What do the cold and the sparkling African sky have in common? Why Sutherland in the Northern Cape of course.
Home to SALT (South African Large Telescope) and if the scientists think that this is the best place to behold those lovely sparkles in the sky and prove it by dumping a gigantic telescope on the hill overlooking the town like big brother, who am I to argue with such a convincing argument.
Armed with the driving force that my friend Gareth made seeing the stars from Sutherland a part of his bucket list and the overwhelming scientific argument mentioned above, our band of brothers (we feel this way after the long car journey we endured together) went off the beaten track to help Gareth achieve that tick on the list and see what the scientists are on about.
As the date of departure loomed, I developed a slight fear in my heart at the cold that I would have to endure to behold this magical sight. Because not only is this the coldest place in South Africa but winter is also the best time to view the stars, so we go in June, the start of winter. To still the fear, I went to the shops, bought thermals and long sleeve shirts, fleece boots and dug out my thickest winter jacket, and lastly my jersey and beanie from Bolivia. Now that made me feel safe and prepared to face the onslaught of the winter outside of Durban. For those that do not reside on the east coast of South Africa and don’t understand my fear, understand that to a Durbanite, a bitterly cold day that requires boots and a scarf is merely 15 degrees Celsius, single digit temperatures are almost unheard of and seen as the end of the world. But I digress.
In our infinite wisdom as travellers of the world and with the thought of adventure embedded in our brains, we decided to drive to Sutherland. All 3300km of return trip driving. And it would not have been a bad choice if we didn’t try to accomplish this feat in the space of 5 days and still manage to visit SALT and actually see stars through a telescope. But then again we are essentially still young and arrogant (or perhaps ignorant) enough to believe that the elements will play along with our intentions and line up beautifully for our one chance to visit SALT on the Saturday night, day 2 of the road trip. However, there are three elements that must be perfectly aligned for this momentous occasion – humidity, cloud cover and wind. Two out of the 3 decided to go rogue on us and the third didn’t seem capable of blowing enough to get the other two in check. So instead of jewels in the sky, we had the privilege of watching an outdated video about Hubble in an auditorium a stone’s throw away from our 1700km driving quest. Who knew that a high level of humidity would be the one thing that Sutherland and Durban would have in common on this day and the very thing that robbed us of our prize.
Dejected and brains numbed by the Hubble dvd, we thought all was lost. The gravity of our situation made us turn to that source of endless information that our generation has used to replace the the wisdom of asking the local. However, today Google came through and revealed the solution to our dilemma. A delightful man called Jurg. He has telescopes and isn’t as concerned about the humidity since he is in town and not on a hill. We book for Sunday night…day 3.
Our home for the next 2 nights, the Sutherland Guesthouse. Kitted with fireplace, electric blankets and heaters. And we have sherry enfused with chilli, what was I worried about.
Sunday is a day of wandering the abandoned streets of Sutherland. The town whispers stories to you. The Anglo-Boer cemetery speaks of sadness, the NG church of peace and fighting, the stellar names of pubs like Jupiter and Mars Bar, of the main modern trade. Children wander the streets unaccompanied but with no fear. There is nothing happening today, even the petrol station is closed. But burgers and craft beer can be found with a bit of effort. We keep ourselves busy and wait for the sun to set and finally it is time.
On the outskirts of Sutherland as you enter from the Maatjiesfontein side you will come across a marvel – a self confessed gardner with an interest in what the night sky has to display. He is not a scientist but when he opens his mouth to speak about the heavens, you find yourself hanging on to his every word. With the confidence of a well versed singer he walks you through the constellations and eagerly shares his knowledge with a drop of humour to warm the soul. He shares his telescopes, his pride and joy, with every participant in this ‘tour’ of the skies directing our eyes to the wonders that are invisible to our naked eyes but open up in the sight of the telescope. As the night gets deeper, the lights sparkle brighter and the canvas starts to change. Jurg doesn’t miss a beat and every sighting is more spectacular than the last. After 2 hours we leave, necks stiff, feet cold but happy hearts. This was worth every kilometer of our crazy trip.
We finish our night with a meal at Die Ou Meul. This was the original Mill, it is small and cozy, it also creates warm fuzziness in your heart (which may be attributed to chocolate sherry but probably not). Here the people multitask, the owner is the barman and the waiter. It has character and it has great lamb chops, the meal of choice in the Karoo.
So what are the lessons I learnt from this trip and how can I advise future adventurers heading to Sutherland…
For your sanity…fly.
Fly to Cape Town, hire a car and drive 3-4 hours to Sutherland instead of 16-17 hours of driving. Remember that the petrol station is closed on a Sunday and that the nearest station heading to Cape Town is in Worcester, heading to Johannesburg or Durban, is in Laingsburg.
If you do decide to drive, make it a road trip with points of interest to visit along the way. Nice places to stop – Clarens (a bit out of the way), Bloemfontein, Colesburg. There are many historical sites along the way so you can make it interesting but you need time and plenty of it.
Go in deep winter when there is no humidity if you want to actually see stars through telescopes at SALT.
Don’t just go for 2 nights but rather 3 -4 (don’t include Sunday in your calculations as it is closed) if your hopes are set on seeing stars at SALT.
Don’t stop in Beaufort West, that town is freaky. If you do try some Karoo sushi at Karushi just for the experience and not for the amazing taste.
A person that is passionate about a subject is often better at imparting their knowledge than someone that is extremely knowledgeable about the same.
Any thoughts or opinions? Please leave a comment.