Sutherland is a friendly town to visit and we have made some good friends there. The pace is slow so don't expect anything similar to the city; just relax and go with the flow.

SALT is worth the while seeing.

Very friendly people at this small town. The SAAO was very impressive with it's huge telescopes and the tour we had there, was of good quality. Definitely a place to visit again!

We all came to Sutherland for our first time, beautiful little town with friendly people and enough to do if you can enjoy nature and not big malls, we all enjoyed our stay, we had great food and looked at the stars with legend JURG, which done his job very well indeed, must say that in all honesty, if you do not enjoy stars,nature or food, Sutherland is probably to for you.

We arrived on a Sunday and could not find anywhere to have dinner except the hotel where it was R90 per person for a braai! Decided to make our own braai but no decent meat to be found in the only open shop in town. A "stand-in" for public holidays took us on tour to salt but unfortunately he was not very knowledgeable. The only nice part of our visit was the stargazing with Jurg. A very far drive for a rather disappointing weekend.

we had snow,20mm, we had no accomodation, our booking had been given to someone else, the place is beautiful especially in the snow, we had no electricity, there are no back up generators, we got accomodation at about 8ish, for which we thank the very nice accomodating people as we had arrived at 4. we nev er got to see the stars, the telescope or the town really. we will never go back there because of the way the lady from the windhoek treated us. we were told we could not get out of the town as the pass was closed. but believe me we were not staying one more minute so we drove in one and a half metres of snow, to get the hell out of there. IT IS AMAZING HOW ONE RUDE PERSON WHO ONLY APOLOGISED AT 8ISH CAN MAKE A TOWN LOOK BAD ISNT IT

Ons het di vreeslik baie geniet en het vi die eerste keer lekker uit gerus en al die diere baie geniet. Hulle diens was wonderlik en ons deel laat voel van die plaas.Sal devenitief weer gaan sonder eenige twyfel.

If you want to see snow in winter, this is the place to be! Just make sure to book in one of the guesthouses without electricity and with an coal burner stove and then there is nothing to wish for more! To sit on the veranda with an warm blanket and all you see is the stars! There is no other place like Sutherland to really enjoy what we have on earth. Johan en Hettie van Sabie.

Amazing star gazing!

Sutherland is a quaint karoo town perhaps best known best for its star gazing. The South African Astronomical Oberservatory (SAAO) is a 15 min drive away and offers day and night tours. It is home to the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) - the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere! The town also boasts the childhood house of Afrikaans writer N.P van Wyk Louw and a beautiful church built in 1855. Other attractions include coffee shops, restaurants and local 'watering holes'. For those wanting to get physical there are hiking and mountain biking trails, 4x4 routes, horse riding, donkey cart rides, paintball and even a 9-hole golf course! Unique geology and rare butterflies are also of interest, and although the region is semi desert, every year winter dusts the landscape in snow and spring brings forth a multitude of daisies. The fresh air and peace and quiet makes for a great getaway from the city.

Great little places to eat, nice people, STARS !!!!

We as a family fell in love with this little town with its dirt roads and warm people! On the 9th of July we arrived at Sutherland, we waited 8 months for this trip! Had dinner at Rita se eetplek - what a great and cosy restaurant. We felt so welcomed! Uncle Jurg came to fetch us at 8pm for an awesome time of Stargazing. The night sky were unbelievable clear and we could even see the planet Saturn with his rings. It was so awesome! The next morning we were welcomed by oom Jannie, our tourguide at the church. He is an excellent tourguide!! We had a wonderful time with oom Jannie who told and showed us the rich history of Sutherland and the church from the year 1855. That afternoon we went for a tour at SALT. WOW!!! I was amazed by this huge telescope. So beautiful! Here I was blown away by the knowledge of our friendly tour-guide. We did not have enough time to see all the attractions. The night before we left we had dinner at "The Perlman House" - absolutely stunning! The food was delicious! Perfect. I am so glad we chose that cosy restaurant. Overall - Sutherland is a cold town that warms your heart!

Sutherland, known as the coldest place on average in South Africa, is the jewel to be explored. Follow me on a journey that will change your mind. Winter time is synonymous to snow with Pine trees full of cones. The healthy pips get free when the pine cone breaks open and let us pick each pip one by one and becomes symbolic in the heart of a village. Sutherland is the place where star dust meets earth dust. Earth dust includes geology and rock formations. The sedimentary rocks of mudstone and sandstone are criss-crossed by dolerite dykes and sheets (volcanic). We have the last working volcano south of the equator in Africa, 66 million years ago. Although it is freezing weather on the Roggeveld, further down in the Tanqua Karoo the temperature is a healthy 10 degrees more in Winter. Due to the temperature difference, Sutherland is unique in the world of having two different plant regions only 25 km apart differing 1000 metres in altitude. That is why the farmers move their sheep from the cold Roggeveld in winter time to the warm Tanqua Karoo and back by the end of September. Asking some of the informed local people, you will find that you can see a festival of unique flowers from July to the end of October every year. There is a guest house that mapped and listed 110 species of plants over a circular route of 145 km. This Treasure hunt alone will take you a day to complete. Just two km out of town is a 12km single track mountain bike route with lots of challenges as well as walking trails up to 15 km where plants are listed, illustrated and numbered. In town there is also an illustrated historical walking trail booklet identifying all the old buildings with a short history. Some of the most impressive places are the old Mill house where farmers delivered their wheat with ox-wagon. The beautiful Dutch Reformed Church with its bluestone rocks neatly chiselled, the memorable Louw House Museum highlighting the corner stone of Afrikaans by these Pioneers. Another Earth dust is the crystal clear water abundant in boreholes and fountains. Open your eyes and drink in the names. Klipfontein, Kanolfontein, Middelfontein, Blesfontein, Driefontein, Vyffontein, Rheeboksfontein, Tonteldoosfontein, Waatlemoenfontein, Klawerfontein, Jakkalsfontein, Kwaggasfontein, Palmietfontein. Seismologic, Sutherland is the most stable in the world – there are sensitive instruments at the observatory monitoring it every day. One of the most important radio directional radar beacons on the highest mountain is located here insuring traffic control from Cape Town International Airport en route to Johannesburg. Talking of the Star dust, you will find the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere to observe the unknown universe up to 1 billion times fainter than what the human eye can see. We are now proud to announce that what SALT sees can be regarded as the Eye looking in the sky. We now have another sense organ (the Ear) with the approval of the SKA in Carnarvon - both in the Northern Cape Province. Locally there is a private person offering star gazing through five telescopes almost every night to explore the wonder of our creation. Sutherland through the years brought famous literature people like the well known Poets, NP van Wyk Louw and WEG Louw receiving many awards. Dr Henry Oliver, a world famous engineer involved in designing the Cabora Basa and Gariep Dam, spend his childhood in Sutherland. The museum hosts a wide range of literature and furniture resembling the life of these pioneers that changed the mind of the world. At the end of Van Wyk Louw’s life, he looked over his shoulder and remarked: To grow up in a town like this and enjoy farm life is about the richest treasure what man can give to a child. For a receptive child, a child with imagination, it is an enriched life. The Anglo Boer War in 1899 – 1901 also made its mark in the nearly completed Dutch Reformed Church was invaded by the British soldiers. Today it is a land mark with its beautiful wood works and high beams incredible formed and designed. People like them got their inspirations from the vast open, silent, peaceful country and even today singers come here to find new words – the birth of a new song. Emotional, physiological, it gives you a spiritual magnetism changing and relaxing your mind. Sutherland gets snow about four to five times a year, mostly in winter and the visitors can one morning be surprised with a blanket of snow, as you open the curtain. As a conclusion it must be said that all in South Africa must have Sutherland on their bucket list as there is a new world waiting to be discovered to enrich you as a person.

A very interesting town for more than one reason, its geography, satellites, and historical. It is well worth a visit.

This is the best place get away from stress and to watch the stars. It is a very clean town.

This is a small, quiet and clean town. There are some good restaurants, and the stargazing facility at Jurg's is excellent. It is a good place for a quiet getaway. There are some fascinating rides in the vicinity but Northern Cape administration needs to do some more upkeep on the roads, particulary Ouberg Pass.

Sutherland is a quaint town, and so very different from bigger suburbs, towns and city living. I loved the view of the sky at night. It was breathtaking!

A visit to SALT and stargazing are a must! But be warned, it is not advisable to go on a full moon night; we did and it spoiled some of the stargazing. We were very impressed with the SALT tour and stargazing. The staff are very knowledgeable and approachable.

Sutherland is a little haven in the desert. The observatory is fascinating and the night tour well worth the time. The restaurant was an oasis in the town, with outstanding food and service.

Nice little town, good tourist facilities, enjoyed the SALT tour and night viewing with Jorg. If the Karoo is so stressed about Fracking suggest you all start living clean green lives and attend to some of the litter. It would be nice to see more green energy being harnessed. You guys are fighting for something good.........maybe you can lead the rest of the country?

Pragtig! Interessante geskiedenis en die sterrehemel is asemrowend. Beautiful! Interesting history and awesome stargazing.