Location

In the western part of Northern Cape Province.

The town, a pleasant place named in honour of the ascetic Swiss churchman John Calvin, is set beneath the rugged Hantam range in the dry, rather lonely plains of the north-western Karoo. This is sheep country, South Africa's second largest wool-producing area. 'Hantam' is the Khoisan word meaning 'where the red plants grow', which hints at some of the unique vegetation to be found in the wider region; in springtime the usually rather austere countryside is transformed by a riot of colourful wild flowers. Winter nights can be bitterly cold, but the skies are crystal clear and a joy to star-gazers. To the west is the Nieuwoudtville area, the Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve and their floral splendours; to the north-east sprawl some of the world's largest salt pans, known as 'vloers' - empty stretches of shallow, salt-encrusted depressions where the air shimmers in the intensity of reflected heat, mirages deceive the eye and violent little whirlwinds, or 'dust devils', disturb the mind. To the south-east is Sutherland, location of one of the southern hemisphere's most important astronomical observatories (see below).

Highlights

Akkerdam Nature Reserve The Karoo scrub of this attractive sanctuary contains ten floral species unique to the Hantamsberg. The scenery and the sunsets are magnificent. Hiking trails have been charted. Elsewhere are 4x4 routes that take you along escarpment and riverbank, enabling you to view Bushman rock art, some interesting Anglo-Boer war sites and, in spring, quite glorious carpets of wild flowers.

Local Hero One of Calvinia's most celebrated sons was Abraham Esau, a coloured man and blacksmith by trade. Esau, whose gravestone can be visited, was brought up in the Wesleyan faith, developed passionately pro-British loyalties, and tried to enlist in the British forces during the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902. He was turned down by the military, who considered the war a 'whites-only' affair, but he nevertheless raised a local militia (armed mainly with swords) and organised an intelligence network covering much of the Northern Cape. When a Boer commando raided the town he and his followers offered stiff resistance, but were defeated and taken prisoner. Esau suffered two weeks of torture without either betraying his agents in the field or renouncing his allegiance to the British cause, after which he was shot. At his burial, his coffin was draped in a Union Jack.

Sutherland It's well worth making the trip to this somewhat isolated town, site of the R200 million Southern African Large Telescope (Salt), currently being erected. This will be the southern hemisphere largest astronomical installation, capable of detecting light as faint as a candle-flame on the moon and designed to explore black holes, planets around distant stars and other galaxies. Salt will be accessible to the public: planned is a viewing gallery and state-of-the-art information centre.

Nearest towns

Nieuwoudtville lies to the west; Sutherland to the south-east (take the R354)

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CALVINIA

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Western Cape
Gauteng
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Kwazulu Natal
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