Three Karoo Heartland icons

Three Karoo Heartland icons, all in one picture.  

Big open sky, Karoo koppies (in this case Koffiebus and Teebus outside Steynsburg) and the good ol' reliable Windpomp.

The Windpomp

The windpomp is one of the icons of the Karoo Heartland and as part of the landscape as Karoo koppies, sheep and Angora goats and a good ol' farm gate.  But have you ever wondered where the windpomp came from and how long they've been around?

The first windpumps were used to pump water since at least the 9th century in what is now Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.  They later became widespread across the Muslim world and also spread to China and India.  From the Middle Ages onward windmills were used extensively in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and parts of Great Britain, to drain land for agricultural or building purposes.

Records show that windpompe were used in South Africa from 1869, although the earliest evidence of a windpump in the country comes from a painting drawn in 1848.  These first South African windpompe were all wooden constructions with the first all steel windpump being patented in England in 1855.  The first imported windpomp came to South Africa in 1874 and was a Standard Halliday that was erected on the farm of Mr P.J. du Toit in the Hopetown District.

The windpomp in the picture stands next to the road between Cradock and Middelburg in the Eastern Cape.

Karoo windpomp

Two birds with one stone.  In this case two Karoo icons in one shot.  A windpomp and a couple of Karoo koppies.  In this case the Koffiebus and Teebus outside Steysnburg.

The good ol' windpomp, from underneith

We all know what a windpomp looks like.  Don't know what a windpomp is? NO! Really? Hahahaha...  Ok, so perhaps you've heard of a windpump or windmill?  To most of us its just a windpomp, doesn't matter if you say it in English or Afrikaans.  Or perhaps even Xhosa.  I should ask one of my Xhosa friends what they call it.  Anyhow, we all know what a windpomp looks like.  One of the icons of the Karoo.  An object standing in the veld just beyond the fence and barely spotted by most Vaalies trying to get to the coast as quickly as possible to make the most of the summer holidays.  Here is my actual question today.  Have you ever stood right under one and looked up at it while it creaked in the wind?  Not?  Well, I did it the other day after a short visit to Kuzuko Lodge just north of the Zuurberg Mountains.  

Karoo Windpomp

Yeh, yeh, I have a thing for windpompe (wind pumps).  They are such a part of our countryside that its hard not to feature them when I get the chance to get out the city.  They play a specially important part in dry areas like the Karoo (I know I've said that a couple of times before as well) where both humans and animals are very dependent on them for water.  I pulled over in the Karoo the other day to get some photos of the landscape and found this windpomp standing on the road side of the fence which means that I could get right to it to have a look.

The life blood of the Karoo was being extracted and poured into the cement dam below the windpomp.  It was a warm day and the water looked inviting.  Its not hard to believe that many farm children swim in cement dams like this on sweltering days.

In the Karoo you are sure to find animals in close proximity of a windpomp.  In this case merino sheep.  You can actually see that they stay in the area by looking at the vegetation it and how they have cleared out a spot for them to lay in.

Windpomp against the sky

A windpomp (wind pump) in the Karoo edged off against the sky

Visit Skywatch for more pictures of the sky

Free State flats

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not dishing the Free State. It has some stunningly beautiful areas... but not on the N1. Driving the N1 between the Eastern / Western Cape and Gauteng is like pulling teeth.  The land is flat and the road just goes on forever.  After miles and miles of flat you go up a bit of a ridge and think there would be something interesting on the other side, just to be rewarded with more road stretching towards the horizon.

The only things one get to see along the way are windpumps, the odd farm buildings surrounded by trees planted a hundred years ago by the early farmers to create shade and perhaps some hills in the distance.  That's the scenery for about 600 kilometers. I much rather prefer the scenic Garden Route or even driving through the Karoo.

Its really a case of when you stop it's somewhere between nowhere and nêrens (Afrikaans for nowhere) where nothing grows about knee high.  No offence Free State, but I would rather prefer not driving along the N1 if I can't help it.  In December I'll make my way through the Eastern Free State towards the Drakensberg. I know that area is very different from this, so I'm looking forward to bringing you some different Free State scenery after then.

Windpomp and church tower

Two of the most typical things that you would associate small towns in the platteland (countryside) with are churches and windpompe (windpumps). They are to small towns as Aston Martins and girls are to James Bond. In this scene in Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo I got them both in one shot. James Bond driving with the top down and a beautiful girl next to him.

Windpomp

Windpompe goes together with the Karoo like ice cream and chocolate sause, Batman and Robin, Egypt and the pyramids, and Angelina and that Pitt guy. Windpomp is the Afrikaans for windpump and is the heart that pumps the life blood of the Karoo to the surface. The Karoo is a semi desert area and most farms and towns are relient on the water from boreholes and windpompe. They also make for nice subjects in photographs.

This specific windpomp was standing in front of the selfcatering units at Buffelshoek Farm Guesthouse where I stayed on my recent trip to Graaff Reinet.

Windpompe and Karoo Koppies

Today's post basically follows up on yesterday's post about Karoo roads.

The Karoo is generally a flat and dry area with a couple of hills and mountains. This means that driving through the Karoo there are very few features that are distictly "Karoo". The land in the Karoo is farming country with farmers farming mostly with Angora goats (for mohair), sheep (for the most divine Karoo lamb chops... I mean wool) and cattle (how about toasting that juicy t-bone with a glass of milk?). But two things, other than the dusty dorpies (little towns) stand out for me personally. The good ol' Windpomp and the Karoo koppie.

Water is the life blood of the Karoo and the majority of farms in the Karoo don't have a river running through them. One of the most important implements on these farms over the years has been the windpomp. Windpomp is Afrikaans for wind pump. Water is pumped from the bowls of the earth to the surface through wind power. Each and every farm has a couple. Some of them haven't worked for decades while others still bring life to the surface around it. What would the Karoo be without the windpomp? Yes I realise it is a rhetorical question, but I'm going to answer it myself. Drier.

The Karoo Koppie is as part of the Karoo landscape as the... well, windpomp. The word koppie means "head" or "hill" in this case mostly "little flat mountain". I'm not going to go into the whole geology of the area, but for most of the last 250 million years the Karoo was a huge inland basin covered in seas, lakes, swamps and deltas. For this reason the Karoo is one of the riches fossil areas in the world. Also because of this, don't ask me which part, these little flat hills were formed. The ones in the above photo is just outside the town of Steynsburg and are called Teebus (Teapot) on the left and Koffiebus (Coffee pot) on the right.