Colesberg, Upper Karoo
This quiet Karoo town which serves a thriving horse and sheep stud district, has retained a few interesting reminders of the past. When visiting Colesberg, make a point of visiting the old horse-driven mill pub, the quaint Cape Karoo cottages in Bell Street and the Kemper Museum, which includes a section on the Anglo-Boer War.
The Karoo is famous for its wide open spaces and healthy climate. Colesberg has a rich history closely linked with to the legendary characters of South Africa's diamond industry. John O'Reiley, who purchased the first diamond found in South Africa from its owner, Schalk van Niekerk, and took it to Colesberg for testing. It was used to scratch "DP", the initials of Draper and Plewman, a store which still exists, on the shop's window. Once the stone passed this test. it was sent to Dr Guybourne Atherstone, a well-known geologist. He confirmed it was a diamond and so started The Diamond Rush.
Colesberg has several national monuments, one of which is the Colesberg-Kemper Museum. A fine example of 19th century Karoo architecture, it originally was the Colesberg Bank and later the Standard Bank. It now houses fascinating relics of the town's rich tapestry of history.
This museum started in 1924 when G L Kemper donated his collection of artefacts to the municipality. It has grown into a valuable local cultural history museum. Among its exhibits is a collection of fossils dating back to the first reptiles which inhabited this area and a permanent photographic display, compiled by UNISA, on the Karoo Nomads - (the donkey ‘karretjie' people).
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Featured Attractions in (or near) Colesberg
Doornkloof Nature Reserve
Lying peacefully in the mountainous upper Karoo of the Northern Cape, just outside the little town of Colesberg, Doornkloof Nature Reserve is positioned at the top end of the southern shore of the Vanderkloof Dam - South Africa’s second largest water reservoir. It shares this privilege with the Rolfontein ... more information
Gariep Dam Nature Reserve
The Free State's largest nature reserve is a combination of the 36 487 ha Gariep Dam on the Orange River and an 11 237 ha game sanctuary on its northern shore. From the Gariep dam some 200 000 ha of land is irrigated, by means of a tunnel of 83,8 km, delivering water to the upper valleys of the Fish River, and then ... more information
Karoo Gariep Conservancy
Karoo is a “quenna” word meaning “dry and hard”. Gariep is also a “quenna” word meaning “big water”or river. The Karoo Gariep Concervancy is found on the Karoo “dry and hard” side of the Gariep “big river”. Like its name describes this is a very natural diverse part of South Africa. The fact that ... more information
Rolfontein Nature Reserve
Situated in the upper Karoo where an infinite sky and horizon seem to go on without end, the Rolfontein Nature Reserve is found roughly 16 kilometres north of Petrusville, one of many isolated little villages in the midst of the Karoo’s endless plateaus. Rolfontein borders on the Vanderkloof Dam - South Africa’s ... more information
Tankwa-Karoo National Park
The 80 000 hectare Tankwa Karoo National Park, proclaimed in 1986 and still in a development stage, is at present in a veld recovery phase and it will be some time before the original vegetation re-establishes itself. Even so, after the occasional shower, the park erupts into a dazzling display of flowering ... more information
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Things To Do in Colesberg
Visit the Colesberg-Kemper Museum
Where: Colesberg
How much (per person): On Request
Colesberg has several national monuments, one of which is the Colesberg-Kemper Museum. A fine example of 19th century Karoo architecture, it ... more information
Doornkloof Nature Reserve
Where: Colesberg
How much (per person): On Request
On the south-eastern banks of the Van Der Kloof Dam, the 9 388 hectare Doornkloof Nature Reserve is home to kudu, eland, brown hyena, mounta ... more information
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On Holiday in Colesberg
• Colesberg Accommodation
• Colesberg Hotels
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• Upper Karoo Accommodation
• Things to do in Upper Karoo
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