It is inevitable to drive around the Karoo and visit all its interesting towns and places and not venture onto a dirt road somewhere. And when you do drive along one of the dry Karoo gravel roads leaving a plume of duct in your trail, I bet you will stumble upon a couple of old rusty road signs. In this case the sign indicates a cattle grid on the road.
On my trip to Graaff Reinet we stayed at Buffelshoek Farm Guesthouse. The guest house is on a farm about 15km outside Graaff Reinet. Even though Graaff Reinet is a quiet place, its nice to get away from the whole city life thing and stay a couple of nights on a farm. Quiet nights with no lights around to spoil the view of the stars, the only sound being the frogs by the dam, no cars driving past all the…
Graaff-Reinet is South Africa's fourth oldest town and is home to some magnificent examples of Cape Dutch architecture. The town has over 220 heritage sites which is more than any other town in South Africa. For more information on the town, go to Graaff Reinet Tourism.As you drive down the town's main street, an imposing building waits for you at the end of it. The Dutch Reformed Church is situated in the centre of town and is one of Graaff-Reinet's…
Those who have ever walked around the veld in the Karoo would know what I talk about when I mention the ants dance. Its those little hops you make while shaking your feet and legs and slapping with your hands when big ants climb up for a lift. The second day on my visit to Graaff Reinet, the area was hit by a huge thunder storm which dumped a lot of water. The next morning out on my early morning…
The first biennual International Mohair Summit took place in the Karoo town of Graaff Reinet last week. "What does it have to do with Port Elizabeth?" I hear you ask. Well, Port Elizabeth is seen as the mohair capital of the world as more mohair moves through this city than anywhere else in the world. If you want to learn more about the summit, you can read more about it on The Firefly Photo Files. Specific posts are: International Mohair…
On my visit to the Karoo last week, I got to experience an awesome Karoo sunset from one of the viewpoints at the Valley of Desolation. You can see why the Karoo is called "Big Sky Country". This is the original picture. No extra colour added. No enhancement. Just a brilliant Karoo sunset.For more pictures of the sky from other exotic places all over the world, visit Skywatch.
The Valley of Desolation is situated just outside the town of Graaff Reinet. It can be found in the Camdeboo National Park which provides the visitor with insights into the unique landscape and ecosystem of the Karoo, not to mention awesome scenic beauty. The Karoo was formed hundreds of millions of years ago and in some places, dolerite form jointed pillars. The best examples of which are found in the Valley of Desolation where erosion of the softer sedimentary beds…
For today's "Random ..." theme I decided on Karoo Churches. Most of the small Karoo towns have magnificent old churches that are well know landmarks in these towns. The Dutch Reformed Church (Moederkerk) in Cradock. Built in 1868, the design is a near replica of St. Martins-in-the-Field in Londen. The Dutch Reformed Church (Grotekerk) in Graaff-Reinet. It was built in 1885 and the design was based on the Salisbury Cathedral in England. The Reformed Church in Venterstad, built in 1876.
Today's post is the conclusion of our drive through the Karoo (featured in Karoo Roads and Windpompe and Karoo Koppies ) from Gariep Dam (also see Gariep Dam Sunrise) to Cannon Rocks (posts still to come). And to link in with Skywatch Friday. As stated before, the Karoo is often referred to as Big Sky Country. "Why?" you ask. "Several reasons", I say. It is a fairly flat countryside with few hills and mountains and even fever big trees. This…
Today's post basically follows up on yesterday's post about Karoo roads. The Karoo is generally a flat and dry area with a couple of hills and mountains. This means that driving through the Karoo there are very few features that are distictly "Karoo". The land in the Karoo is farming country with farmers farming mostly with Angora goats (for mohair), sheep (for the most divine Karoo lamb chops... I mean wool) and cattle (how about toasting that juicy t-bone with…