‘Roggeveld’ is one of those quintessential Afrikaans words, with Rs and Gs rumbling around the back of your throat like ominous thunder clattering amidst Karoo outcrops. And frankly, the landscape around this part of the Northern Cape is a bit like this, too.
In a nut shell, the Roggeveld region unfolds along the agoraphobia-inducing south-western corner of the Great Karoo, where rugged hills and cleft valleys undulate as far as the eye can see. This is merino country, and vast sheep farms blanket much of the district.
You will find the village of Sutherland at the southernmost extreme of the Roggeveld and from this star-studded little dorp, the Karroid scrubland extends in a broad swathe northwards. From an elevated escarpment along the edge of the eponymous mountain ranges, the landscape tumbles onto the Tankwa-Karoo plains below towards the west, encompassing the tiny hamlet of Middelpos as well as Calvinia, an historic town set at the epicentre of the Hantam region.
My most recent sojourn into this intoxicating landscape was on a photographic shoot for #BushAndSkyEncounters, a Cape-based tourism operator aiming at creating unique small-group adventures for premium local and international clients. Our base was at #Rooikloof, and one can immediately see why this guest farm has become such a highly regarded toruism destination.
Family history runs deep at Rooikloof, with the Sieberhagen clan having set strong familial roots within the rock-strewn Roggeveld soil. We set ourselves up within their comfortable and well-equipped Huis Harpuis self-catering cottage, a perfect base and just a few minutes down the road from Sutherland itself.
The shoot schedule included the full gamut of leisure and outdoor activities offered by #BushAndSkyEncounters, and we decided to get everyone to partake in their adventure, rather than just staging it for the cameras. Hiking, bird-watching, plant identification, mountain bike exploration, sundowner sipping, djembe drumming, 4×4 and gravel pass tripping, yoga, mediation, glamping, bush breakfasts, star-gazing, and even bokdrol spitting, finally topped off with Hakkiesdraad mampoer tasting 🙂
Huge thanks to Eckhart, Camila, Robert Brundle, Liezel from #HeyPioneer, Jenny and Bugs, Sizo, Heinrich et all … let’s do this again soon!
Click here to view the pics