Brandvlei Accommodation

Brandvlei is a small town in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape. The town got its name from the 19th century trekboer called Ou (old) Brand who settled here. The trekboer camped at this spot on the Sakrivier, a dry river bed, which only occasionally has water after good rains, the same type of rains which also typically result in flash floods. The settlement was cut in two by such a flood in 1961 and it was just after it recovered in 1962 that a municipality was formed.

This town of Brandvlei is located in the Bushmanland, also known as the Dorsland (Afrikaans for Thirst Land) and should not be confused with the Brandvlei south of Worcester in the Western Cape.

By studying the rock formations and fossils it has been discovered that although it isn't evident now, this area was once sub-tropical. Many fossils that have been found in the area back this fact. From 1910 the farmers used an irrigation method comparable to one used for thousands of years by the Egyptians. The surface is very flat, and water does not run away easily. This way the rainwater is spread over a larger area and is allowed to sink into the soil. Although the moisture in the area is only enough to farm with crops on a very small scale. Farmers live on these crops once the rains have gone. In the long run this method is not feasible, as evaporating water leaves behind salt and other minerals.

This region contains very little vegetation, primarily very low shrubs and yellow grass among a rocky desert kind of landscape. If you travel north from Brandvlei towards Kenhardt, you will pass through a huge landscape of nothingness for the next 200 km and more. During the seasons many birds flock to the pans, when they contain water, after some rainfall. Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius are not uncommon.