Day Tripping

Tuinplaas Church

50 Km towards Matjiesfontein is Tuinplaas church, one of the oldest churches in the country still in use.
Most of the farmers in the area have two farms, one situated on the higher Roggeveld ( 1500+ meters above sea level) and another farm in the Karoo.
When winter appears in early May, the farmers migrate with all their stock, cats, dogs ...... literally everything except the furniture ..... to the lower and warmer Karoo.
It might take 4 or more days to get there - a tiring process. There they stay, shear the sheep and enjoy a 6 to 10 degrees warmer climate that in the Roggeveld until late September when the whole process is reversed. This also gives the veld a chance to recover. An annual communion ( nagmaal) is then held at the end of August in this very famous church.

Facts about the town itself..

Verlatenkloof Pass

On the way to Sutherland is the very famous Verlatenkloof Pass winding 1000 metres up the steep slopes of the Roggeveld mountains.
Until 1874 there was limited access to reach Sutherland and a pass was set out by Thomas Bain - son of the famous Andrew Bain who also built Bainskloof near Wellington. The work started in 1874 and was completed a year later. A Scotsman by the name of William Hesketh was appointed to complete the job. It took an ox wagon with donkeys to move supplies from Matjiesfontein - fourteen days to Sutherland there and back.
The post wagon with four horses delivered the mail - t and sometimes people as well. It took only four days to do the trip. Fresh horses were used halfway to the town.
Hesketh undertook to build the pass at his own expense until the government had the funds. When D day came for payment the then government did not have the money to pay him and gave him a farm with the name of Klipbanksrivier in lieu of payment.

Halfway up the pass is a stone with his name carved out. Note that the date is 1875.

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Skoorsteenberg

SpotThe exposed layers of the submarine fans of the Skoorsteenberg Formation provide geologists, geophysicists and petroleum engineers with a unique study tool.
The Tanqua Karoo is the only non-submerged place in the world where the layers are basically horizontal, making it possible to carry out detailed measurements which assist greatly in the exploration of natural gas and oil reservoirs.

Other day trips

Singing Hills - In 1845 Pastor Heinrich Lutz established a mission station called "Amandelboom" at a fountain next to the Zak River. The twin hills overlooking Williston were used as a setting for religious choral groups, hence the name "Singkoppe" - the hills of song.

N G Church - A national monument built of local sandstone and inaugurated in 1912.

The Museum - It was an early mission station and is now used as a museum with lots of interesting features.

Corbelled Houses - It is bee- hive shaped stone structures built by pioneers as houses and which remain as a unique heritage.

Tombstone Route - This a an unique one in South Africa. A trained stone cutter, James Wright, from Stirling, Scotland, settled in this area. He passed on this exceptional form of art work to the locals. Tombstones were chiselled out of local sandstone resulting in a legacy of outstanding folk art.

Rietvlei Holiday farm - Here your children can enjoy a safari specifically structured for children.

Museum - Famous for a wide selection of fossils and old furniture, this is not to be missed.

Saaifontein Farm - The birth place of the famous poet, A G Visser.

Roodekrans Farm - Meet one of the locals .... Oom Gerrit Visser .... with his extended knowledge of the flora in the area. Also famous for his experiments with Cotsiniel (Turquoise dye) on prickly pear