THE STORK VISITS AGAIN

Another new baby has arrived at the Karoo National Park, but no one yet knows whether it’s a boy or a girl. Ngara, the older of the two black rhino cows, has produced her second offspring. She chose the same place for confinement where she gave birth to Gamka in 1995. “It is a secluded, dense, bushy area and here she will stay with her calf until its feet have hardened sufficiently and it is strong enough to walk about on Karoo veld. We have not yet been able to determine the sex as Ngara is an aggressive and protective mother,” said park manager Leighton Hare. “When Gamka was born there was an outcry because his name is the old Khoisan word for lion. He was, however, actually named for the Gamka River where the last black rhino in the Karoo was shot over two centuries earlier.” Interested and disgruntled people suggested possible names. Archaeologist David Morris suggested Inawas, the Nama word for rhino. while Dr Cyril Hromnik, of Ind° Africa, felt !nabas, a Quena word, which could he Anglicised into Knabas, would be ideal. Other suggestions were t’ joe-koe-roe, an old Boshuana name, t’kabaas, the Kora or Koranna name for black rhino and t’kouwbahas, small rhino.

VREDE EN VEILIGHEID VELDTOG GELOOTS

Leeu Gamka is besig met ‘n Vrede en Veiligheid Veldtog wat met die bevordering van die N1-roete projek gaan aansluit. “Ons wil die benoeming ‘pad van die dood’ uitwis, dus skakel ons in met pad- en algemene veiligheid en vrede. Leeu Gamka is een van die kleinste plekkies langs die N1 maar die gemeenskap voel ons moet padgebruikers aanmoedig om meer te rus, veral gedurende vakansie tye,” sê Leeu Gamka se Burgemeester, Letitia Solomons. “Al besigtig hulle net die Anglo-Boere-oorlog grafte of stop vir h koekdrank sal hulle verfris kan voortgaan. Maar, ons het hier oornag geriewe, plaasvakansie geleenihede en een van die Karoo se beste kontrei winkels!”

THE QUIET MARCH OF CONSERVATION

The ever-popular Karoo National Park just continues to grow. Recent land acquisitions have increased its surface area to 60 000 hectares. “In fact, if I were simply to drive round the perimeter fences it would cover just over 300 km,” says camp manager Danie Gouws. “At present only 15 to 20 per cent of this huge area is open to the public, but several exciting projects are in the pipeline,” he added.

KAROO KUNSTENAAR OP PAD NA SINGAPOER

h Kunstenaar van die Groot Karoo is op pad na ‘n belangrike Toerisme-skou in Singapoer. Sy is Maggie Boshoff, wie in die ou-tradisionele San methode op volstruis eierdoppe verf. Haar reis na hierdie twee-week lange tentoonstelling in die Verre-Ooste in September, word deur die Wes-Kaap Toerismeraad geborg. Reelings daarvoor was deur Wes-Kaap Toerisme-raadslid Jans Rautenbach getref. “Dis bale belangrik om op hierdie wyse die siel van die Karoo met die buite wêreld te deel en sodoende nuwe deure vir toerisme te laat oopgaan. Maggie se werk is iets besonders veral omdat sy ou naturlike- en plantkleursels gebruik. Die beelde op die doppe is ook uniek.” sê hy.

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN FOCUS

John Robert, special consultant to the Western Cape Ministry of Tourism, recently held a series of highly successful workshops in the Central Karoo. The main aim was to assist in the efficient creation of tourism bureaux according to the requirements of the new Tourism Act. Open and frank discussions in towns, villages and townships throughout the region revealed that carefully structured and focussed tourism development was of prime importance to the hinterland. “Many areas of inland tourism need to be nurtured to provide a climate for investment and to create job opportunities. Rural tourism has a vital role to play in the country’s economy,” said Mr Robert.

BESPREKINGS 00R PADTEKENS EN STANDAARDE

Onvoldoende padtekens en standaarde was uitgelig as van die belangrikste faktore wat die groei van toerisme in die hinterland belemmer. By vergaderings van toerisme verenigings en die nuut-gestigte N1 Remarking Assosiasie is dit genoem dat padtekens in plattelandgebiede onvoldoende is om toeriste aan te moedig om binnelandse roetes te ontdek. Kleiner plekkies, sowel as afstande en inligting oor fasiliteite moet by inligtingstekens aangebring word. Standaarde en duidelike katogoriee van akkommodasie geriewe word nou ook dringend benodig om bemarking te bevorder.

THE CULTURAL ROUTE

Culture is the new tourism buzzword. Satour has adopted this theme for the next three years as the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) has identified culture as the fastest-growing market segment. Its growth is estimated at 10 % per annum world wide. South Africa has long depended on its scenic beauty and wild life to draw tourists, and while the Karoo has plenty of both, it also offers diverse cultures from the early /Xam San rock art to the present-day ethnic mix.

DATABANK GROEI

Alle inligting rakende akkommodasie fasiliteite word nou dringend benodig vir Wes-Kaap Toerisemraad se databank. Inligting word in ‘n rekenaar gevoer sodat statistieke oor die mark, groei patrone, werkskepping, ensovoorts, makliker en vinniger bekombaar vir beleggers en marknavorsers sal wees.

GOVERNMENT AIMS BILLIONS HIGHER

The Government target is to boost foreign exchange earnings from tourism from the current 4,5% to 8 % of GDP by the year 2000. This will mean an increase of R12,5-billion to 23-billion a year, according to a recent statement by Dr Pallo Jordan, Minister of Tourism. The industry had shown consistent growth over the past four years, he said. Since the elections, the annual average increase in the international sector has been 16%, visitors from the African continent had increased by 11%, while those from abroad had risen by 29%. The domestic market had grown, and in 1996 South Africans had taken an estimated 17-million trips to destinations within the Republic. Dr Jordan said his department was finalising its development programme, and aimed at increasing sustainable employment opportunities in tourism to 860 000 within the next few years.

KINDERS BALJAAR IN DIE KAROO SNEEU

Kinders van Soetdoringsvlei in die Karoo Nasionale Park en hulle Beaufort-Wes dorpsmaatjies het hierdie winter vir die eerste keer kennis gemaak met sneeu. Na een swaar sneeuval het veldwagters van die park die kinders op bakkies gelaai en hulle na Mountain View geneem om in die sneeu te baljaar. Dit was vir hulle ‘n fantastiese ervaring,” sê organiseerder Martin von Kuschke. “Veral omdat ons almal die geleentheid gekry het om die skaars sterboom (Cliffortia aborrea) te sien.”

LOGAN BOOK ON THE WAY

The long-awailed book on James D Logan. “Laird of Matjiesfontein”, is at the publishers. Authors Bob and Corinne Toms hope it will be ready by Christmas. It is being published in an affordable format to bring the life and times of this interesting man to a larger audience.

HISTORIC STOP FOR BLUE TRAIN

The new Blue Train will stop at Matjiesfontein on its maiden run on August I. Passengers will be served a welcoming sherry in a souvenir glass and taken on a tour of the village. A commemorative postage stamp will be issued that day and already Matjiesfontein Post Office Shop is inundated with requests for First Day Covers. The official launch of the new Blue Train service will be in September, with President Nelson Mandela among the VIP passengers.

MARATHON TYD IN BEAUFORT -WES

Dis weer tyd vir Beaufort-Wes se 52-marathon. wat vanjaar 21 jaar oud is. Die gewilde wedloop word deur die Munisipaliteit, Sentrale Karoo Distrikraad en Die Drawwersklub op Augustus 16, aangebied. Hoofborge is Engen, Coke en Transnet, wat vir T-hempies sorg. Die Courier borg die voorblad van die program en Beaufort-Wes Toerisme Buro poog om die geleentheid onvergeetlik te maak. Engen borg die besoek van die wêreld bekende Bobang Phiri en Johan Landsman, wie ‘n marathon-wedloop kliniek vir kinders sal aanbied.

KAROO THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD

The Karoo, “Land of Sweet Bludy”, comes to life in the diary of 11-year-old Iris Vaughan. a little English girl who lived in Murraysburg in the 1800s. In the language of a Victorian child, complete with quaint spelling, she describes “life in the desert”, in a place her mother called “sweet bludy”. Her father, a magistrate, was a “very important person,”she explains. “Pop’s offis, called a Court House, has a sore dust floor to stop the tramping noises made by boots from disturbing him. The Great Flag, called `Union Jack’ flies outside.” She describes Murraysburg as a “dark town with no lamps”. “We stayed at the hotel. Its flors were smeared with mis – cow dung made into a soft mud with water. It gives the place a nasty smell.” A post coach took the family to the station one icy Karoo night. “It was so cold Pa placed me between big wool bales on the platform and covered me with a rug. All I could think of was the poor sheep in the veld on such a night without their warm wooley coats. Pop said he’d never seen a sheep with chattering teeth. He reminded me if their wool hadn’t been clipped my teeth would be chattering.”

TOP KUNS GALERY N00I DIE LAPPIESMAN

Dr Elsa Miles. kurator van Land en Lens {Land and Lives) by die Johannesburg Kunsgalery het vir Jan Schoeman, die Lappiesman, beter bekend as Prins Albert se Outa Lappies. genooi om aan die tentoonstelling te kom deelneem. En hy sê hy doen dit graag. Dr Miles het van Outa Lappies se werke as dinamiese stukke beskryf en van hulle vir die uitstalling, wat op 23 November open, geidentifiseer. Onder hulle is karretjies, lighuisies, en voetkombersies. Sy sê: “Ek hoop om op 18 Augustus weer in die Karoo te kuier om nuwe werke te sien, sy trekpad wysheid te hoor – en na sy uiters interessante stories te luister.”

THE LONG WAY ROUND TO BEAUFORT WEST

In February, 1861, Master Alport set sail from England for Canada. Fired with enthusiasm, he hoped to make his fortune in the New World, but this was not to be. His future lay in Africa, in the small Karoo village of Beaufort West. Of course, he did not know this as he proudly stepped off the Fusi-Yama in Vancouver. Gold fever was at its height and he had to walk 300 miles to stake his claims. These failed, so he was quite happy when a relative invited him to come to the Karoo. He loved it and opted to stay. He was given a job in the entrepreneurial family firm, P Alcock and Company, in Beaufort West. Here his son Cecil, grew up in “fresh air and freedom”. Cecil was sent to Europe to study medicine. In time he became a highly respected doctor. His research into a kidney disorder resulted in a nephritis being named Alport’s Disease in his honour. He was also responsible for exposing dreadful medical malpractices in Egypt and had to flee for his life. Sometime afterwards he wrote his autobiography. “The House of Curious,” as well as several highly acclaimed medical papers.

FROM THE HUGUENOTS TO THE PRESENT DAY

Louis XIV’s revocation of the Edict of’ Nantes in October, 1685, caused ripple effects that even reached Beaufort West. The French King’s action, which deprived Protestants of their liberty and drove them out of France, brought members of the De Villiers family to the Karoo. Originally three brothers. Pierre. Abraham and Jacob, fled to Holland from La Rochelle in France. But in 1688. they decided their future lay in Africa. and were among the last Huguenots to emigrate. They sailed from Delft on the Zion and arrived in Table Bay on May 6, 1689. Once settled, they grew into one of South Africa’s largest families. Ivan de Villiers, 82. a grandson of Beaufort West’s “Ryk Daantjie” and his first wife Anna Susanna, daughter of Magistrate Meintjies, has spent years researching the saga. He has helped compile material for two volumes covering the local history of this 40 000-member family. He said: “Virtually every De Villiers in the country can be traced to either Pierre or Jacob. Abraham had two sons, but one was a cripple and the other died in infancy. A fourth brother, Paul, came to South Africa, did not like it and went back to Europe. He was never heard of again.” This research project became so vast that Ivan’s son developed a special computer programme to store the data.

OP SOEK NA YEBO-LOGO

Deesdae kom besoekers gereeld na die Blokhuis Gasteplaas by Laingsburg op soek na die “Yebo-gogo man”. Eienaar Dries Swanepoel sê: “Eers was dit eienaardig. Die Vodacom TV-advertensie waar die man voor die veearts se kamers sit was wel hier gemaak en een van ons plasswerkers huisies was as die ‘surgery’ gebruik. Maar dit was ‘n ruk gelede. Toe ontdek ons dat ‘n volblad storie oor die plaas in Beeld se vakansie-gids in Junie verskyn het met it groot volkleur foto van die ‘Yebo-gogo man’ voor die huisie. Dit het nou ‘n toeriste aantreklikheid geword.”

DREAM COME TRUE FOR TURKISH STUDENT

A student from an ancient Turkish city has thoroughly enjoyed becoming acquainted with the ancient arid zone of the Karoo. Fehmi Enre Kirac, a Rotary exchange student from Eskisehin, and his local host Willie Burger from Vereniging, recently explored the Karoo National Park. One of the highlights for Fehmi was seeing a “real” Cape mountain zebra. These animals have fascinated him since he first saw one in a TV-programme on South Africa. The Karoo delighted Fehmi, whose ambition is to become a game ranger. “Conservation is not a priority in Turkey,” he said. “Funding is small due to lack of interest, but it could become a major development area Fehmi hopes to return again to the Karoo one day.

N1 BEMARKING OP DREEF

Die pasgestigte N1 Bemarking Assosiasie se planne vorder goed. Die veldtog het wye aandag in die pers geniet en elke dorp het nou ‘n volle stel brosjures en inligting. Oor die volgende paar maande sal inligting aangevul en uitgebrei word sodat teen die Kersseisoen almal op hoogte sal wees wat betref verblyf en wat daar te doen en te sien is oor die hele N1 roete vanaf Colesberg, deur die Karoo tot in Worcester. Die projek skakel in met padveiligheid- en opleidingsveldtogte.

AUSSIE IN SEARCH OF ROOTS

Allan de Vries, who lives in Victoria, Australia, is keen to discover more about his great grandfather. He was Barend Alexander de Vries, born in Beaufort West in 1830. “We discovered he spent a happy childhood in the Karoo and helped on his father’s farm until he was 24. He then moved to Cape Town where he became a successful business man. He died there aged 91, after living through the excitement of the Anglo-Boer War and World War I.”

OP SOEK NA GLADYS

Die Johannesburg Kunsgalery soek inligting en skilderye van Gladys Mguidlandlu vir ‘n uitstalling. Sy was ‘n Xhosa afkomstig van die Transkei wie in die Kaap as onderwyseres gewerk het en later begin skilder. Kenners beskou haar werk as besonders. Gladys is in 1979 oorlede.