WILLISTON

In 1768 Johan Abraham Nel planted an almond tree in honour of his son’s birth. This tree eventually became enormous, and was an oasis in the dry treeless area of t…

VIOOLSDRIFT

The official borderpost to Namibia. There are several camp sites on the banks of the Orange River. Many river rafting trips along the Orange and through the Richtersveld start here.…

SUTHERLAND

Established in 1858 and named after a prominent Worcester cleric, Reverend Henry

STEINKOPF

Rev Brecher later renamed the town Steinkopf in honour of the German minister in London. Today Steinkopf serves a large communal stock farming area and many inhabitants work on the…

SPRINGBOK

Set in a narrow valley bisecting the granite domes of the Klein Koperberge (small copper mountains), is the principal town of Namakwa, Springbok. Shortened from Springbokfontein in 1911, it owes its…

PORT NOLLOTH

Established as a small-vessel harbour and railway junction in 1854 for the copper-

POFADDER

The first plots surveyed were sold in 1917. Pofadder has several old buildings, one being the Roman Catholic Church. Built by the mission, it runs a blockmaking enterprise, a chicken farm…

PELLA

Founded by the London Missionary Society in 1814. A sanctuary for Khoisan driven out of Namibia, the village was named after the one that gave refuge to Christians in Macedonia in…

ONSEEPKANS

Farmers, realising the value of irrigating the area, bought 12 000ha of land from Edwells in 1916. In the same year, 63 plots were surveyed and taken up. A 10km canal serving 70 families…

OKIEP

Derived from the Nama word ‘U-gieb’, meaning ‘the great, brackish spring’, Okiep