- Northern Cape
- Noupoort
Noupoort, Northern Cape
- Information
- Commerces & Services (6)
Noupoort is situated between the Upper Karoo and the Karoo Heartland, approximately 55 km south of Colesberg. The small town lies nestled in the foothills of the Compassberg Mountains between Hanover and the Eastern Cape border.
Born out of the need for a railway station, approximately 85 trains a day used to pass through the town, made Noupoort no holiday resort. Day and night the trains rumbled though the place, including the heavy ore trains, each more than a kilometre in length and hauled by five linked diesel electric locomotives. Noupoort today, is still used as a traction change-over facility from diesel to electric locomotives on the Noupoort-Bloemfontein line.
The railway junction town of Noupoort is a singularly bleak place, bitterly cold in winter and blazing hot in summer, and is most likely best known for the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center which was established in the area by Pastor Sophos Nissiotis, the Noupoort Christian Care Centre. This is the largest faith-based rehabilitation center in South Africa.
The location of the town means breath-taking views of the South African landscape and the varied rugged and dramatic terrain lends itself to hiking and off-road trails.
Noupoort also has a rich history in the Anglo-Boer War and is home to possibly one of the finest British Blockhouses in the country. The Anglican Church is also worth a visit if you are passing through, it has an old small War Museum inside.
Noupoort, like most Karoo towns, has its own ghost story and the story goes as follows:
On a nearby farm, a little woman dressed in Victorian clothes was once spotted walking around pointing at the ground. Later on, stacks of coins wrapped in cloth were found where she pointed, shiny on the inside, rusty on the outside.
Things to do and see
- St Andrews Presbyterian Church
- Noupoort Anglican Church & War Museum
- British Blockhouse
- Transkaroo Hiking Trail
- Doornkloof Nature Reserve
- Karoo Gariep Conservancy MTB Trail, Hanover 44 km
- Hanover Museum, 50 km
Climate
Noupoort is regarding a desert climate with only 417 mm on average, of rain per year with most of its annual rainfall taking place during summer.
Summer months, November to March will have average temperatures of between 13˚C and 31˚C.
Winter months, May to August will have average temperatures of between -3˚C and 19˚C.
Transport
There are domestic flights into Bram Fischer Airport in Bloemfontein, approximately 283 km away via the N1 and into Port Elizabeth Airport, approximately 388 km away via the N10. Road trips from cities such as Cape Town and Johannesburg are also popular, and these can take between 6 to 8 hours. Car hire facilities are available at all Airports.
History
It was a railway line that gave life to Noupoort. In 1883, when the railway line from Port Elizabeth was diverted to Colesberg, a station was built on part of the farm Hartebeeshoek of Mr Barend Kruger. The station was named Naauwpoort after the adjacent farm.
A junction was established here to link the Port Elizabeth-Bloemfontein and Cape Town-Johannesburg lines.
In 1963 the name was changed to the more modern version of the name, Noupoort, which means "Narrow Pass”.
Crée: ; Dernière mise à jour:
Utilisez l'URL du lien court ci-dessous pour créer un lien vers cette page à partir d'un autre site Web ou de médias sociaux. Non seulement il est plus court, il fonctionnera toujours, même si le nom de la page change.
Copier le lien vers le presse-papier