S1 - Ep 260 - Philipstown - A Small Eastern Karoo Town!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.พ. 2023
- We took a beautiful gravel road when we left De Aar and headed to Philipstown. On the way, we happened upon the Houtkraal siding and it provided us with a glimpse into the past when the railway system was still operational. This small Eastern Karoo town in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa was a great place to visit. As we drove into the town the first building we saw was the old abandoned jail. Some of the old barbed wire to stop the inmates from escaping still remains and was fascinating to see! This was an exciting start to us exploring the town. Driving down the main road we could see some pretty old houses and other buildings, including two gorgeous churches. We were very lucky to find a place in town which made us amazing artisan bread toasted sandwiches. Those really hit the spot. #DustBugs #adventuretravel #southafrica #southafricavlog #travelongravel #northerncape #philipstown
Instagram
/ dustbugstravel
Facebook
/ dustbugstravel
Thank you. My Mom and Dad got married in Philipstown in 1938 and my grandparents lived there, and were buried in that cemetery. Many good memories......
I actually live on Houtkraal farm, 2kms from the station/siding. Those abondoned railway houses actually belong to my father-in-law who bought them. Also Boer war history around the station.
Oh my - that’s awesome! Does he perhaps have any plans to restore them and preserve the history?
You're so fortunate to live in the Karoo! We were super happy when we happened upon Houtkraal. We've tried to learn from those who know, what is a siding and what is a station, but we're never sure. If it appears small to us, we call it a siding! 😁 Interesting to hear too about the Boer War history in the area. Info about the area online is pretty scarce. 🚗🚆
@Des H I hope so! 🤞🏘
It is good to see that the potholes are being fixed...but I hope to see that too between Petrusville and Hanover...that road became a nightmare when those big trucks started using that road. The building you passed on your left at 14:35 use to be the Hotel, where I did stay a few times. The one time I was there Max Baise, a previous Springbok rugby referee of years gone by was the owner and many rugby stories were shared in that bar. .The decay of these once beautiful small Karoo towns is just so sad...my memories are filled with. so many thoughts of all those once beautiful towns...and it's wonderful people...and all the fun we had..the work..the talks..the love....the braais..the drinks..and you can never have that back again. Ok..I am sorry for wasting everybody's time but I just had so many memories going through my mind right now. But I am so happy that I was in that privileged position of living and being/working/visiting those Karoo towns in those golden years.
Don't ever be sorry for sharing your experiences in and memories of a place with us, they're always fascinating and give us, who didn't get to experience most of these towns before, some insight into its past. It's sad that some of these buildings who obviously have so many stories to tell, have not been maintained. You were indeed fortunate to have visited these places when they were still pretty towns. 😊🚗
There is a season for everything. We also don't see tall ships, biplanes or burbly American V8s any longer.
As an ex Spoorie, this hurts no end. The drone images which are fantastic are just eerie and rub salt into the wounds of decay
I can only imagine the dismay you feel 😞
@Deon Nimb It must really hurt, knowing what it was like before the decline. To us who didn't know anything about the railways before, it's also very sad to see the almost total demise of what was once a very important junction. 🤷🏼♂️🚆
Sorry bra.
On the road again🎸🎶🎵🎹.....happiness. fascinating places you take me to. I luff Die Naaldekooker....so cool
Thanks so much safe travels always 💕💕💕💕
Thank you for my highlighted comment every time.....ugh you guys😍😍
Oh, yes, back on the gravel and we knew you'd be excited. Some of them were a little bumpy, but that just makes it so much more exciting. Stay strapped in, lots more to come! 😁🚗 Our toasties from Die Naaldekoker were next level! 👌🏻
@@DustBugsTravel you can't beat a homebaked bread toasted sandwich. I make them all the time. And that looked like homebaked bread....yummy
Im the strange person who loves these crumbling towns more than fancy Cape Town. Fantastic video !
They do have a fascination all of their own - so many unknown stories to ponder 😊 If only walls could whisper their secrets..
@Andrew Wilson We live in the greater Cape Town area, so love it very much and it's very beautiful. But we're always happy to be back on gravel and in the small towns again. You're a fantastic kind of strange! 👌🏻🚗
That is what happens when the gravel road gogga bites you ;-) And you end up going past ghost towns, as the economy thifted away from rail, that created these junctions in the first place.
Heartbroken to see our country railway lines/station in such a sad state. Thanks for the video Curtis and Sonia
We agree with you. 😪🚉 And the fact that the towns and communities are struggling as a result, is even worse!
Amazing. I loved it. Thank you.
I'm so happy that you enjoy being back in the Karoo and back on gravel with us! 😁🚗 I haven't seen you around in a little while!
Hi you two! Another fascinating trip into history, thank you !.
I enjoyed the gravel road trip where you met the shepherd on horseback, something not seen often. That big horned merino ram is also quite a sight for a city dweller.
I agree with another commenter that the decay is painful to see. Without proper rail connection, sheep farmers apparently don’t take their business to this town. If someone there could dig into history a bit, maybe that could start up some tourism. The, prison, for example, featured in the Anglo Boer War as a bunker for some British troopers.
The town was actually started by members of the Reformed Church on a part of the farm Rietfontein which they bought in 1863. The Dutch Reformed church people arrived around 1873, so the Reformed Church building you saw can be the oldest of the two. The town became a municipality in 1876. Sorry to rant about the churches, but I am a member of the Reformed Church and very interested in its history.
Drone and music spot on as usual!
Keep safe!
We thought it was an angora goat with the horns, but we're no expert on livestock! 😁 Those horns were awesome! The cattle and heir herder on horseback were fantastic to see as well. These gravel roads always deliver! 🐐🐂🐎 I so appreciate the additional info, that's exactly what we hope our videos will do, inspire other to share info about the places we visit. No need to ever apologise on our channel for adding info!👌🏻💒
Thanks for the interesting additional info regarding the establishing of the to
Love Houtkraal and Philipstown. Houtkraal looks so habitable though. Thankyou for showing us these places.
I agree! I do believe they belong to a private individual, so they most probably have specific plans for them. I hope so! 🏘️🚆 Thank you for coming to Phillipstown with us!
Houtkraal has such atmosphere. I wonder if all those houses are abandoned . I have only been through Philipstown a few times but never stopped. The old buildings are really beautiful. Especially the churches. The Naaldekoker looks a fascinating place to visit, there in the Spens I saw my Ouma's mixing bowl! Thank you for showing us Philipstown.
We were happy to happen upon Houtkraal. It seemed completely abandoned to us, we didn't see a soul around. I think I saw a mixing bowl out of my own grandmother's kitchen at Die Naaldekoker! 🥰 Philipstown is a very characterful Karoo town and we glad we visited! 😁🚗
Also noticed that bowl. Every home had one. Karringmelkbeskuit was spawned in that. Or Vrugtekoek.
@@noyota or lekker homemade bread!
From the dust road to Eland and white Springbok and the birds. And the pudding was the drone footage. Then the Vellies and the Doringdraad. Thank you so much for this trip.the town and even the cemetry is clean and well kept. I enjoyed this trip so much. And thanks to you guys who spend so much money and time to bring it to us. Till the next one. Seat booked
We're so happy you enjoyed! The eland and springbok were absolutely gorgeous, animals always make any great gravel road even greater! 😁🦌This area is so beautiful, it was easy to capture that on the drone shots. I'm glad you liked the footage! We get so much joy out of running away every few weeks from the craziness of everyday life and love sharing our travels with folks who enjoy watching our videos. Folks exactly like you! Seat booked for Tuesday! 🚙👌🏻
Remember the farms as also part of the town
Another thoroughly enjoyable outing, Curtis & Sonia. I’m deliriously happy to be seated in my comfy spot for this phase of the journey. You always keep us guessing!
We're all about the lesser-known places for the most part, but there'll be a few well-known ones along the way, we can't completely forget about those! I'm glad you buckled up and enjoyed Philipstown with us, it was a rather charming town which we were happy to have paid a visit! 🤩🚗
Thank you for a stunning video. I passed there so often and never bothered to stop. Now i have new insight in this town. Well done, as usal
We're happy to have taken you on your first drive through Philipstown! Perhaps next time you're in the area, you can visit it for a second time! 😁🚗
Hi guys hout kraal little hidden places drone footage brilliant gravel road cowboy love it strange goats jail with Victorian fire place little gem so interesting wesleyian church intriguing can't get enough of the old houses with front stoop lovely interior of church I'm with you for the bridge. Voortrekker monuments great .so many churches quirky little restaurant cemetery really sad another great video thanks for taking me along cheerio till the next one
There was so much to enjoy about being on gravel again and you've captured it all, as you normally do! 🤩🚗 Philipstown was a very charming place and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the town. So glad we've got you on board for the single-lane bridge too!
Loved the little shabby chic cafe
Yes, what a find in this small town! And the toasted sandwiches were absolutely stunning too! 😁🚗
Houtkraal looks like a small community. Very pretty from the air. The Jail was abandoned and of course stripped of eberything useful. I just loved the goats running down the sidewalks and cars in the roads so cute. Thank you for another interesting episcode.!!!
Houtkraal must've been a tranquil place for those railway workers to live. The buildings still look in great shape. We learnt from other viewers that the jail even played a role in the Anglo-Boer War, which was very interesting to hear! I enjoyed walking around the remains and imagining what it must've been like when it was still operational! 🚗😁
Could be a beautiful place if it is cleaned up again. So many nice buildings.
Indeed, Philipstown offers a very insightful glimpse into past life in a small Karoo town, as is clearly reflected in the old buildings, which you also seemed to enjoy! 😁🚗
Hello guys. Good to see you back in the Mario again. My favorite😍
It was fantastic to be back in the Karoo again, it's been a good few months! 🤩🚗
Thanks for another great video.
Anytime, we're just too happy that you enjoy them! 😁🚗
Thank you for another fascinating video! If I may take the liberty of quoting from Wikipedia: "At the jailhouse to the west of town (Philipstown) is the building where a small force of the 65th Imperial Yeomanry and Native Police held off a large force of General De Wet's men during the Second Anglo-Boer War. During this action, Corporal William Sopp of the Imperial Yeomanry was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for courage under fire when he rode out from this building to warn the approaching Australian Bushmen who were coming to relieve them that there were hundreds of Boers lying in wait for them. The Boers fired at this lone horseman as he raced to the Australians then raced back, arriving back at the jail without injury. This caused De Wet to delay his movements for several hours and turned him back towards a large pursuing British column."
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the drive through Philipstown! 🤩🚗 Thank you too for the additional info. We've become a teeny bit reluctant to share too much information we come across online since there are always conflicting versions, so we're just too happy that our viewers share their knowledge or research.
Great video again. The drone footage was great, left me feeling a bit sad seeing the abandoned houses that once were family homes. Such a pity that these small towns become "left behind" as people migrate to bigger places to find work.
I always feel the drone footage gives a different perspective, I'm glad you enjoyed the Houtkraal Siding from the air. 🚉 Those houses and buildings look in fairly good shape still, so I hope they can be put to good use once again! It is a sad reality that the smaller towns do become depopulated and I believe the decline of the railway system has a lot to do with that. Thanks for coming along to Philipstown! 🤩🚗
Beautiful aerial view of Houtkraal siding👌👌👌
Thanks! I knew we weren't going to get closer any other way and really wanted to see the extent of the siding. Those buildings still look in fairly good shapes as abandoned stations and sidings go. 🚙🚉
Beautiful gravel road👏
It was so good to be back on gravel again! 😁🚙
Tx. Beautiful music. Excellent video
So happy to hear, thank you! Glad you enjoyed the tunes too! 🚙🎶
The dam was a reservoir during the rain season - Reservoir water ran into Loop Graaf in years gone visited there 1986 then again 1998 was sad to see the decay in once a Beautiful Town -Many Karoo Towns had Loop Graawe
Thank you for that info! 👌🏻 I thought it may have been a reservoir, so appreciate the clarification. Philipstown was clearly a beautiful town back in the day and it still retains some of it character and charm to this day. We were happy to visit. 🚗😁
Hello again good people and your travel companions, Question! what do people do to live, entertain and keep them occupied in Philipstown ? It's so broken in a lot of senses that it's sad, as if they are there waiting for someone that promised to come back to resurrect the town.
The sheep with horns, who would have believed if you had not shown us.
Thank you much
The angora goat's horns surprised us too, they were super long and something we've never seen before either! 🦌 Whenever we drive around in these small towns, we ask as many locals as possible what keeps the town alive. We believe agricultural activities are the main source of income for the townsfolk. Sheep and cattle seem to be on top, while grain and lucerne are also farmed in the district. While there are some derelict buildings in town, our perception wasn't one of a broken town and we actually met some pretty friendly folks who made a point of telling us that everyone knows everyone else, so they immediately notice when strangers are in town. I think their associations with each other, is what keeps Philipstown alive on a social level. 😊🚗
@@DustBugsTravel I am the goat for thinking they were sheep. What do city folk like me know.
Nonetheless, a hard life from an outsider's perspective and maybe not so for them.
No worries! Goat / sheep, those horns are still fantastic! 🦌 The folks we chatted to, all wish for better lives and more opportunities, but I think it's the same in bigger centres too.
Are those also Goats? Wow I have never seen horns like that. Sjo the houses next to the train track is soo SAD!!! THE saddest for me is those buildings going to waste😞
That ram's horns were unbelievable! 😳 As far as we know, they're angora goats, but we're no experts in livestock. I fully agree, those buildings at Houtkraal look in good shape still and can surely be used for accommodation. We don't know the backstory though. Another viewer mentioned they belong to a private person. 🤷🏼♂️🏘️
Read my mom's book Haunted Corners by Magreat Williamson to find out about ghosts of Southern Africa
Thank you for bringing it to our attention. You have piqued my interest to source a copy of my own 😁
@David Williamdon Not sure what this has to do with Philipstown, but okay. 🤷🏼♂️
I'd visit just for Naaldekoker. Your stopovers at the stations are actually sad. I don't remember every single station on my journeys, but they always had many children alongside the tracks and they always seemed busy. Now they are dead. I wish the railways would be used again. It sure will reduce the amount of truck drivers, not to mention the carbon footprint and possibly road accidents too.
Die Naaldekoker was a stunning find in Philipstown and their toasted sandwiches were every bit as good as their place looked. 👌🏻 Houtkraal appeared out of the blue and we were surprised that such buildings in good condition aren't occupied anymore. I'm with you. We find the abandoned stations very interesting, but would much prefer them busy and bustling! 🚆🚗
Freight rail was lamentably slow, inept and lazy staff could not care less, while truckers would drive 30 000k pm to deliver on time.
Very nice video! My house at 29:22.
Thank you for watching our video of your hometown! 🚗😁 It was a pleasure to visit Philipstown and we're glad we drove past your house too! 🏡
My name is not Grant Dowker, wonder why his name is coming up on my post. Grant Dowker just happens to be a friend of mine
Intriguing 🤔
@Deon Nimb On my comment feed, you're displayed as Deon Nimb, so not sure how that happens. 🤷🏼♂️
Ek moet se Ek hou van daai Phillipstown . 😊Ek sien die ou geboue maar Ek sien ook n bietjie verf werk kan wonderre doen .
Philipstown was a great place to visit! I agree with you, with some maintenance some of the neglected buildings and houses will look a whole lot better. 🏘️🚗
Nou gaan verf dit dan!
Fixed
😂
@Deon Nimb Happy to hear! 👌
How far is phillips town from upington
Google says 482km. 🚙😁
What about de Aar?!
It sounds like you missed Episode 259! We started our trip in De Aar! 😁🚗
are you not suppose to tell us abt the town... and
Nope, we're not 'supposed' to do anything. 😁🚗 We travel to small towns and share our experiences in our videos. We share info we happen upon or glean during our superficial research while in a town. If you're looking for in-depth info about a town, we hope our videos inspire you to do your own research.
The destruction of crucial national infrastructure, that you sadly document, is a disgrace. How sad 😔
We reflect in our videos exactly what we find in a town or place on the random day we arrive. We don't think it's sad at all that we document the decay and destruction alongside the beauty which still remains. While we're very often saddened by the destruction, in most places the beauty still outshines the decay and that will always be our focus. 🤷♂️