Pella, Namaqualand
Probably one of the most beautiful provincial cathedrals in the country is at Pella, an oasis bedecked with palm dates close to Pofadder.
This beautiful golden building has quite a story attached to it. It was built by a couple of French missionaries, based out here in the midst of intense heat and isolation (enough to have already thwarted at least three similar missionaries who had finally returned home).
Brother Leo Wolf and Father Simon first set up gardens and planted crops before tackling the church. Which was probably just as well, as they were to take seven years to build without any plans a cathedral they saw in a picture in a book, believe to be the Encyclopedie des Arts et Metiers.
Their bricks were fired up at the Orange River, almost 10 kilometres away, whilst the limestone had to be brought by ox wagon from 160 km away and then restored with water from the oasis at Pella. Everything was made here, even the iron staircase, forged by two priests at Pella.
Brother Wolf died here only in 1947 and is buried in the church he built. Together with Father Simon (later Bishop Simon) he was to serve the community for 50 years.
Today the resident nuns will show you around the tiny museums next door to the cathedral, and the strikingly yellow, and cool (it gets hot here), cathedral. But there is more to Pella than a mere cathedral.
Pella is utterly serene. Date palms, sharp mountains, figs, grapes and sweet potatoes (the remnants of Brother Wolf's garden) and the settlement that grew up around the mission station. Today there is a handful of shacks, a few sandy roads and a couple of brick buildings.
The Kultuur Koffie Kroeg is a coffee shop that stands on the corner of the road that swings into Pella, run by a local woman, Christina Jannickes (Ouma Toekoes), and her daughters. You'll sit on the trunks of trees for stools, and your coffee will brew over an open fire in the back yard. And you can also stay in one of the traditional domed reed matjieshuis huts.
Now, why wouldn't you visit?
Travellers' Reviews
1 Review from SA-Venues.com travellers. All reviews are verified.
Verified review
We chanced upon Pella on a touring holiday in +- 2005 and will never forget this enchanting place. The approaching area was immaculate with little cottages, well kept flowering gardens and then the Cathedral in a large square reminiscent of a South American movie. A wedding party was just arriving and we were invited to join them but time prevented us from doing so. We were met by one of the resident nuns who showed us around the their rooms, the grounds and the exhibition of the most exquisitely embroidered regalia, and then the now emptied Cathedral. Time ran out for us as our onward journey was a long one but I hope, one day, to return to this magical place.
C j (Pinetown, KZN)
In the vicinity
Hotels & other accommodation options
Voetbaai Hardertjie
Voetbaai Hardertjie offers accommodation in Port Nolloth just a few steps away from the beach. Voetbaai Hardertjie is a comfortably furnished cha...
Jakkalswater Gasteplaas
Jakkalswater Gasteplaas offers you an ideal stop over in the Northern Cape with a picturesque view from the mountains over the valley below. We a...
Evening Shade
Evening Shade offers premier beachfront accommodation in Mc Dougals Bay, Port Nolloth. Step directly from the patio onto the sandy beach and enjo...
Pofadder Inn
Pofadder Inn offers comfortable bed & breakfast accommodation in Pofadder, Northern Cape. The Inn offers accommodation in 25 double rooms each sl...
Pofadder Hotel
Staying at Pofadder Hotel is more than just a stop-over. The hotel is an institution, and offers the welcome opportunity to meet some locals, to ...
Kwelanga River Lodge
Kwelanga River Lodge is a family run resort with a restaurant on site. The lodge offers chalets with beautiful river views and en-suite bathrooms...
Yield House
Situated on the beachfront, Yield House offers guests lovely self-catering accommodation in Port Nolloth in three sections which can be booked se...
Home Sweet Home
Experience a warm welcome from Home Sweet Home, offering comfortable accommodation in Springbok. Home Sweet Home is an ideal base for those wishi...
Kliprand Guest House
Kliprand Guest House, your home in Springbok, is nestled in the picturesque town renowned as the Namaqualand Flower Capital. The accommodation se...
Noteworthy attractions
Richtersveld National Park
The Richtersveld is a unique mountain desert wilderness of great beauty, tucked in the far north-western corner of the Northern Cape in South Afr...
Goegap Nature Reserve
The Goegap Nature Reserve with its granite peaks and sandy plains are dominated by Carolusberg, the highest point in the area. Goegap's wild flow...
Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape
Inscribed in 2007 as the eighth World Heritage Site in South Africa, the Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape is a remarkable mountainou...
Namaqua National Park
Say Namaqua National Park and people immediately think carpets of spring wild flowers. And they would not be wrong - Namaqualand not only has som...
Namaqualand Flower Route
The spring wild flowers are a phenomenon that never ceases to amaze and delight, even for those who live in what is considered South Africa's "ou...
Skilpad Wildflower Reserve
The Skilpad Wildflower Reserve was established by the WWF in 1988 to raise awareness of the floral kingdom of the Namaqualand. Mainly shrubland a...
Akkedis Pass
The Richtersveld is usually described by the adjectives 'rugged', 'desolate' and 'forbidding'. It's a dry, unforgiving landscape that is at once ...
Messelpad Pass
Messelpad Pass lies on the 104 km gravel road between Springbok and Hondeklip Bay in the Northern Cape, one of two passes through the Tigerkloof....
Wildeperdehoek Pass
Almost inextricably linked to Messelpad Pass (the two are part of the 'Copper Route' between Springbok and Hondeklip Bay) Wildeperdehoek Pass is ...
Find accommodation in Pella
FIND / South Africa Accommodation / Northern Cape Accommodation / Namaqualand Accommodation / Pella Accommodation