Vanderkloof & Orania

After filling up with diesel and enjoying a Wimpy lunch at the Colesburg One Stop we set off for the Vanderkloof Dam (previously the P.K. Le Roux Dam). The route took us through the Bastersnek Pass and then along 60 km of dirt road. We were again lucky enough to spot Secretary Birds, Blue Cranes, Blue Korhaan and Northern Black Korhaan. We were once again disappointed at not being able to enter another two Nature Reserves! The Doornkloof Nature Reserve at the southern end of the dam had a sign on the gate stating simply: closed until further notice! The Rolfontein Nature Reserve at the northern end near the dam wall, we were told, is undergoing maintenance and no visitors are allowed.

We spent the night at the Vanderkloof caravan park situated within the Vanderkloof Holiday Resort near the wall. The caravan park, and in fact the whole town, is rather run-down and the ablutions in need of cleaning. We were eager to move on to Orania the next day.

Orania is situated on the banks of the Orange River in the Northern Cape and was built in the 1960’s to house the workers building the irrigation canals for the Orange River Project. After the completion of the project the town was abandoned. In the early 90’s the derelict town was purchased and turned into an ‘Afrikaner Volkstaat’ with the aim of serving as a stronghold for the Afrikaner identity. If can read more at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orania,_Northern_Cape

Orania lies right below the flight path on the Cape Town to Johannesburg route and Roger has seen it from the air many times, wondering what it was like. Then we met Ludwig and Retha Everson from Orania while we were in Nieu Bethesda. Roger became especially interested while chatting to them about their off-the-grid home and we decided to include it in our route.

We checked in at the Aan die Oewer campsite before going to explore the town. All signage is in Afrikaans only, although people speak English when they are dealing with foreigners who do not know Afrikaans. How visitors from other countries deal with local signage I am not sure, e.g. most of the taps in the campsite have signs saying ‘Rivier water, moenie drink nie’! And believe me, there are overseas visitors.

The town seems to be very well run. They have recycling bins everywhere and all new houses must have solar geysers. The people are friendly, relaxed and family orientated. They employ only white Afrikaners for all levels of labour and industry. The major economic force is farming, comprising pecan nuts, some almonds, maize and some sheep. There is also a lot of housing development which of course provides employment.

Then of course there was the Aardskip, the home of Ludwig and Retha Everson. They make use of as many recycled and natural materials as possible but do have some backup such as a gas stove and geyser for the odd occasion. If you are interested, check it out at www.aardskip.com

At 16h00 we went on a tour of the town, a free service offered by the Orania Beweging. Sebastiaan showed us around the various points of interest, ending at the Verwoerd House where Betsie Verwoerd lived until her death in 2000. The house is now a museum dedicated to Dr Hendrik Verwoerd.

We were very surprised and disappointed at the lack of fresh produce and home-made goodies. Somehow we expected a more self-sufficient community with a thriving home industry supplying products like farm chickens, eggs, preserves, etc. But there was nothing. We had to replenish stocks at the OK Food store…

Saturday was designated a maintenance day. Roger opened up Ufudu’s lights at the back to dry them out and seal with silicone. The lens covers have been collecting moisture inside and despite a previous attempt is still constantly misted up and moist inside. Let’s hope this attempt will be more successful. The next major item was the reverse osmosis filter. Roger noticed water dripping from the box containing the filter, after the freeze of the 10^th July. He found the thick plastic housing of the high pressure pump had cracked! Fortunately we still have a spare pump which Roger bought while we were in Ballito, so at least we did not have to source a new one out here in the middle of the Karoo! He replaced the sediment filter cartridge at the same time.

The rest of the day was spent on other small maintenance and cleaning issues, ready for an early departure on Sunday, when we plan to travel to Mokala National Park near Kimberly. We both have a need to get back to the peace and tranquility of a Park…