The lazy way to see Nieu Bethesda

By Roxanne Reid
It’s ironic that Nieu Bethesda near Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo is hardly ever thought of today except as home to the strangely intriguing but disturbing Owl House; ironic because when its creator, Helen Martins, was still alive the locals thought of her as a bit of a wacko. But there’s more to Nieu Bethesda than the Owl House.

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Like Antie Evelyne se Eetplek, The Brewery & Two Goats Deli, the Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre, and local entrepreneur Jakob van Staden. Look under the shady tree in front of the Owl House and you’ll find Jakob and his donkey cart. He’ll let you climb on for a sedate and unusual trip around the village while he fills you in on some of its history along the way.

The Brewery & Two Goats Deli - good beer and cheese platters under the trees

Jakob introduces us to his donkeys Pellies (5 years) and Viland (17 years) and explains how he came to build his own business with his karretjie after he had a dream about donkeys. He talks to them as if they’re friends, and brags that he’s had 23 wedding parties on his karretjiesince he started the business in 1996. ‘We dress up the cart with flowers and ribbons, and the donkeys even wear straw hats,’ he chuckles.

Jakob van Staden with his donkeys

Jakob has lived here all his life and knows a thing or two about the town. He shows us the old church, which was built when the village was established in 1847 so the people didn’t have to schlepp all the way to Graaff-Reinet for church services. The much bigger and grander church that now towers above the village is a later version from 1905.  

Rust in peace - gardener's humour in Nieu Bethesda

He points out the Compassberg mountain that casts its shadow over the village, Athol Fugard’s House (now a guesthouse) and his theatre. As he shares other tidbits, we fall into a rhythm with the donkeys, succumbing to their notion that nothing should be hurried. Klop, klop, klop, three species of tortoise live in the area, including the leopard tortoise. Klop, klop, klop, the Pienaarsig township was established in 1973. Klop, klop, klop, about 1000 people live permanently in Nieu Bethesda and some 18 000 tourists visit the Owl House each year.

In Nieu Bethesda, Helen Martins' Owl House isn't the only place that's quirky

About Owl House artist Helen Martins, Jakob says she was friends with an old gogo whom she used to visit regularly – an apparently brazen activity that made her unpopular with the conservative locals in those apartheid days. He adds with some sympathy, ‘She was poor like us and sometimes she also had to walk around barefoot.’

Not long after we say goodbye, Jakob is off again, this time with a few small children grinning and waving from the cart in a state of high excitement. Pellies and Viland don’t mind; it’s just another stroll around the pretty village and they’re in no rush.

Need to know
Jakob’s cell phone number is 072-987-9831, or just find him and his donkey cart in the shade of a tree outside the Owl House in River Road. 

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​17 things to do in Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo
The Owl House Nieu Bethesda: a world Helen Martins created
Ganora Guest Farm, Nieu Bethesda: Bushman rock art and fossils

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