Ouberg Private Nature Reserve
Ouberg Private Nature Reserve, as we call it, is a family-owned property. The Gie family bought it in 2009 as a city escape, a place for our children to explore and be kids. Bloukrans Cabin was our holiday home until we had the opportunity to buy the portion of land that has the original old farmhouse and 2 small cottages. We renovated these buildings, and now the farmhouse (Sandouw) is our home while we are on Ouberg, and our farm manager now lives in one of the cottages.
Susan is a biologist and teacher by training, and a way to stay connected in this field, she became involved in various citizen science projects. We have had a few BioMapping events on Ouberg, as well as provided a place for students to carry out research projects. Everyone stayed in the main house, mattresses on the floor, or tents in front of the house. It was time to make plan!
An idea to put up a bungalow or two near the farmhouse for family, friends, students and citizen scientists to stay, grew into Richard's idea of providing accommodation for everyone to enjoy - and De Kuile Tented Camp and Campground emerged from the veld.
Ouberg PNR is located at the confluence of three of South Africa's biomes : Succulent Karoo, Fynbos and Albany Thicket.
It is approximately 1000 hectares in size and is situated in the Klein (Little) Karoo, Western Cape, South Africa. As a result of a combination of the geology, soils, topography, geographic location and climate, this old farm is home to a surprising diversity of plants (flora) and animals (fauna).
Walking in the veld is never the same - every day, every month, every season reveals different flowers and plants, insects, birds and reptiles. Most of the mammals that occur on the farm are nocturnal or well-hidden or shy, so camera traps have been a fantastic tool in revealing which species call our farm home, or are just passing through.
History Of Ouberg
Ouberg was originally part of a much larger farm, still shown as Rietkuil on the topographical maps (1:50 000). Evidence suggests that for at least the last 100 years, the farm ran sheep and probably goats. Small areas that were suitable for cultivation were used to grow fodder including lucerne and oats. A few fruit trees were planted around the original farmhouse and it is believed that sultanas were also cultivated. The portion of Rietkuil we purchased in 2009 had since been stocked with a herd of springbok, about 60 strong at the time, a couple of gemsbok, and a few sheep were grazed on the area occasionally. At the time of purchase, parts of the veld were pristine, while other parts, especially where the springbok, and clearly before that the sheep preferred to hang out, were severely degraded.
We have found the cores of stone tools in certain areas on the farm, hinting at the use of the area by early herders and hunter-gatherers, probably the Khoikhoi people (www.khoisan.org), much further back in time. There is also the remnants of an ancient sheep kraal near a spring indicating that herders might have moved through the valley probably between the top of the Ouberg Pass into the Great Karoo and the fertile valley of the Little Karoo between Montagu and Ladismith. We assume that these nomadic herders followed the rains, as do other animal species if they can navigate the hurdles of fencing. This is something we would like to try to find more about - we have not had time to research this, so this is just what we think may have been the case before European settlers arrived in the area.
The original farmhouse is called Sandouw - an unusual name, and it seems maybe of German origin from some very brief research. We think the original farmhouse, a rectangular building with mud and shale stone, with a thatch roof, was constructed around 1880, but again, a lot more research is required. The Gie family has renovated this building and use this area of the farm as our home away from the city.