SUTHERLAND Cold town, warm hearts

Life in Sutherland in the Northern Cape isn't always easy, but even those who leave tend to return. Come with us to find out why.

- WILLEM VAN DER BERG

Someone asks whether or not Sutherland has a Woolworths Food store. No, you reply, this little place is hopelessly too small for something like that. "But there must surely be a Checkers or Pick n Pay?" No, no! The only proper shop in the town is the small OK Foods. "What about restaurants and coffee shops?"

Why would anyone think that Sutherland is so full of options?

"It's not too far from Cape Town and one hears so much about the place and people who have visited that it sounds like quite a busy town - the Clarens of the Karoo."

INDEED, EVERYONE DOES know about Sutherland. Even if you haven't been there, you would most likely have heard much about its bright stars and icy winters. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the trek route through the Roggeveld, as this area is called, was the main one between the Cape and the north. Today, only the road from Matjiesfontein to Sutherland is tarred. If you're arriving from any other direction, or want to go further, you'll be travelling on an untarred road.

This is why Sutherland has not yet grown to a size that warrants having a Woolworths, says Jurg Wagener.

"There is a limit to the number of people who will tolerate our gravel roads. It's quite easy to get here, but then travelling further becomes more difficult. This is one of the reasons why, for a long time, Sutherland was not a tourist destination."