S1 - Ep 231 - Okiep - Ranked the Richest Copper Mine in the World!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ธ.ค. 2022
- We were leaving the Springbok area with a lot of excitement because we had heard about the town of Okiep so many times but have never visited it before. After covering the short distance on the N7, we took a slow drive through the main road like we usually do and happened upon what we now know to be the site of the Okiep copper mine. We were absolutely blown away by the fact that it was ranked the richest copper mine in the world from the 1870’s until production ceased in 1918! Then we started exploring the rest of the town and found it to be quite an active place. We stopped by the Okiep Country Hotel where the staff were very friendly and allowed me to take a tour through the building. While we were driving through town, we saw that the power station and sport fields were in the process of being upgraded and we visited the NCRTVET College which draws students from all over South Africa, even as far as Durban. We truly had an incredible visit to this town, it was long overdue! #DustBugs #adventuretravel #southafrica #southafricavlog #travelongravel #okiep #springbok #namaqualand #northerncape
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At around the 24 min mark when you were filming the sportsfield, if you look in the backround there is an old silo. That area was where the mine buildings, shaft and headgear stood which was rehabilitated in the late nineties. Rehabilitation of all the old mines in the area was part of my duties when I was working for O'kiep Copper mine situated at Nababeep. The smokestack you mentioned in the beginning was in fact a smoke stack and not a ventilation shaft. There also used to be an old very large ship's engine behind the sports field area, not sure if it is still there? Enjoying your tours through Namakwaland, be good if you could get to Aggeneys, on the way to Pofadder!
Thank you for the super interesting first-hand info, we so appreciate that! 👌🏻 When we were at the sportsfield, we had no idea we were close to the old mine buildings, so didn't look around much further than the sportsfield itself. I wish I could tell you we saw the ship's engine, but no such luck. It could very well still be there though and we just missed it. 🤷🏼♂️ This trip was about a month ago already and we're long back home to work a little bit, edit and upload our videos. We did visit a few more towns on this trip though and I hope you'll enjoy them just as much, especially with the knowledge you have about the area. It was great that you came back to Okiep with us today! 😁🚗
Lived in Nababeep for many years in the 80’s! Best place in the world!
Curtis and Sonia, I can only say that was 'lovely, lovely, lovely'. Thank you falls short by miles but thank you anyway. May you both be richly blessed in 2023. Thank you for blessing all the viewers with such wonderful videos. Greetings from Perth.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🤩 Okiep was an eye-opener in terms of history which we had no inkling of, so we had a fun time there and I'm happy you did too. You only have a few short hours to go until it's officially 2023! We wish you and your loved ones a year full of blessings and joy. Cheers! 🍾🥂
I second all you’ve said! Nothing more for me to add.
Thank you. Very interesting video. You hear of these places but do not know whats going on there. You guys fill that gap.well done
Thank you, we also found the town very interesting. Glad you enjoyed this trip with us. 😁🚗
What a lovely clean town this is....sad to say I have just driven pass or through Okiep and never went inside. Always in a hurry to get to Namibia...or get home...but things will change in 2023...God willing. Thanx you two and enjoy a lovely New Years Eve...
That's a fantastic resolution for 2023 and I'm sure you'll make it happen! 🚙🤩 Okiep, unlike some of the other place names we encountered on our trip, we had heard of so many times before and we glad we actually took the time to explore a little. The history and remnants are fascinating and the town looks in great nick. It was great to see! Have a great last day of 2022, I hope you're planning your first few trips already and including a few more stopovers than before. 🙃 We're glad you drove through Okiep with us. 😁🚗
Your tour of Namaqualand takes me back to the mid 1990's when my late husband and I went to most of the places that you have visited. I had family members in Nababeep, Kamieskroon and Carolusberg. Namaqualand is very unique and I miss it very much.
Namaqualand is indeed very unique, you're so right! We had a memorable trip through most of the region and we loved every kilometre and every moment! The landscapes were truly mesmerising and we couldn't get enough. I know you've seen our Kamieskroon and Nababeep videos already and we also stopped off at Carolusberg on our way home at the end of our trip. Check out Episode 240 sometime! 🤩🚗
It is so awesome to wake up to a notification inviting us to another virtual tour while breakfast is served in bed. The joys of being retired. Some of my school mates in the seventies hailed from O'Kiep, some 650km away.
I hope breakfast was good in Okiep! 😁🍳 It's an intriguing, yet salt-of-the-earth kind of place. Your mates must be those kind of people too! 🤝🏻🚗
This town is very rich in history. Interesting about being the richest copper mine in its time. The hotel was lovely and that museum was beautiful. Those memories are worth keeping alive. Loved the dancing children shows laughter and happiness. That college was amazing I really hope they got their engineering project going. Looks like a thriving community. Thank you for this episode.
So glad you noticed the dancing children, they certainly put a smile on our faces. 😃 The history is intense here and we had absolutely no idea of what Okiep was really all about and being the richest copper mine in the entire world at one point, no less! The hotel and the museum it houses are both fantastic places, I could definitely spend hours in that museum. We had such a great chat with the gentleman at the college and he told us about their town and programmes with such pride. I loved that! 🤩📚
Very interesting video and commentary!! I was born in Alexander Bay and Ouma and some other relatives lived in the Springbok area. Our immediate family; Parents, my two older brothers and myself migrated to Western Australia in December 1960; when I was four years old. Your videos have brought old memories from long ago alive once again. I look forward to more videos on your channel!!
Greetings to you in Australia! 🙋🏼♂️ I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed our video of our visit to Okiep, such an interesting place and so rich in history. I'm not sure if you've seen our videos of Alexander Bay (Episode 234) and Springbok (Episode 230), I hope you enjoy(ed) them as well! We had a fantastic time in the Namaqualand region, an area you have long and deep associations with. We look forward to having you on the road with us as we explore new places this year! 😁🚗
These videos are not only pleasing to watch, but they are also very educational. I wish South African schools did more to teach us about all this rich history and untold stories we have. Traveling more is definitely one of my new year resolutions. Thank you for another fantastic video.
Thank you, we appreciate your kind comment. 👌🏻 We could hardly believe all the history in this town, which we had ever only heard the name of. I wish you happy travels in 2023! 🚗😁
Pragtig 👍Die plek lyk baie netjies
Agreed! The townsfolk are clearly proud of their town and it shows. We had a great visit to Okiep. 👌🏻🚗
Happy new year to everyone! Looks like a bussy morning, so many busses! I love copper! The hotel looks like a good place to stay. Had to laugh at the three braai chimneys, they look like three witches having a good skinder! Would love to have a gander at that hotel museum. Isnt Goodhouse supposed to to be the hottest place in SA? Seem to remember something from school geography. Thanks for showing us a really interesting town
All of the very best to you too for 2023! 🍾🥂 We hope that would include many more happy travels with us! I could see your three witches gahering around the pool at the hotel for a good old catchup. As with almost every topic nowadays, there is so much conflicting info online about what the hottest place in SA actually is, but when I Googled it this morning, the first thing that came up, is from theoutlier.co.za and they say that 'Letaba, another camp in the Kruger Park, is considered to be the hottest place in South Africa because its average annual maximim temperature is 35C.' I'm not sure of the accuracy of this, but I am sure that that is stinking hot! 🥵 I'll happily brave that for Letaba though, our favourite camp in Kruger. 😍🥰 Goodhouse doesn't seem to feature on any list I found. 🤷🏼♂️
Had you driven a few kms further you would have found the mine museum at Nababeep with train, carriage and a view of the mine from above. Well worth visiting. There is also a connection with the Boer war and the British held out a 30 day siege by General Jan Smuts forces.
We were so caught up in the copper mining history in Okiep that we completely overlooked the war history in the area. Thank you for the info, much appreciated! 👍🏻 We did get to visit a few other towns during this trip, so we hope you find those videos interesting and enjoyable. You will just have to wait and see if your assumption that we did not visit Nababeep turns out to be accurate. 😁🚗
Beautiful town, believes it's a indigenous Nama people living there. Pass the town twice to my friend in Port Nolloth (early 2000's, now living in Springbok). Also where Genl's Smuts, van Deventer and Maritz attacked a British Garrison early 1902...... prosperous 2023 to you and Sonja
Thank you for the info on the war. I was so immersed in the history of the copper mining industry, I didn't even realise there was war history in this area too. 🤷🏼♂️ It sounds like you haven't been out that way in over 20 years. We're glad we could take you back to that area and hopefully some places still look familiar to you. 😁🚗 May 2023 be a very happy year for you and your loved ones! 🍾🥂
Happy new year 🍾🎉
Okiep, a very interesting looking Town! Will have to check it out soon😆
Hope you and Sonia have an amazing new year and we wish you safe travels and exciting new destinations this year🤝🏼
Thank you! 😁 We wish you many adventures in ZA too in 2023! 🍾🥂 We were so surprised at the rich history in Okiep and there is apparently so much more. You should definitely check it out, you'll love it! Safe travels when you do! 🚗🤩
So enjoy your programmes. I must really do a return trip to the Northern Cape again
Thank you so much! This province has such an incredible amount of incredible places on offer, so I agree. You'll have a fantastic time, I hope 2023 is the year! 🤩 We're also planning to return fairly early on in the new year, there is still so much to see and discover! 😁🚗 We appreciate you watching our videos.
My word, I give 💯 to Okiep!
Thank you so much for taking us to Okiep!
🤗🤗🤗
I concur and also give it 100! It's a marvellous town with such rich history, we were completely taken with the place! 🤩🚗
The Hotel and Museum 👌👌👌
I thought they were awesome too! I think I could spend a day at that museum with all its interesting pieces! 😁
@@DustBugsTravel like living through history!
Before this day is done I would like to wish you two a Happy New year with lots of places to and lots of places to see. As always be safe, travel even safer. See you next year🎊🎊🎉🎆
Thank you very much! 😊 We wish you and your loved ones a fantastic 2023 too, filled with many adventures and blessings. 🍾🥂We look forward to seeing you on the road to new and exciting in the new year! 🚗
You just turned back after seeing the Concordia sign. A few more minutes and you would have been on the road to Concordia. Nice rockie places along the tarred to Concordia. Maybe next time. But you guys are now leading me into Temptation. I need to go back this year, God willing. Maybe take my grandkids along as they have not yet been there
We have a planned route and have to get to our booked accommodation every evening, so it's not possible to include every single town or place of interest. We didn't include Concordia this time around, but may return to the area again on a future trip and perhaps explore it then. We weren't aware of the history at Concordia at the time of this trip. 🤷🏼♂️🚗 Bundle the grandkids in the car and hit the road, you and they will love it! 😁
@4:26, imaging the scaffolding required in those days to build a smoke stack this high
I don't even want to think about it! 😨 It was actually quite amazing to stand next to it and know that it's been there for more than 140 years. One can only be in awe! 🤩🚗
This was also very interesting. Lovely town.
So glad you enjoyed our visit to Okiep with its rich copper mining industry. It was worth every minute we spent in town! 👌🏻🚗
Another great video. Fantastic story about the drone. I wonder which Aussie company it was? Keep them coming. I hope you both have a happy new years eve. Here in Melbourne we are having a massive fire works display from the roof tops of the highest buildings. I hope to get good footage of it from Moonee Ponds. Stay safe and same to all your viewers out there!!
So happy to hear you enjoyed coming to Okiep with us. It's a great town with such interesting history. We lost so many of our sound clips, including the one where the gentleman told us the drone story, but I'm almost sure it was Orion Minerals he was talking about. Not 100% though. You're much closer to 2023 than we are, we hope it's a great year for you and your loved ones too! 🍾🥂 We'll see you on the road again in the new year! 🤩🚗
Thank you, Greg, and also to you.
Hi you two! Thank you for another beautiful blue sky trip.
Another neat town, developing itself against any odds it may come across.
The hotel/museum fascinated me. Its owner & management must be congratulated.
I wish you both all the best for 2003. Please keep going and stay safe! 🚙🚙🚙🚙
Sorry! 2023!
So glad you enjoyed Okiep with us. 😁🚗 Our feeling was also that the community has it together and would like to rise above any challenges they may face. I could've spent hours in the museum, looking at those old relics, maps and especially pics. The exhibitions are very informative and well-displayed too. 👌🏻 We wish you a fantastic 2023, filled to the brim with blessings! 🍾🥂
Wish I could do a similar tour with friends or relatives around Vrede, Warden, Harrismith or even Transkei, just to trace family history
Hello, am i happy to see another video i was so busy lately.....i am going to prieska on thursday..for the weekend. 🙂very interesting mining town this.
No problem, it's a busy time of year, we understand that. Okiep was an interesting place, glad you caught up and checked it out! 😁 Have a fantastic trip to Prieska! I'm jealous that you're going before us, but we'll follow in your footsteps not too long from now. Safe travels! 😊🚗
@@DustBugsTravel can't wait 😊
I live in okiep🎉
Hi guys a very positive video the history of the mining so interesting if you ever watched poldark TV series lots of the very similar pump buildings where tin and copper were mined in Cornwall seeing the children singing heart lifting the sports field in use and green loved this video hopefully the future is bright so I must wish you both a happy new year and to all your friends and family all the best 👍 cheerio till the next one in the new year
Thank you and a very happy new year to you and the Mrs as well. May it be a healthy and happy one! 🍾🥂 Seeing the young ones dance and sing was very sweet. We just had to stop and listen for a few moments. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed that too. I'm not familiar with Poldark, but it certainly sounds interesting. 👌 The copper mining history was unbelievable to us, we had no idea that that was what Okiep was actually known for! We'll see you in the next town next year! 😎🚗
The history of this mine is so interesting! Could you please share the website where you found the information about the cornish pump? Thanks!
This trip was more than 18 months ago already and our memories have faded as to which websites we obtained the info from. You can check out southafrica.co.za/history-okiep.html and you can also Google 'Cornish Beam Pump Okiep' for more info. It is all wildly interesting, I am so glad you enjoyed it too! Thank you for watching. 🚙😊
hallo my friend. love how you and your wife do your vids. Footage is good for handheld. you use insta 360, or just cellphone? Cheers Fanie
Hello to you! 😁 Thank you so much, I'm very happy to hear you enjoy travelling with the two of us, it's great to have an old friend on board! I prefer not to be burdened with any fancy equipment and such, so only use my Samsung S22 Ultra cellphone, mounted on a regular selfie-stick for the most part. It does the trick for our purposes. We'll chat soon, I'm just catching up on a few things before we hit the road again! 🤩🚗
@@DustBugsTravel enjoy.
Your title creates an impression that the mine is operational & ranked richest now
Thank you for taking the time to point that out. 👍🏻 I am of the view that we elaborated sufficiently in the body of the description, as well as the video, to eliminate any confusion.
My one son did Grade 2 in Okiep.
You must be quite familiar with the town then, it's an interesting place. 👌🏻🚗
The 17km must be from your accomodation. From Springbok town to Okiep is just under 10km.
I'm not into splitting hairs, 7km in the greater scheme of things is like nothing. 😁 It would make sense that I calculated from our accommodation since we were not leaving from Springbok itself. 👌🏻🚗
I live there for 10 years from 1957 tot 1967 and that long thin tower in the middle of town was the biggent tourist attraction as a centre point in town...how come you could not find enough information...please search the mining documrnts
No need to search the mining documents, we found a lot of info online. I'm not sure whether you've watched the video yet, but we provided quite a bit of info on the smokestack as we were driving up to it and as I walked around it! 😁🚗 The building we couldn't find out any info on, was the ruin between the smokestack and the Cornish Pump House.
Hi. The church you saw at the end of the video. Was it a Catholic church?
We really don't know for sure and couldn't confirm it on any of our maps. We thought it was, because of the statue of Mother Mary in the church yard. We though that was an indication of it being a Catholic Church. I'm open to correction though. 🤷🏼♂️⛪
Thanks for your reply. I would also think that the statue of the Virgin Mary in the grounds would indicate that it can be a Catholic church. Can't say for sure though. Thanks for all your videos and all the best for the New Year.
Time a bit limited that you dont drive up to the churches to check dates on cornerstones and history?
I'm not sure how many of our videos you've watched, but we very often do just that. Not everyone enjoys cornerstones and churches though, so we try and switch things up a bit sometimes. There are plenty of other churches and cornerstones in our other videos. ⛪ Oh, and time is always limited because of the distances we cover, but we try and make the most of the time we do have available in any specific town or place. I hope you enjoyed the copper mining history and the rest of what we saw in Okiep. 😁🚗
@@DustBugsTravel We have watched your travels from your first trip and what an eye opener to the history and lovely little stories associated with them.The Fraser's homestead and the hotel with the vast library.We love it, thanks for your efforts and taking us with you.Have a blessed new year 2023 and God speed.