Sutherland Experience

Sometimes it takes a Global Pandemic to make one reassess what’s truly important in life. Luckily, I’m still very much of the belief that travel remains very high up on my list of what I deem to be one of my essentials. But its really made me do some soul searching, I’ve had to reach many times into reserves I didn’t think were there (here’s a very big nod to my family and close friends), and what keeps coming back to me is finding ‘purpose’ in everything that I do. That by nature, includes my deep-seated desire to travel and explore and experience. What makes me doubly lucky is that I live in a part of the World where ‘travelling with purpose’ is something you would really have to work hard avoid. Even when mindlessly walking in a park, and I’ve done quite a bit of this once they re-opened to the public, you only need to look up and see the awe-inspiring beauty of Table Mountain National Park as your backdrop and I challenge you not to be moved by it. Seriously, come and try.

 But nothing has resonated with me more recently than when my family and I took a road trip out to Sutherland; Rogge Cloof Dark Sky Reserve to give you the exact location. For those of you that don’t know, it’s a part of the World that has been classified to have Zero light pollution. As in, the only light you see at night are from the stars in the night sky. Oh, and the Milky Way. Rogge Cloof is located in the Roggeveld (Afrikaans for "rye field"), a plateau located in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape and we just happened to be there when there was a supermoon, yip you heard right, a supermoon. For those of you that don’t know, according to NASA a supermoon occurs when the Moon’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth at the same time the Moon is full. By close, we’re talking 363,300 kilometres. Gives some perspective, doesn’t it?

 From the moment we arrived, we couldn’t have felt more welcomed. All the staff live and work on the reserve and it is very apparent that their heart and souls are completely invested in making the guest experience one that won’t be forgotten. I questioned on arrival the perimeter electric fences, which means ‘things’ are being kept out and we’re not being kept in, and the response? They have free roaming cheetah too! They are ensuring the sustainable re-introduction of Cheetah back into the wild of the South African Great Karoo. For those not of the faint hearted, you can try your hand at tracking the cheetah on foot. I’ve never been a runner, so I bowed out of that one. They are also completely off grid, so they are ensuring a sustainable footprint whilst doing so. There are eight Orion Suites located in a valley close to the Farmhouse reception for DBB, with the option of adding lunch if you just want to stay ‘in-situ’ and there are many activities to help you explore whilst your there. They also offer self-catering cottages which we chose to stay in, and luckily my husband is a dab hand at a traditional South African braai. Translated, wood being used as fuel for fire. Being off grid, however, doesn’t necessarily mean lacking in amenities, I still got to enjoy my morning freshly ground coffee with a rusk. Heaven.

The first morning we woke up, our Ranger Sammy met us at our accommodation, and we embarked on our game drive, which came with a twist. We also went fossil hunting, on the Rogge Cloof Permian Age Fossil Field which has the Salpeterkop Volcano as its backdrop. You can also hike up this if you want to, its extinct. So let me expand a bit here, we saw fossilized dinosaur remains that dated back 200 million + years ago. Of course, it was explained to me in much more thorough, palaeontologic detail but what I took from this was shear perspective. It removed me from my bubble of self-preservation and made me take a deep breath. A much needed shake up, life goes on! We walked through these fossil fields and spoke about life back all those millions of years ago, saw fossilised footprints, bones, tree bark and learnt about the volcanic eruption that these dinosaurs encountered. Just, remarkable. On the drive we came across Anglo-Boer War Forts and learnt about the history of the farm that dates back to 1756. There’s also a specific hike where you can explore this battlefield history in more detail. We heard about the one instance when the Boers were kept waiting on the farm by the British Army, who decided instead to stay and drink in the nearby Matjiesfontein Town, they overindulged somewhat and were a ‘no-show’. As a Brit, I’m not going to judge.

Not one to bow from tradition, that afternoon, I was treated to some wine tasting, again another delightful surprise! Home to the highest and coldest vineyard in South Africa, they make a phenomenal red and white wine that’s not for sale anywhere else, but readily available when staying here. So, we were sure to stock up on a couple of bottles before leaving! We explored the reserve around the accommodation on foot, just taking it all in, and if you’re feeling energetic you can try your hand at fat bikes or electric bikes when doing so.

 The biggest event, however, is every evening when the sun sets and the stars come out, even with the supermoon out on parade (which increases light exposure) we were amazed. There are telescopes in the farmhouse to elevate this stargazing experience and astrophysicists can be (pre-)arranged to talk about what you’re looking at, giving even better perspective. Located close to the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and SALT (Southern Africa Large Telescope) we also took a trip out of the reserve to expand our knowledge on astronomy. Rogge Cloof, which boasts over 20,000 hectares of night skies, aims to preserve the Karoo night sky darkness, which is so important. It’s remarkable, and incredibly humbling to look up at night and get that reminder that there are many bigger and important things out there. That and, in the whole scheme of things, what we’re experiencing is a small bump in the road. I’m not saying I want to keep on this ‘4 x 4 trail of life’ but what I can say is that when travel returns, its going to be with a big bang and we’re here waiting to show you places that will make a true lasting impact and to me, that’s purpose.

 We’ve put together an itinerary to showcase Rogge Cloof, please click here for more information on how you can experience this incredible place. It really does feel out of this world!