S1 - Ep 265 - Daniёlskuil - A Little Mining Town in the Green Kalahari!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.พ. 2023
- It was another fantastic gravel road we took to get to Daniёlskuil. So much wildlife to be seen and enjoyed. With the rain the road was a little slippery in some spots, but the Kwid managed just fine. As we drove into this little mining town we were surprised to see that it was not quite as little as we thought! Immediately we saw the old Dutch Reformed Church and the old Police Station which we had to explore. Then it was the rest of the town. Interesting to find out that it is in the Green Kalahari, something I didn’t even know existed. I was seriously amazed at the beautiful houses and how neat the town was. It was a good visit. #DustBugs #adventuretravel #southafrica #southafricavlog #travelongravel #northerncape #danielskuil #greenkalahari
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One Sunday morning in December 1960, I played the organ during a worship service in the Gereformeerde Kerk at Daniëlskuil, shown around 35:00. I had just completed my final High School exams, and was a passenger with Rev. Sakkie Minnaar who visited my home town Potchefstroom. We drove on Saturday and boarded with an older couple on the outskirts of town, where the was irrigation water. The regular organist must have been away, so I was 'drafted'. Around noon, we drove west to Postmasburg where Rev. Minnaar lived (he served two congegations) and was to conduct the evening service, and I re-met a friend I had first seen about half a year before, who lived with his parents on a farm called Soetfontein, 3 miles west of Postmasburg. I stayed there for about three weeks, it was an enjoyable visit, and in December 1965 I went there again. My friend later studied law, and became the Town Clerk of Postmasburg, while I became civil engineer.
Thank you so much for taking me back home. I have not been to my beloved hometown, Danielskuil, in 13 Years.
Hi you two! Thanks for another enjoyable trip on a real gravel road. I also have never heard of the "Green Kalahari", but the name is clearly spot on. That large Kudu on the way to town was really wonderful.
So glad that you did discover the fort and could give us a broad view of the town.
The houses are really neat and even grand. What did catch my eye was that some attention was given to security fences. There must be a reason for this. It was not the case in the other small towns we saw.
Thank you Sonia for covering the history of the town. The origin of the name in the lions den says a lot of our forebears 200 years ago.
Keep going! and
Keep safe!
It's so incredible how the gravel roads always deliver as far as wildlife goes, this one was fantastic! 🦌 Danielskuil was a much bigger town than we expected and I imagine with that, comes safety concerns and therefore the fences and such. There were indeed some grand properties, which were totally unexpected too! 🏡 The view over this green town was quite spectacular from the hill, I'm glad you enjoyed that too! 🤩🚗
My oh my!!!! Stunning stone built churches 👌👌👌
And two of them right next to each other. It was worth Sonia's gasp! 💒🚙
Can't wait to watch this when I get home. Thank you again- I know it's going to be delightful and packed full of 'stuff' that makes the world go round.
I hope you enjoy our visit to Danielskuil, another surprising town in the Northern Cape! Green must surely be their favourite colour, like it is Sonia's! 🌳💚
Another truly delightful trip to start my day - thank you!
Delightful is a good way to describe Danielskuil, we also experienced it that way! 😁🚗
Thanks for the trip
Sure, glad you could come along for the ride! 👌🏻🚗
Thank you for this one. Really bigger than i thought it would be.The town seems to be well and alive. Well done guys i really enjoyed it. Keep on taking us through the country
We were taken aback by the size of Danielskuil too, as well as how green it was and how well-maintained the properties were. It was a pleasure to visit the town and drive around. The view from the hill was awesome too! So glad you enjoyed this one and we look forward to your thoughts on the next one! 😁🚗
Had a wonderful time staying at Danielskuil, me and my late husband worked at Idwala, then called Anglo Alpha and the mine itselg was called Ouplaas
Good memories. Thanks.0
Thank you guys for an awesome vid. I grew up there. The old police station is correctly mensioned. My dad was the last station commander in that building. We stayed in the stone house next to it.
Many memories of that beautiful little town.
Thank you for watching our video of your old hometown. I'm so happy you enjoyed it! 😁🚙 It is a beautiful town indeed. Appreciate the confirmation that it is indeed the old Police Station. How incredible that your dad was the last Station Commander there and you lived in that very house nextdoor! Loved you sharing those memories with us! 👨🏻✈️👌🏻
You two are sooo brave.....thanks❤
I ‘ve enjoyed this video so much! My mom was born in Danielskuil in 1930( they lived on a farm). The view from the hill was beautiful; it is so green, and the town is much bigger than I thought. Loved the old buildings! Again, thank you so much for all the work you put in, as well as for sharing it with us. 🌻
I'm glad you could get a glimpse into your mom's birthtown. It's a town surprising in size and beauty and we're also so glad that we actually explored it a little. 🚗🌳 The old buildings can tell some interesting stories, I'm sure. Those stories might even be from the time your mom was still in the area. 😊💒
Hometown❤️
How lucky are you to live in such a beautiful green town! 🌳💚 It was a pleasure to visit Danielskuil. 😁🚗
I went there last year and stayed in a lovely guest house , cant remember the name, but there are new solar farms being built just outside the town so its probably going to get even busier, Thanks again for the great video
So you must've spent quite a bit of time in the town then. We were super surprised at how beautiful and green the town is and what lovely properties there were! We drove past a few guesthouses, so I'm sure one of them must've been the one you stayed in! 🏡 It's interesting that you mention the solar farm and actually incredible how many solar farms are going up in the Northern Cape! ☀️ Some guesthouses and accommodation establishments are even booked out for months in advance for the contractors who come to work on these farms. I'm glad you enjoyed our video, thank you for watching! 😁🚙
So pleased to see a clean/ litter free town, and so few potholes! Interesting town
It was indeed a pleasure to drive around the town of Danielskuil. I'm happy you enjoyed tagging along! 😎🚗
Once again thank you for an awesome video guys♥️♥️
You're very welcome, I'm so happy you enjoyed our visit to Danielskuil! 🚗🌳
Wow, initially I thought the Kudu was a statue until it sprinted away….Wow!!!!
It must be one of the most magnificent antelope. Those horns get me every time! 😍🦌
I love the ambiance of this town!
It was a complete revelation to us! It was green literally everywhere we looked! 🚙🌳
Pragtige plek . Groen 👍
True story! We loved it too! 🌳💚
If the old buildings could tell their stories.....!
Indeed! I sometimes put my ear on the stonework and just imagine hearing the voices and activity that must've come from them at one time. So interesting! 🏢🚙
A big spread out town - lovely to see.
Absolutely! And not at all what we expected, so Danielskuil was a joy to visit and explore. 🌳🚗
Hi guys well the gravel road never let's you down abundance of wildlife even down to the little Dassie definitely lives up to the title green kalahari the old stone church with stone buttresses Well built. The old police station so interesting juvenile lock up and police bar they certainly looked after themselves. High school sports facilities top notch the views of the town from the old British Fort were stunning definitely a commanding position love the story about how the town got its name these old towns have more than meets the eye thanks for another great video cheerio till the next one
That stone church was sturdy as anything, I agree with you that it seemed particularly well built and fortunately still in fantastic shape! 💒 The wildlife on the gravel road had the two of us so excited! We'd watch wildlife all day every day if we had the chance! 😍🦡 The old Police Station and jail were incredibly cool to explore and to just imagine the goings-on there 50 or so years ago. We look forward to you jumping back in for the next town! 😁🚗
You are far from home....but another town I have never heard of. Every place has its "vibe" like sonia says it. Im so happy to be driving along looking at everything and all those animals. We have a gorgeous country....time for the winds of change...
We were quite far from home, yes! But we so love the Northern Cape and every place we got to, was just such an incredible surprise. And Danielskuil was no exception. Oh, and the wildlife between these places, are the cherries on top of an already fantastic cake! 😍🦌 Get ready for the next stop! 🚗🇿🇦
You know me....can't wait😍😍😍😍
Very interesting episode. I grew up in Danielskuil. Those side tippers are from Iron ore mines (more the smaller Chines ones, not the big Anglo ones). I still remember that road into town. Especially when you came back from Holiday. The limestone mine used to be called Ouplaas. The pan as they call it filled up the first time when I was living there in 1988. The road into town washed away. Still remember that we went to have a look when I was a kid. The pan was almost empty at a stage, but after the good rains the last couple of years it is full again. That building you went to after the church was the old Komando building. On the churches, the smaller building was the first church and then the 2nd one with the plate the second one. This belongs to the NG Kerk (they have a new church as well that is used now). The basaar always used to be in the 2nd one. The field you passed at 23:43 is where I used to play as a kid. We stayed in that house. This brings back a lot of memories. The old post office I think was rented by the postal service, a number of years ago the lease was not renewed or something and was turned into a guest house. Still remember walking there as a kid... I Matriculated at HS Danielskuil in 2002... You did pass through it during a good rainy season. It can be very dry. In the winter I remember they used to spray water on the rugby field just to make it a bit softer... There is, however, a good supply of underground water. I did notice while watching that there seems to be a lot more palisades now. Yard that just had a low fence or nothing is now behind palisades. The houses did belong to the mines at a stage, but were sold to the people. I see a lot of new complexes/houses. The one hill with the bigger houses used to be called "Die Skuldbult" and the more wealthy people used to stay there. We used to climb the "koppie" on a Sunday afternoon or during school holiday and walk to the fort. There used to be a gate where you could get in. Not sure if it is now locked. Good to see that it has not really been vandalised. At 34:21 you again passed the house where I grew up. My dad was a minister in that church until the end of 2003. They then moved to Pretoria. My mother was involved in the planning of the hall that is build next to the church. I used to play there and observed when they were building it... Need to go visit the town again... Thanks for the video.
Thank you for watching our video of your old hometown! And for all the interesting info and background you provided about the town, that is very much appreciated and helped fill in quite a few blanks for us! 👌🏻 We saw those sidetippers carrying iron ore from the Gamsberg mine close to Aggeneys too, there are so many of them on the road now! 🚛 It was fantastic to visit Danielskuil, the town was a complete and utter surprise to us. In a good way! 🚗🌳
Hey Henk! Howzit boet haha! Yes, I remember the reformed church and especially the bell. In our matric year, a group of us friends would walk the town late at night on weekends and when passing that church, we hop the fence to ring the church bell. Wim, Bergh, myself, we all took turns.
This video, honestly made me yearn for the days of yonder. Such good memories growing up there. The town has grown and changed a lot since. The school didn't originally have sports grounds like it does now. Long ago, the school used to use the old show grounds for rugby, cricket and athletics. Annually, the competing colour teams would walk from the school to the show grounds singing and chanting before the athletics competition would start. This ended in the early 90's when the mines sponsored putting up the new sports grounds on the school premises.
Regarding the old buildings near the beginning of the video, the one was indeed the old police building. The building next to the old police station was a house that my mom and her family lived in when they moved to Danielskuil. My grandad was a policeman then.
The pit the town derived it's name from is outside town, other side the pan, not far from where you filled fuel. A little further on past this pit, is an old grave of a little girl that was shot by the English soldiers from the anglo boer war.
in 1992, the town had a centenary celebration, celebrating the towns 100 years. When entering the town after you passed the mine, to the left of where you drove is a stone erection which was erected in celebration.
Thank you so much for this knot in the throat video. I loved it!
Never thought the kalahari can be this green. We must check out the karoo in the spring/summer because they had a lot of rain.
Indeed! 🌳💚 There is just so much water in that region at the moment and they're not too far from the major rivers either. We were gobsmacked at how green everything was during our visit, it was awesome! 🚗😁
A beautiful place so green loved the wildlife they really were something to see. That view was awesome. I really enjoyed Danielskuil a properous town. Thank you.
I knew you'd love the wildlife along the gravel road, we saw such a variety on that stretch! 😍🦌 We couldn't believe our eyes, it was green everywhere we loooked! 🌳💚 The town is an organised community and we were very happy to have paid it a visit and that you came along for the ride! 🚗😁
20 km north is farm Carmel where you find the famous Boesmansgat, a verticale sinkhole (cave). Regularly visited by divers .....believe the world record successful atempt for the deepest dive is at Boesmansgat
Exactly! Farm Carmel's gate was tightly locked though when we passed there on our way to the next town. I understand one has to make specific arrangements for access. 🤷🏼♂️🚙
Love the map. You guys really get around. Love what you are doing on here and glad to be following along. As a father son team of traveling anthropologists and park rangers, we love people who share culture, history, food and natural places as they travel. Glad to find you doing a great job of this. Cheers and see you on the road some day. - Turtle and Bear
Thank you so much, fellow travellers! How special that you get to travel together as father and son! It's great to hear that you enjoy our videos. Nothing beats the open road, especially a gravel road! 😁🚙 If you ever see a tanned arm filming out of the window of a small car, do holler! It may just be us. Safe travels to you guys!
@@DustBugsTravel Will do. Trying to get your region on the plan for 2024 or early 2025 since I cannot get there on the RTW drive. Cheers and let's keep in touch.
❣ what a beauty this town is, massive mining happening here, that church was really a gasp for me too....thank you for another awesome video, cant wait for the next one.
Yup, really green and gorgeous there! 🌳💚 It surprises us no end to find lovely towns like this so unexpectedly. I'll tell Sonia you agree that the church is gaspworthy! 😁💒 Get ready for a few more exciting and pretty towns in the Northern Cape! 🤩🚗
Surprised at how big this town is. We just passed there and stopped for petrol, but never turned off to see what the town is like.
Agreed, we never expected to find a town as large and as lush as Danielskuil turned out to be, it was quite the revelation! 🚗🌳 I'm glad you turned off the main road with us! 🚗😁
.....and potholes everywhere!
So much more to see in Danielskuil though! 🤷🏼♂️ We didn't even notice the potholes! 🚗🛣️
Just around the corner from us. We are in Kathu the home of Sishen Mine
You're fortunate to live in such a beautiful province! 🚗🌳
@@DustBugsTravel thanks, I worked at SA Army Combat Training Centre from 1997 up until 2015. You guys stopped at the entrance on your way to Postmasburg.
Love traveling our country with you❤ looks like you haven't been to Frankfort?
Thank you, glad to have you on board. 🚙🤩 No, we haven't been to Frankfort yet. Although I love the Free State dearly, the province is quite far from home and we're not sure when we'll be heading that way again.
Next time you in danielskuil phone hendrik of rhino security he can show you around
Thank you, we're not sure when we'll be back in the area, but will certainly keep that in mind! 👌🏻🚙
Some of the odd-looking antelope you're seeing are probably "freaks" being bred by game farmers for hunters, to give them something unusual to shoot. (A game _farm_ is likely to be run according to farming, rather than conservation, principles (sometimes the two are a bit at odds). I have friends who worked in nature conservation quite a few years ago, and this was one of the problems they faced. (Farmers producing products for consumers, who sometimes aren't interested in all the conservation nonsense that goes with their hunting, instead of maintaining ecologies, according to what Nature would do.) Sometimes it would be introducing species that don't belong in an area, because there's a demand for trophies of that species, which is probably reasonably harmless, given that in exchange the farm is given over to game instead of e.g. sheep, and they're not going to escape anywhere - although out of habitat they're going to pick up the kinds of problems that kept them out of that habitat, naturally. Sometimes it would be breeding "specials". A black impala (although there is such a species - from Angola/Northern Namibia), an albino blesbok, an all-red leopard ... which I think is fairly obviously a potential problem, as the genes from the rejects of such breeding programmes end up back in the natural gene pool.
Mostly, if someone wants to keep Gemsbok in KZN, but also has Black Wildebeest, that's probably OK - especially if he's selling some of his Wildebeest on auction to KZN buyers. They're just "slaughter stock" anyway. (Quite a strange industry, this wildlife industry. With some ugly aspects, like the canned lion hunters, those who keep "zoo tigers" that will never breed, and elephants beaten into submission by mahouts. Free Enterprise doesn't make heaven. The people who believe that are just the unreasonable believers of a pretty terrible religion, when it turns out the worst it can. They should rather try believing in a better one, if they want to live by faith. Well I think so, anyway.
It remains a sad situation for me. Off-camera, we actually sat staring at the black impala and even those dark springbok for quite some time and, while we're not hunters and will never be, we knew that they were probably bred for that purpose. As the hunters will probably never understand the conservation nonsense you refer to, I'll never understand their ethos either. 🦌🤷🏼♂️ Different strokes for different folks, I guess. 🚗
@@DustBugsTravel I used to think I understood them (and when I was younger I shot a few birds I should've just left to live - because it was a "tradition" or something, I suppose). As I get older, I find hunting ever more incomprehensible. I know great people who enjoy doing it, but I really don't get it. (Even fishing is something I've "gone off". Used to enjoy hunting trout, but don't any more.)
Ja, different strokes, different folks, I suppose. (With some of us being less stable in "being what we are" over a lifetime than others. Anyone can change, I suppose.)
It is very uncommon to see a compaction roller in use on a road surface that has been freshly graded?
I have never seen this before.
The mines will probably cover all of the costs related to the upkeep of this road?
Uneven road surfaces have a dramatic impact on operating costs as leaf springs fail and component life is shortened.
I saw a camera mounted alongside the roadway on the approach to the arterial route.
We've covered a fair number of gravel roads, but have never seen a roller on any of them before. We've happened upon a good few graders on our travels though, but never a roller, let alone both of them on the same stretch! And a Stop-and-Go to boot. 🚜🛑 It was good to see the road being maintained though and it looked like they were doing a really thorough job. I highly doubt the mine would be responsible for the maintenance of that road, I don't think the mining vehicles use it. We certainly didn't see any. I thought the mounted camera was interesting so specifically included it. 😁🚗