Sutherland may be famous as one of the coldest places in South Africa, but it’s also home to some spectacular historical sites, as well as a Planetary Observatory.
Dutch Reformed Church:
The NG Church was designed by Charles Freeman, who also designed the Dutch Reformed Church of Graaff Reinet and the Standard Bank in Cape Town. During the Anglo Boer War, the church was invaded for 8 months by British troops. Filled to capacity, it seats 1,200 people.
Church of Tuinplaas:
When the farmers move their sheep from the cold Roggeveld to the Karoo, they have a communal meeting once a year at the Tuinplaas church, 55km up the Matjiesfontein route.
Louw Museum:
The two very famous Afrikaans poets and writers NP van Wyk Louw and WEG Louw were born in this very house. Together they achieved prices of 6 Hertzog for literacy. Various other interesting exhibits can also be seen at the Louw Museum.
Way to the stars:
Pedestals for the nine planets of the solar system were built to scale on the main road or Planetarium Highway, representing the size of the sun compared to the size of the planets and also the distance between the planets. Craftsman from the local community dressed in stonework.
English Cemetery:
The most interesting grave in the English Cemetery is that of a soldier drowned in a flash flood. He was given a communal burial and after the war the British government sent a military cross and a second grave was made. The soldier was thus buried twice. The Jewish Cemetery is also worth visiting.
Sutherland and its surroundings offer a wealth of unusual places, scenes and events to entertain and amaze any traveler.
18 km from the city, you can enjoy the site of the Observatory’s seven telescopes, one of which is “SALT” (Southern African Large Telescope), which has the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. With this telescope you can see the flame of a candle on the moon. It has a mirror diameter of 11 meters.
Ouberg Pass has a beautiful lookout on the escarpment of the Roggeveld Mountains, 45 km west of the city. One can see the Ceres Karoo mountains some 200 km away.
Fransplaas Sheep Cheese (great name!) is the only sheep cheese farm in the country, about 50 km from the city in the direction of Calvinia. Sheep cheese is definitely an acquired taste – be daring and do like the Aussies!
The Koornlandskloof tulips bloom at the end of September, an interesting place full of color and worth visiting. Walking and biking trails are also available with ample clean affordable accommodation.
Skurweberg, Verlatenkloof and Banksgate 4×4 Farms have exciting off-road routes as well as walking and biking trails with ample accommodation and beautiful scenery. Sterboom, rye grass, elephant feet, and veld flowers are just a few of the endangered species of flora found in this area.
Salpeterkop, the last active volcano south of the equator, is located near the observatory. It was active 66 million years ago. Seismologically, the Japanese discovered that Sutherland and its surroundings are now the calmest in the world!
At the Ezeljaht farm, 20 km from the city, you can enjoy a scenic two-day hike, called the Silhouette Trail.
Coming from Matjiesfontein, one has to drive over the winding 15 km Verlatenkloof Pass climbing almost 1000 meters. It was designed by Thomas Bain, the son of the famous Bain who built the Bainskloof Pass near Wellington.
