See & Do

One of the reasons Sutherland is famous for.

Sutherland is seen as the coldest place in South Africa. Here midwinter temperatures can drop to -15°C (5°F). According to Sutherland locals, the first cold comes over Easter Weekend. The colder this weekend – the colder the winter.

Some years snow comes early, even at the end of May or beginning of June. The earlier it starts, the more often it tends to snow. But as a rule of thumb and again according to the locals who have been in Sutherland for generations – the month of August is seen as the snow month. This does not mean June and July has no snow, it just means that August is normally the month that gets the most snow. BUT, this is based on averages – and as all things in life, it is not a guarantee, but rather a calculated guess based on past years.

When it does snow – there are a few things to take into consideration.

If the snow is too wet, or if too much rain mixes with the snow (i.e. if it rains in between), then the snow won’t stick to the ground. So you may see snow falling – but have no proper photos of you making a snow angel to prove it. 
 
When the snow does stick, it usually starts showing in the higher areas first. So the pass (Verlatenkloof) normally fills up with snow first, as well as higher lying farms like Gunsfontein Guest Farm, Blesfontein Guest Farm, Sterboom Guest Farm and Skurweberg Guest Farm. These farms are further out of Sutherland. Verlatenkloof Guest Farm is situated in the pass and of course also has a window to the first snows that usually fall in the pass.
 
When the snowfall is heavy, the pass may become unapproachable. As the wetness, water and ice rain lies on the tar and temperatures drop, the road may freeze and it becomes extremely slippery. So in many cases, you may have to turn around and wait at Matjiesfontein.
 
Snow only lasts a short while. Of course, how long it lasts would depend on the temperature and amount of snow that has stuck to the ground. But chances are good that if there is snow everywhere the morning, it may have all melted in the lower areas and on the tarred road by midday – with only drips and drabs in the shade.
 
Also remember to pack enough warm jackets, scarves and beanies!
 

Architecture

Sutherland’s pioneers quarried the area’s distinctive grey stone for many of their buildings and architectural features, such as walls, gateposts and reservoirs. Building methods varied from dry packed stone to large dressed blocks, set in pointed mortar.

Together with the use of corrugated iron roofs, the stone walls give the town a textural, earthy appeal while the later addition of stoeps (verandas) in timber or steel adds a delicate touch to the otherwise sturdy houses.

Early photos of the town show that most buildings were gabled in the Cape Dutch fashion. As the Victorians swept in, gables and thatch or clay roofs went out of fashion, to be replaced by verandas and corrugated iron roofs. The remains of stone walls and other stone buildings are dotted around town, giving Sutherland its warm, rustic character.

A walking tour of the town will take you past most of the architecturally prominent buildings.

The Dutch Reformed Church

This is probably the most important of Sutherland’s heritage buildings, representing the reason for the town’s existence. The church was built in 1899. Designed by Charles Freeman (who also designed Cape Town’s Standard Bank building and the Graaff Reinet Dutch Reformed Church).

This is a cruciform straight gabled church built with pointed, rough stone. It has a square, two-tiered tower with a plastered spire topped by a bracketed cornice. The design is classical and restrained with round-headed openings.

The church houses a German-designed organ in its original casing, although the interior has been converted into an electrical instrument. During the Anglo Boer War the church was occupied by troops and used as a fort. Some damage was caused to the interior and graffiti from the occupation is still visible in the clock tower, tangible evidence of the town’s cultural heritage. 

Graveyards

Sutherland’s graveyards are valuable for the history they represent, as well as for their unique gravestones, etched with handmade sandstone tools.

War graves from the Anglo Boer conflict are in the English graveyard. One of the curiosities here is a soldier named on two gravestones. He received a communal burial after drowning in a flash flood during the war. Later, the British government awarded him a military cross which was placed in the graveyard in his name.

A number of other war graves are scattered on farms around the district, including several unmarked graves dating from that time.

Forts and Blockhouses

The Anglo Boer War left a wake of forts and blockhouses. One such is Rebelskop, a hill topped by the ruins of a fort and named after a Boer division of 200 men that opposed the British forces. Under Commandant Abraham Louw, and reinforced by a further 50 men under the command of Albert Smith from Fraserburg, the rebels rained gunfire into the British-occupied town for 10 hours in a mini-siege.

Other ruins are still visible on the road to Salpeterkop and on the farm Gunsfontein. Here two blockhouses stand on opposite sides of a cliff, guarding a pass. Although most blockhouses are not open to the public they can be viewed from outside.

Museums, Memorials and Monuments

The main entrance to the town is marked by a memorial to the Voortrekkers, the colonists who explored South Africa’s interior to find new horizons in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Groot Trek.

The town’s only museum, the Louw House houses artefacts belonging to the family Louw – a famous name in South African literature. The house was the birthplace of NP Van Wyk Louw and his brother WEG Louw.

The first thing to understand is where and what exactly the Karoo is.

The Karoo is a huge semi-desert in the middle of South Africa. It’s made up of five regions: the Little Karoo, Tankwa Karoo, Moordenaars Karoo, Upper Karoo and Great Karoo. The boundaries are marked by subtle changes in the vegetation.

In the south, the Southern Cape Fold Mountain Belt divides the Karoo from the wetter coastal regions. To the west, the frontier is the Cederberg mountain range. To the east and north-east, the lines are drawn by the rolling grasslands of the Free State. And in the north, which is where you find Sutherland, the Karoo eventually gives way to Kokerboom (Quiver Tree) country.

The name Karoo derived from a Khoisan word and broadly translates as “hard, dry, thirsty”. The Karoo is best defined by its vegetation, which consists of assorted succulents and low scrub bushes. The area is devoid of surface water, but windmills supply locals with sweet, untainted underground water .

The Karoo holds a special place in the hearts of those who appreciate the beauty in its endless, sun-drenched spaces and flat-topped hills. Isolated farmsteads where hospitality to travellers is a deeply rooted way of life.

Vast, remote, open spaces, silence, serenity and dramatic landforms combine with an extreme climate and unique vegetation that make up the alchemy called Karoo bliss.

That’s what visitors fall in love with.

Flora

Sutherland is the site of some fascinating and rare plant life. Not much rain falls in the district. When it does, the dry earth responds by erupting almost overnight into a multi-coloured carpet of wild flowers that stretches for kilometres in the nearby Hantam-Roggeveld.

The Star Tree, or Cliffortia arborea, is indigenous to Sutherland and is found only in the wonderfully named Unwieldy Mountains. Its needle-like leaves grow in a distinctive spiral shape around the stem, giving it its name.

The Romulea Eburnea flowering plant was recently discovered in the area, adding to the 27 known species of Southern African Romulea.

Other rare finds have been the purple-flowered Moraea and the Daubenya Aurea, a bulbous plant with yellow flowers.

The endangered Dioscorea Elephantipes or Elephant’s Foot, a succulent plant that lives without roots in the ground and grows extremely slowly, can be found in the area.

Plant enthusiasts can explore the Sutherland Tankwa Route, which forms part of the Succulent Karoo Ecosystem Plan (SKEP), and visit the 260ha Sterboom Natural Heritage site.
 
Fauna

Not only is Sutherland the only place in the world where you can spot five different species of tortoise, but it is also home to South Africa’s most endangered mammal, the humble riverine rabbit (Bunolagus Monticularis) or known in Afrikaans as Doekvoet. There are fewer than 1 500 of these little guys remaining and they can only be found in the Karoo.

Despite its arid environment, Sutherland enjoys abundant birdlife. The more glamorous members include Ludwig’s bustard (Neotis Ludwiggi), Sclater’s lark (Spizocorys sclateri), the black-chested snake-eagle (Circaetus Pectoralis) and the martial eagle (Polemaetus Bellicosus) as well as spurwing geese and flamboyant flamingos.

Many butterfly species flit in and around the area, some of them unique to this part of the world, with the he McGregor’s blue butterfly (Lepidochrysops Macgregori) being one of particular interest.