificial lights. Planning for the new one started in 1968 .

• It 1973, prime minister BJ Vorster opened the new observatory and was accompanied by Lady Margaret Thatcher who was representing Britain.

• The SALT (South African Large Telescope) telescope is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and contains 91 mirrors. These were manufactured in the USA and shipped to South Africa.

SUTHERLAND Altitude:1458m/4783ft

Upper Karoo



16

Coldest place in the country

The average minimum temperature in winter are well below freezing point and continuous even in late spring. Temperatures below -16°C was recorded in

2003 with snowfall up to 1.8 meter. The Roggeveld Mountain is often covered in snow several meters deep. However, the coldest temperature measured is said to be at Buffelsfontein (-18.6°C) in the Moltemo district.

Birthplace of three of South Africa’s Poets

• N.P. van Wyk Louw generally regarded as South Africa's greatest Afrikaans Poet.

• W.E.G. Louw, (brother of NP van Wyk Louw) which was also a leading

poet of the generation of 1930,

• DC Esterhuyse, one of the founders of Sutherland and regarded by many as the first to have written poetry in Afrikaans.

The first dairy sheep and sheep’s-milk cheese

Approximately 50 kilometers north from Sutherland on the R354 towards Calvinia lies the farm, Fransplaas. It was here that the country’s first dairy sheep were bred and the first “sheep milk cheese” was made. Cheese-tasting and a tour of the process can be arranged. The Roggeveld Handelaars in town (opposite the church) also sells these products. Agriculture

• Based largely on merino-wool production. • Tulips – experimental tulip farming Historical sites and monuments

Dutch reform Church

• Built during the term of office of Reverend Conradie • It was designed by Charles Freeman, who also designed the

church in Graaff Reinet and the Standard Bank building in Cape Town.

• It is a Neo Gothic building in the form of a cross. • The consecration services was scheduled for 27 October 1900,

but had to be postponed due to a diphtheria epidemic. • The second date that was set for three months later (26

January 1901) was cancelled due to the invasion of Republican forces and the declaration of martial law.

• In September that year, a British garrison used the church building as barracks.



17

Louw House

• The original homestead where the two Louw brothers were born.

• Exhibits some of the Louw brother’s personal items.

Salpeter Kop (1786m)

• Located about 20km from town. • Recorded as a fine example of an extinct volcano in South

Africa.



18

Fraserburg Population:


Hantam Karoo

On route N1, at Leeu-Gamka the R353 turns off north west for 114km to Fraserburg. On the R356, 113km north west from Sutherland, through Teekloof Pass and approximately 77 km south east from Loxton. On the R353, 93 km south east from Williston.

Origin

• The original inhabitants of the region was the San (Bushman). • During the 1700s (18th century), the first migrating stock farmers entered the

area but it was only in the early 1800s (19th century) that they managed to drive the San to the north.

• In 1851, a new Dutch Reformed congregation was established on the farm Rietfontein belonging to AA Visser.

Name

• Named for Reverend Colin Fraser of Beaufort West who was the father of the wife of M.T. Steyn, last president of the Free State Republic.

• Also, for JG Myburgh, a church elder who led the campaign for the establishment of the new parish.

Claims to Fame

Two residents of the town played a significant role in the development of the Afrikaans language:

HWA Coope • In 1870 an Englishman and the local law agent, HWA Cooper wrote a series of Boerenbriewen ('farmers' letters') that was published in “Het Volksblad” under the pseudonym Samuel Zwaartman.

• The letters reflected the spelling and idioms of Afrikaans at the time.

• These writings encouraged the campaign to replace Dutch with Afrikaans as the written language.

Reverend PD Rossouw

• The first sermons in Afrikaans were written by a local minister, Reverend PD Rossouw.

• It was published in ‘Die Afrikaanse Patriot’, the periodical of the first Afrikaans language movement.



19

Palaeontological sites

Agriculture

• Main economic production is merino wool. • Trophy hunting during winter .


Old Dutch Reformed Rectory

• Converted into a museum. • Exhibits include fossil collections.

Corbelled Home

• Located on the farm Grootfontein about 20km on the R63.

• Declared a national monument.

Peperbus (Pepper Pot)

• Located on Market Square, it is one of the most unusual buildings in the country.

• It is a hexagonal stone structure of 8.5 m high. • Designed by Reverend Carl Bamberger. (first Dutch

Reformed minister) • Built in 1861 by Adam Jacobs (a mixed-descent artisan) • Originally built as on office for the market master, but it

also served as a library and as office for the municipality, the magistrate, the church and the school board.

• In the early days, the bell in the tower was rung to announce the opening of the market. It also indicated the curfew, set at 21h00 each night when the 'coloured' folk were required to be off the streets.

• Later the bell was hung between two stone pillars next to the 'pepper pot'.

Powder Magazine

• Located above town. • Used as an ammunition dump by the British during the

Gansfontein farm • Located approximately 5km from town. • Tracks of large, four-footed, five –toed mammalian

reptiles (Bradysaurus) that walked this region about 190 million years ago.

• Visits to the site need to be arranged with the Tourism office.

Riethuisies farm • A distinct trace fossil of a gastropod. • The same trace fossil has been found in Antarctica and

confirms the theory of continental drift.



20

Anglo-Boer War.

Rietfontein Farm

• Farm on which the village of Fraserburg was founded. • The original homestead still stands.

Church Building

• Erected in 1870. • Used by the Community of St Augustine who worked

among the Korana Khoe tribes.

Kerkplaas • Located just outside the town. • Contains ruins of the church and home built in 1803 by

Reverend JJ Kicherer for the London Missionary Society.


Victorian style domestic architecture

• Typical of the period, various numbers of well preserved examples all along Fraserburg’s streets featuring wrought iron ornamentation.

Loeriesfontein



21

Resources and further reading

Getaway guide Stevens, U. Finding Pofadder – the West Coast, Namaqualand and Northern

Cape. Wanderlust Books. 2008 (first edition). Living Deserts Erasmus, PJ. Raper, PE. A dictionary of Southern African place names.

Brochures and maps

Nieuwoudtville and the Bokkeveld Plateau – The Bulb Capital of the World. Nieuwoudtville Publicity Acc. Map. Nieuwoudtville– A Biodiversity ‘Hotspot’ map/brochure. May 2004. Calvinia Museum brochure and exhibits

Map brochure of South Africa’s Northern Cap. Northern Cape Tourism Authority.

Websites

www.karoohoogland.co.za www.astronomy2009.org.za Information Centers

Sutherland : [email protected]

Photos and exploration trips

ML Kruger – Makiti Guides & Tours (Pty) Ltd. May 2005. August 2008. Compiled by Maria Louise Kruger 2008.

The Hantam Karoo 81226 - Cultural · PDF fileModule 4: Component 4: Hantam Karoo Northern Cape Province ©Makiti Guides & Tours (Pty) Ltd 2008 1 The Hantam Karoo This is a vast...

Documents