Stories from the Edge


On the fringes of the Karoo-Kalahari crossover zone and deep into the Hard Man's Land, the adventures grow more exotic as the days pass and the journeys continue.

In this fourth edition of the "Karoo Roads" series of heritage stories, we bring you tales from crazy, wonderful places like Putsonderwater, Hondeklip Bay, Verneuk Pan, Brandvlei and Merweville, a neat little settlement in the Koup that still glows from the attention of a TV series.

We drive the Great Western Highway, follow the majestic Orange River as it snakes through the desert, we dig up the legends of the early pioneers, indigenous clans and scoundrels who lived on its banks, we chase ancient elephant sign right across the Karoo and end up in a restored Cederberg village, where the 'veldskoen' crafters are hard at work on your next pair of shoes.

"Karoo Roads IV" will take you to faraway places at the edge of your comfort zone - where the real fun begins!

Frontier Dispatches

Welcome to another heritage collection of journeys into the past and present of South Africa's Karoo region.

From the studios of snowy Nieu-Bethesda to the stony heights of the Richtersveld, "Karoo Roads III" takes you roaming far and wide with seasoned storytellers Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit.

Hear tales of love and cheese, sit with the elders of Lekkersing, find the shaggiest sheep in the country, witness angel-makers at work, read about the legends of a man who once painted the Sistine Chapel on an ostrich egg and a band of farmers' wives who turned a piece of Karoo veld into a world-class country school.

Discover a rock star traffic cop, a four-legged ostrich, a couple who live in a castle, an Old School newspaperman with the highway in his eyes and a desert bar where magic happens on a regular basis.

Relish the true spirit of this rich and rowdy country.

Faces, Places and Incredible Spaces

Come out and visit the world's friendliest arid land, the Karoo. Discover the stories and legends that lie beneath.

The steam train drivers and their stokers who settled down in De Aar; ten cement dancers in a veld-frenzy on a farm outside Loxton; the Rasta golfers of Calvinia; an offbeat night in Aberdeen; the rockers of Barrydale; a freak springtime snow blizzard in Richmond; the deep-sea cowboys of Port Nolloth; the mountain cowgirls of Graaff-Reinet; how the Gariep Dam was built; the midnight ghosts who walk the veld and the windpumps that bring the water - these are some of the hinterland stories of South Africa.

"Karoo Roads" is a collector's treasure box of trips and tales gathered from more than a decade of research and rubber-on-the-road experiences, penned and photographed by two award-winning travel writers, Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit, who will introduce you to some of the loveliest, toughest, most creative and downright crazy characters, critters and cultures thriving in the Dry Country.

Into the Mystic Karoo

In the sequel to the popular "Karoo Roads" collection of stories, Julienne du Toit and Chris Marais take you back to the Faraway Zone of South Africa.

Meet the hardy drought-survivors of Steytlerville. Catch diamond fever with the scruffy prospectors of the Richtersveld. Wander through a misty Cradock cemetery. Mix up a Karoo Margarita with Graaff-Reinet's very own Moonlight Man.

Venture deep into the Hard Man's Karoo for koeksister lessons, catch the rhythm of the Nama Riel and watch the kids as they race their wire cars through the streets of Philipstown. Keep your eyes peeled for alien landings.