Kenhardt Accommodation
The old English church in Kenhardt © 
This building, which was erected in 1897, is a typical example of a pioneer house. It's one of the oldest buildings in Kenhardt and of great historical importance to the area. © LouriePieterse, License
The open landscapes of the Karoo can be seen with rain clouds in the distance. This photo was taken in the Kenhardt area © Lourie Pieterse, LicenseKenhardt
Kenhardt, a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa was originally founded 1868. The little town is about 120 km from Upington, the largest town in the area. On 27 December 1868, special magistrate Maximillian Jackson, with a police contingent, was sent to act as a bulwark against the Koranna, whose anti-colonial resistance had erupted into open conflict. Jackson arrived in Kenhardt and set up camp under a giant camelthorn tree.
For a long time the most remote settlement in the northwestern Cape, the town developed from under this tree, becoming a municipality in 1909. The Hartbees River, with its many sweet thorn trees, provides a green belt irrigated by the Rooiberg Dam. The town is at the heart of the Dorper sheep-farming area. Places of interest include: The Giant Camelthorn Tree which is about 500-600 years old, and is said to be the tree under which Magistrate Jackson set up his camp.
The Old Library Building which was built in 1897, and was used until 1977 was declared a national monument in 1978. The Quiver Tree Forest and Hiking Trail are about 8km south of Kenhardt on the main route to Cape Town. The forest comprises 4000 - 5000 kokerbome. The Kokerboom Hiking Trail leads through the forest.
The San Trail is an exclusive guided tour through several hills where San engravings occur, and Verneukpan which is a vast dry pan on which Sir Malcolm Campbell tried, in Bluebird 1, to set a new world land-speed record in 1929.
