Photographs – Left: Lone quiver tree / Right: Quiver tree forest We stand looking over the dry sand infront of us, aghast. His job was to regulate the water from here into other smaller dams, to provide this farm and others with water. In this very house lived Koos van Taak in the 1920s, perched on the side of what was known as Driekop dam. And now I understand why it was suggested that we bring along a torch. The fridge and stove are gas, and the lights, apart from one gas lamp, are either storm lanterns or candles. On each bed is a goose down duvet made from the feathers of Elizna’s troop of geese. The furnishing is basic but comfortable – a large kitchen/lounge/diningroom in the front of the house, from which two bedrooms, each with their own shower and toilet, lead. Our little yellow house for the next three days is called Brandkop. When the wind drops later, the silence is overwhelming and the skies so filled with stars and constellations they bring tears to my eyes. Remote is a euphemism for this accommodation. Our little house stands perched over what looks like a wheat field, but which we will learn is actually the site of an old dam. We drive yet a further 10 km up the road. Photographs – Left: Gannabos / Right: Lone quiver tree We’re used to this though, as we usually collect our waste when we go away anyway, taking it home to recycle. Your cans, plastic and glass need to leave with you. You take home what you bring, only food scraps may be left for the goats, and paper, which they will later burn in an incinerator. The quiet of sun and wind energy is new, and they’re enjoying it. Both of them remember growing up with generators as the constant drone in the background. The farm is off grid as Eskom doesn’t provide for remote farms like theirs. We pass a series of solar panels and a modern windmill. Any surviving flowers have stubbornly refused to open, given the weather, and photo moments will have to wait for the sky to co-operate.Įlizna and Pieter welcome us at their farmhouse door complete with three dogs – one of which is an enormous boerboel pup – and a tortoise, where we’ve come to collect the keys. It is windy, overcast and cold when we arrive, despite my expectations that the Northern Cape will be hot this time of year. We head out of town to stay on a farm just beyond the waterfall, en route to Loeriesfontein. We make it there just after the flower season. From mid-July until September the town annually hums as it plays host to the flower season – the time of year when bulbs deliver the goods and blossom forth, producing some of the most gorgeous flowers in the country. Where the Hantam Karoo meets Cape fynbos is a little hamlet of a village called Nieuwoudtville. About South Africa Information for Tourists.Interests & Special Needs Pet- and wheelchair-friendly, guest farms, golf lodges, etc.
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