the area

Kamieskroon is on the N-7 route between Cape Town and Windhoek (Namibia). It is 500km north of Cape Town, 67 km south of Springbok and 1000km from Windhoek. The town’s name comes from the Nama word “tkimmie” which means "to gather”. Another meaning attributed to the name is “water rich”, referring to the Kamiesberge (Kamies Mountains).

The area has an average rainfall of 285mm (winter), but it can be as little as 110mm or as much as 540mm per year. Temperatures vary from very hot summers (up to 40ºC) to cold winters (seldom below zero) with snow on the mountains peaks for short periods.

There are four distinct regions in Namaqualand, the sandveld - sandy lowveld towards the coast, the hardeveld with its rocky out croppings around Kamieskroon, including the Kamiesberge, Bushmanland - desert grasslands.and Richtersveld, a mountain desert north west of Kamieskroon.