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Northen Cape Province - Kuruman |
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Far north of Northern Cape Province The town, one of the province's most historic, nudges Botswana's southern border, a location that reflects its original character. It was here that Robert Moffat of the London Missionary Society established his headquarters in 1824, baptised his first Tswana converts into the Christian faith (in 1829), built a place of worship that accommodated a congregation of 800, gave his daughter Mary in marriage to the great missionary-explorer David Livingstone, translated the Bible into eTswana (the first to do so) and printed the Book on the ministry's press. Moffat's church and the mission buildings, girded around by fig and syringa trees, pears, pomegranates and tropical plants, still stand, and still fulfill their religious duties. Today Kuruman, a rather unpretentious but surprisingly refreshing place set in arid-looking Kalahari countryside, is the hub of a scattered stock-farming community and a fairly important mining centre: the countryside around is rich in manganese, iron ore, tiger's eye and blue asbestos. Generally, the terrain is rather flat, rather bleak in winter, but the town itself and its immediate surrounds are greened by the local river, which is fed by Kuruman's the famous 'eye' - a natural fountain from which 20 million litres of clear water well up each day. The spring makes its way up through cracks in the dolorite ridges and outcrops of the Ghaap plateau. Moffat's Mission A proclaimed national monument. Robert Moffat, his wife and daughter (both the latter bore the name Mary) arrived from Scotland in 1820; young Mary married Livingstone in 1845 and accompanied him on many of his much-publicised expeditions into what was then uncharted territory. Moffat's church was completed in 1838. Regular services are still held; visitors welcome at other times. The Eye of Kuruman The centrepiece of a pleasant little park, with willow-shaded picnic spots, tearoom and gift shop. The fat goldfish, barbel and blue kurper expect to be fed. The waters also sustain a rare and endangered cichlid fish Truce Tree The old camelthorn, in Seodin Street, commemorates a parley in one of Southern Africa's lesser known military episodes - the 1914 rebellion against the Union government, when 11,000 Boer (Afrikaner) nationalists took to the field in armed protest against prime minister Louis Botha's declaration of war on Germany. The revolt was soon crushed, but Kuruman had fallen to a rebel force commanded by General Jan Kemp, who went on to lead his force in an epic march across the blistering Kalahari sands and into German South West Africa (now Namibia). The surrender terms were negotiated in the shade of the tree. Bird Life Waterfowl and other birds flock into the reedbeds, woods and grasslands of the avian sanctuary you'll find on the Hotazel road. Prominent among the 115 species recorded are herons, ibises and wild ducks. Also Highlights is the Kalahari raptor rehabilitation centre on the Tsineng road. Tswalu Desert Reserve A large private sanctuary (at 75,000 hectares, the biggest in South Africa) set among the acacia bushes and umbrella trees of the Kalahari wilderness close to the Botswana border. The name, which means 'new beginning', represents a huge investment by owner Stephen Boler and caters for the ecotourist in luxury style. Among the 2,000-odd antelope in residence are the rare roan and stately sable, springbok, eland, the handsome, shaggy-coated nyala, the hartebeest and kudu. Also plains and Hartmann's mountain zebra (an impressive 5,000 head of the latter), blue and black wildebeest, giraffe, warthog and elephant. Plans are afoot to reintroduce into the reserve some of the unusual and endangered Namibian desert elephants, which are not a separate species or subspecies but do differ from the typical African elephant in their habits. Big-Game Hunting Excellent opportunities for this blood sport; Kuruman is headquarters to the Kalahari Hunters' Association. Ancient History Wonderhoek Farm, some 45 kilometres along the Danielskuil road, is the location of a cave that was once home to folk of an immensely ancient culture; symmetrically flaked Acheulian (early Stone Age) hand-axes and other tools, together with signs of now-extinct animal species, have been found on site (the artifacts are now in the Kimberley museum). Also some fine rock-paintings from the much later Bushman (San) culture. Kuruman is rather remote. Kimberley lies 238 kilometres to the south-east; Upington is along the N14 top the south-west. |
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KURUMAN Western Cape
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