Laingsburg

Laingsburg is situated in the Karoo Heartland in the Western

Laingsburg is a friendly Karoo village only 280km from Cape Town. Laingsburg was almost entirely destroyed by a huge flood only a century after it started . Laingsburg lies in a geologically fascinating area, steeped in history and tradition. Its a worthwhile and hospitable stop on the busy N1 highway through the Great Karoo

The warm welcome that awaits tourists in Laingsburg, dates back to the mid-1700s. In those years farmers along the banks of the Buffels River offered hospitality to adventurers brave enough to cross the mountains and venture out onto the arid plains of the Great Karoo. In exchange for news of Cape Town and the civilised world, as well as gossip garnered from other farms along the way, these isolated farmers of the interior offered accommodation, sustenance and fodder. Many early officials and explorers, such as Barrow, Lichtenstein, De Mist and Swellengrebel, wrote of the people they met in what was later to become the district of Laingsburg. They described the Karoo as "awesome, hot, dry, and dusty. An inhospitable land peppered with friendly outspans, veritable jewels in the desert."

In 1981, one hundred years after the town was founded, the Buffels River came down in flood and destroyed two thirds of the town. The town has been rebuilt since and today little evidence remains of this disaster. The town was named in honour of John Laing, Commissioner of Crown Lands at the time of it’s founding.

GENERAL INFORMATION

How to get there

Beaufort West 200 km, Cape Town 275 km, Prins Albert 120 km, Worcester 160 km.

Altitude: 676 m above sea level

Average Rainfall: 17 – 100 mm per year

Average Temperatures

Summer 25°c-40°c; winter 2°c – 20°c

Banks

Absa, Standard (ATM)

Dams

Floriskraal Dam

Mountains

Swartberg Mountains

Rivers

Buffels River

HISTORICAL VIEW

Laingsburg Library

Exhibits at the local library depicts the historical development of the town. It is also home to the Wolvaardt Collection

Old Block House

Built during the Angolo-Boer-War

NATURE

Anysberg Nature Reserve

The reserve currently exceeds 40 000 ha and offers several hiking trails, unforgettable pony trails, mountain biking and abseiling. The Anysberg is home to at least two Erica species that are known to grow only here. Bird species include the scarce Cape Eagle Owl (Bubocapensis; Afr. Kaapse Ooruil), the Protea Canary (Serinus leucopterus;Afr. Witvlerkkanarie) and the Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer; Afr. Kaapse Suikervoël). The reserve also has interesting rock art, one of the drawings is of an extinct blue buck. Accommodation facilitites comprise self catering chalets and a basic campsite with limited ablution facilities.

Seweweekspoort

Swartberg Mountains

ACTIVITIES

4x4 Route

Springfield 4x4 Trails

Hiking

Anysberg Nature Reserve

The Blockhouse Hiking Trail

Spectacular geological formations of the Karoo

Horse Riding

Anysberg Pony Trail

Mountain Biking / Cycling

Anysberg Nature Reserve

Accommodation in and around Laingsburg