Kenhardt

Kenhardt Tourism Information Bureau

Kenhardt Business Directory

The town of Kenhardt was born from the conflict between the San, Koranna and the white settlers. The day Louis Anthing sent Mr. M. Jackson to the Bushmanland to set up camp in order to keep law and order between the different race groups is considered the official founding day of the town, on 27 December 1868.

The first headquarters were set up under a huge camel thorn tree. This tree is estimated to be between 500 and 600 years old and was declared a national monument in 1978.

Kenhardt’s continued existence is owed to the construction of the Rooiberg Dam, of which the first foundations were laid in 1898. After the dam wall collapsed in 1900 it was not repaired until 1933 when the reparation of the wall brought a most welcome income relief for farmers who had lost their farms due to severe drought.

Today Kenhardt is known as the capital of Dorper sheep farming as this breed is totally acclimatized to the harsh conditions and thrive on the barren landscape.

Attractions to the town is the “San trail” (genuine San trails hidden in the hills, where some San engravings can still be found), the Giant Camel Thorn Trees which is said to be 500 to 600 years old and the Quiver Tree Forest comprising about 4,000 to 5,000 Quiver Trees 8 km south of Kenhardt.

Also, look up Verneukpan, a dry pan in which Sir Malcolm Campbell set a new world land speed record in his Bluebird 1 in 1929.

Last, but not least, and maybe the rarest attraction in the vicinity, is a rare seven-toe footprint, believed to be that of Matisieng, the giant legendary ancestor of the Tswana. This site is about 45 km outside Kenhardt.

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Kenhardt Business Directory:

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