Laingsburg

Laingsburg, just off the N1, 280km from Cape Town, lies in the semi-arid Karoo, at the confluence of the Buffels and Baviaans Rivers. The local economy is based on meat, wool, mohair, fruit and seed cultivation, as well as some olive production. Flowers are also grown for export and the superb proteas from the Witteberge are almost always available at the curio shop, the Laingsburg Country Hotel, and some other stores in town.

The Laingsburg area is a geological hotspot. Alongside the main road are layers of fossilised mudstone and a yellow bank of volcanic ash blown across from South America 250 million years ago.  A distinctive white quartz band runs like a chalk line across the veld and testifies to continental drift. Bushmen (San) used chips of this material for arrow heads.

There is also evidence of some ancient glaciers dating back to the days when the Karoo was a huge, humid swamp. Geologists, palaeontologists, researchers, students and lay people from all over the world visit the area. The growing interest in geology has led to a geological walk being laid out on the farm, Geelbeksbrug, next to the Anglo-Boer War Blockhouse, 12km north of the town.

The town was etched into the collective soul of the nation when, on one freak day in 1981, after very heavy rains in all the catchment areas, the rivers devastated the small town, drowning 104 residents and left only 21 buildings standing. The town is fully re-built and now quite modern, and it is only the high water marks and the photographs at the Flood Museum that serve as a reminder of this natural disaster, one of SA’s worst. The Wolfaardt Collection of Africana and memorabilia is also exhibited at the Flood Museum. The collection features the Great Trek and the Anglo-Boer War, as well as prehistoric items and historical weapons. The beautiful stone Dutch Reformed Church  is a National Monument as is the nearby village of Matjiesfontein.

The Buffelspoort 4×4 and Diep-en-Deur 4×4 Trails are set in magnificent scenery, and give you options to try out your off-road skills.

Laingsburg is conveniently situated for travellers, en-route to the Garden Route and famous R62 in the Klein Karoo, and 50 km along the R323, is the 62 500ha Anysberg Nature Reserve. This reserve is all about huge open space, rugged Karoo mountains and kloofs, big night skies, the world succulent Garden of Eden, horse, bike and hiking trails, and most of all, isolation, peace and tranquillity.