Welcome to Middelburg Karoo

Rock art and fossils can be seen at some farm accommodation establishments in the area.

Follow the road past the caravan park (Hill Street) to the first graveyard behind Ouberg Hill where the first inhabitants of Driefontein, on which Middelburg was founded, lay buried.

The pumping station was erected in about 1904 by the British troops that were stationed at Grootfontein. Its site is the marshland from which the actual “Groote Fontein” springs.

Karoo Ridge Cottage is set on Karoo Ridge Conservancy (55km from Middelburg), a 3 000ha working farm, where we run indigenous Nguni and Watusi cattle alongside game.

It was built as a home for Lord French, by Lord Kitchener’s Master builder during the 1899 – 1902 Anglo Boer War. When the war was drawing towards its end, many local residents felt that the ex-volunteers should be welcomed back home and some form of memorial to be instituted for those who did not return. Full story when you click on VCA Hall.

In the Oasis of the Karoo Heartland is this 3 Star country executive lodge situated in Middelburg. It is the perfect stopover midway between Johannesburg and the Garden Route. All the rooms have en-suite bathrooms, DStv and tea and coffee facilities.

Queen Victoria gave this gift to the town in 1887 when she had reigned for 50 years. The Victoria- and Jubilee Streets have been named then. The water pump can be seen in the Mayor’s Garden.

Oukor Overnight Accommodation offers comfortable accommodation in the busy town of Middelburg. The facility offers backpacker rooms and six apartments with self-catering facilities.

@Schoombee is a self catering farmhouse located just off the R56 between Middelburg and Steynsburg in the Karoo halfway between: Johannesburg and Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth, Durban and Cape Town / Cape South Coast. Enjoy the peace and quiet of the Karoo veld while experiencing the wonders of nature.

This rock is the oldest landmark of the occupation by the first European inhabitants. This inscription reads: “Anno 170 ik ben die plaas heft aangeleyght A.G.S.B. uyt Denemark sprenghane als sant.” Andries Godliep Schoombee fled from Denmark after the supposed death of his brother whom he threw from the window of their double-storey house after a fight.

This graceful obelisk was erected in 1929 to honour the memory of 19 Burghers who fell during the Anglo Boer War. Can be seen in the Mayor’s Garden. Mayor’s Garden, Meintjies Street.

The Sneeuberg range to the south of Middelburg, were a haven for the San where they hunted and gathered plants, bulbs and fruit for food much as prehistoric man did. During winter months, snow can be seen on the mountains, and the Lootsberg Pass becomes a spectacular winter landscape.