KAROO NEWS - Be sure to explore the Karoo village of Nieu-Bethesda this holiday.
Here are a few things you should try:
Helen Martins museum
Visit the Helen Martins Museum in Martins Street before you visit the Owl House around the corner. Here you can watch an introductory video about Helen and the Owl House, and browse old photos and letters.
Experience the Owl House
Helen Martins’ Owl House is unique and was opened to the public in 1996. Inside, walls and ceilings are painted in bright colours and patterns, all covered with glass chips that she used to grind in a coffee grinder and spray onto the paint while it was wet.
The Camel Yard outside is filled with cement and glass figures of people, owls and camels, as well as churches and strange creatures.
Explore the water mill and water furrows
Take a stroll up and down some of Nieu-Bethesda’s streets and you’ll see the old leivore (water furrows) that provide water to the village. Locals direct water into their gardens and plots by using smaller gated channels. All the water comes from a spring above the village, and if you cross the bridge to the other side of the river opposite the Owl House you can still see the watermill that was built in 1860.
Pop in at the Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre
The Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre uses info boards, models and videos to tell the story of early mammal-like reptiles in the Karoo in the Permian period 253 million years ago - way before the first dinosaurs ever walked the earth.
Duck into Dustcovers
If you love quirky bookshops full of buried treasure, duck into Dustcovers in Hudson Street. It’s stuffed full of pre-loved books, from collectable Africana to good fiction and light reading – or, as their Facebook page puts it, “damn fine reads”.
The Ibis Lounge
Don’t miss a visit to The Ibis Lounge. Chill on the sofas and read a book with a cup of coffee, or have lunch inside or outside on the stoep. They do dinners too, but there are only a few tables so it’s best to book ahead to avoid disappointment.
Antie Evelyne se Eetplek
This restaurant in the settlement of Pienaarsig is in Evelyne Olifant’s front yard, with a corrugated iron roof for shade. Enjoy traditional boerekos like chicken pie, Karoo lamb chops, caramelised pumpkin and vetkoek. It’s good old home cooking at an affordable price, and a chance to support a local.
The Sneeuberg Brewery and Two Goats Deli
Order a sample tasting of Karoo ale, honey ale and dark beer, with a cider thrown in for good measure. You can order toasted sarmies or a bread, cheese and kudu salami platter, all made by owner André Cilliers. There are chairs inside or under trees in the garden at the back, so the kids can entertain themselves while you enjoy a casual and relaxing hour or two. There’s freshly roasted coffee too.
The Tower Café
This café is in the quirky three-storey Bethesda Tower that has accommodation at the top and a shop and café on the ground floor.
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