Onseepkans is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River - the border with Namibia - where it serves as the border post on the route between the South African town of Pofadder and the town of Karasburg in Namibia. The border post at Onseepkans is called Velloorsdrif.
Onseepkans lies 52 km North of Pofadder and 102 km Southeast of Karasburg. There are small communities on both sides of the Orange River, and apparently the settlements on both sides of the river are known as Onseepkans. The town of Onseepkans is 8 km long with 3 settlements named Melkbosrand, Viljoensdraai and Sending.
The Onseepkans area is hot - literally, not figuratively. The weather is mainly sunny, with some cloud cover and wind around April/May, possible light rainfalls in June/July, and hot, dry and windy summers. Summer temperatures in the green belt of the Orange River can sometimes exceed 50 C, while even winter temperatures can reach the high 30's. Onseepkans is one of those remote and beautiful parts of South Africa, which some people would rather describe as hot and desolate. The beauty of the Northern Cape is not for everyone, after all.
The scenery of the Onseepkans area is dominated by stark semi-desert landscapes and unusual granite outcrops. The Kokerboom (meaning 'Quiver Tree' in Afrikaans) forest on the farm Coboob, between Pofadder and Onseepkans, is a natural highlight, which would impress even those folks who have not yet acquired a taste for the beauty of the Northern Cape.
The name 'Onseepkans' has its origins in the Nama language. The exact meaning of the word has been lost in time and translation, but it is speculated that the name comes either from the Nama word for 'cattle watering place', or the Nama phrase that would describe Onseepkans as the place at the "rocky elbow in the river where the thorn trees grow' (a reference to Parkinsonia africana).
The first settler in the area of Onseepkans was a prospector by the name of Edwells, who first arrived there in 1909. The settlement at Onseepkans was established by missionary settlers around 1916, when they bought 12 000 ha of land from Mr. Edwells. Around sixty agricultural plots were surveyed and taken up by farmers. An irrigation canal was constructed and today the farmers of Onseepkans grow a number of different crops, including citrus and lucern. A governing body for Onseepkans was established in 1936, but the settlement is still mainly a mission station, run by the Roman Catholic Church in Pofadder.
The economy in Onseepkans is still based on farming, which relies heavily on the waters of the Orange River. Another agricultural crop that has recently been introduced to the Onseepkans area is a little succulent plant by the name of 'Hoodia', which is in demand for its appetite suppressant qualities. The San people were able to legally gain exclusive rights over the development of Hoodia, but the Nama people were aggrieved, because the Hoodia plant forms part of the Nama herbal tradition as well. An agreement was reached where the CSIR became a one-third shareholder and the San and Nama becoming 50/50 profit shareholders in a 30 year lease for Hoodia production at Onseepkans and Pella.
The Orange River punctuates the emptiness of the area with green growth all along its banks. A few kilometres downstream from Onseepkans, the Orange River Falls and/or the Ritchie Falls are not as high as the Augrabies Falls near Kakamas, but impressive none the less. The moonscape scenery at the falls can only be reached by foot along the Pofadder Hiking Trail and is the only place where the Orange River flows from west to east. The surrounding rocks will be of great interest to any amateur geologist or rock collector. An abundance of semi-precious stones and minerals can be found here, including Unakite, Ironstone, Jaspers and Garnets.
