Askham, Kalahari
When travelling from Upington and making your way to the Kgalagadi National Park, you will come across the little town of Askham. Askham is situated just 73 km from the park entrance at Twee Rivieren.
Askham originally developed around the school which has a boarding house built in 1931, as well as the Dutch Reformed Church of Askham which serves the entire Kalahari.
This town acquired its name from a Scottish land surveyor named Rodger Jackson. He gave Askham its name when he surveyed farms in the Kuruman River in 1919. There are many various explanations given for Jackson's choice of names. Some say that Jackson named Askham after a town on the Irish coast. Others say that Jackson took the name from a farmer's words: “Ask him”, or from the message he sent to request ingredients for his breakfast: “Ask ham!”. The mystery behind the reasoning still remains.
Situated just a few kilometres from Askham is the police station at Witdraai. It was built in 1931 and was a breeding station for camels that were used for police patrols in the Kalahari. At one stage Witdraai boasted over 400 camels and supplied camels for police stations at Rietfontein, Obobogorag, Kuruman, Van Zylsrus, Deben and Olifantshoek.
Askham offers various exciting activities as well as fantastic amenities and little coffee shops. There are various guesthouses in and around the town which offer comfortable accommodation. The people of the Kalahari are renowned for their hospitality and love spoiling guests with traditional cuisine such as roosterkoek, juicy Kalahari lamb dishes, melktert and, in season, the sought after n'abba or Kalahari truffle.
Each little town in the Green Kalahari has its own unique characteristics and beauty and Askham is definitely one of them. Although it is small, Askham is not without character. It boasts genuine tranquillity and an ideal destination for the traveller.
In the vicinity
Hotels & other accommodation options
Loch Maree Guest Farm
Loch Maree Guest Farm stands as a lone sentinel in the vast expanse of the Kalahari Desert. The camps are unfenced so nature and the veld are rig...
Askham Chalets
Askham Chalets offer peace, tranquility and a true Kalahari experience within secluded cottages, where you can enjoy breathtaking sunrises and sp...
Kameelboomkoelte
Situated in the heart of the famous Kalahari Red Dune Route, Kameelboomkoelte Chalets are equipped to make sure they provide a home from home exp...
Things to do in the area
Hakskeen Pan MTB
Where: KlipkolkLevel: the pan is flat, no hills here, but don't get stuck out here for hours in the heatType of route: this is a salt pan, expect...
Noteworthy attractions
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
Surrounding the rugged Koranneberg Mountains in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve covers 1000km˛ (100 000 ha) o...
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Africa's first formally declared trans-border conservation area, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, on the border of South Africa and Botswana, wa...
Witsand Nature Reserve
The Witsand (White Sands) Nature Reserve is a 2 500 hectares island of brilliant white sands surrounded by a sea of regular Red Kalahari sand. Al...
Sishen Golf Club
Of all the golf courses in South Africa, Sishen Golf Course is one of the most remote. Situated on the outskirts of the town of Kathu in the Nort...
Orange River Wine Route
In a part of South Africa that is, for all intents and purposes, practically desert, one does not expect to find a wine route. But the Orange Riv...
Riemvasmaak Community Conservancy
North west of the town of Kakamas and bordering the Augrabies National Park is the Riemvasmaak Community Conservancy - 75 00 hectares of land bet...
Kalahari Meerkat Project
The Kalahari Meerkat Project is based in the Kuruman River Reserve, just south of the border of Botswana. There is infinite beauty in this semi-a...
The Eye of Kuruman
The Eye was discovered in 1801, when an expedition called Truter Somerville was being conducted. It was only a little while later that a mission ...
Khomani Cultural Landscape
The area in the southern Kalahari, bordered in the east by Botswana and the west by Namibia, is where you will find a small group of the Khomani ...
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