Pofadder, Northern Cape

Province

The place Pofadder (formerly Theronsville ) is in the northwest of the South African province of North Cape. He had in 2011 about 3,287 inhabitants and belongs to the municipality of Khai - Ma in the district of Namakwa.

Geography and climate

Pofadder is located 225 km from Upington and 165 km from Springbok in the southern Kalahari. The place is thereby directly affected by the N14 which connects it westlicherseits with Springbok and to the east with Kakamas. 60 km north of the village is located at Onseepkanz a border crossing into Namibia. Pofadder 1050 meters above sea level and surrounded by a rugged, very sparsely populated landscape was created.

The average annual rainfall is 125 mm. A daytime temperature of 20 ° C is not exceeded in general throughout the year, with maximum values ​​can be achieved by about 47 ° C in summer.

History

Before the arrival of white settlers, the region was inhabited by Pofadder of groups of Khoikhoi and San. A Khoikhoi group Koranna, could be under their leader Klaas Pofadder down to a fruitful source at the site of the present town. Although the region around Pofadder is quite arid, operated the Nama (in the west ) and the Hantam (in the east ) grazing. Progresses dry season but had to be regularly resorted to the few water points.

1875 established the missionary Christian Schröder a mission station on the site of today Pofadder. This mission station was named after Klaas Pofadder by Schröder, who was in turn named after the Afrikaans word for puff adder. Some years later, in 1891, grazing rights were first awarded to white farmers and the first white settlers established farms in the area. The importation of alcohol was initially banned. The place that was built around the mission station around and initially Pofadder was called, was renamed in 1918 in Theronsville. But it got its old name back soon.

Economy and infrastructure

Despite some periods of drought to Pofadder developed increasingly to the commercial and cultural center of a well developed agriculture in the surrounding areas. This role takes up to today. This is particularly true for sheep farming. Today, the farms are usually very large in the vicinity of Pofadder, with an average size of about 8000 hectares. Since about 1960, takes only agriculture but also the mining an important economic role for the region.

Today Pofadder increasingly suffering from water scarcity, because more and more springs in the area dry. Currently, water from the Orange River is used, which runs 49 kilometers north of the town.

Pofadder is located on the N14 trunk road. Otherwise, few roads are paved. In the village there is a cafe and a hotel.

Tourism and Attractions

Spring is the heyday of the wildflowers that cover the area with a carpet of flowers.

In Pofadder itself a monument to commemorate the passage of the Voortrekkers in 1938 and in the vicinity of the town is home to numerous, sometimes stately quiver trees. Not far from the village there are the Ritchie waterfall.

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