• Sutherland
    To do and see

Explore Sutherland

Sutherland snow

Tourists visit Sutherland throughout the year, in winter to experience the snow and cold, and summer to watch the stars, in spring for plates of flowers after good winter rains or to experience the Karoo with its wildness.

With icy nights, the mercury can drop by minus 15 and it is possible that the water in the water pipes is frozen in the morning.

Interesting Facts about Sutherland

  • The town was named after Reverend Henry Sutherland the village's first minister. 
  • The town has produced several celebrities among others. poet brothers NP van Wyk Louw and WEG van
  • Wyk Louw who won six Hertzog awards for literature. 
  • Then also for Dr. Henry Olivier, he was the chief engineer of the Kariba, PK le Roux (now Vanderkloof), Hendrik Verwoerd (now Gariep) Cabora Basa and Owen Falls dams. He was also involved in dam-building projects in Pakistan, Iran, and India.  Dr. Olivier was the designer of floating docks with the Allies' invasion of Normandy in 1944. 
  • He is an honorary citizen of Sutherland, his birthplace. In 1994, he was nominated by the American
  • Biographical Institute as the Man of the Year for his civil engineering work. Queen Elizabeth II honored him in 1984 with the award as "Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George". In 1992, F.W. de Klerk honored him with a gold medal 
  • Dr. Olivier obtained two doctorates from the universities of London and the Witwatersrand. He received three honorary doctorates from the universities of Cape Town, the then Rhodesia, and the Orange Free State.
  • Among the seven books he wrote are "Dam It." 

Things to do

How to make the most of your stay and capture precious moments is up to you:  walk around in our old fashioned town with a lot of historic buildings, enjoy stories of locals while drinking a beer in a local pub, play board games with the teenagers, read the book that you never have time for, picnic on a drive out on a gravel road,  enjoy a sundowner with glass of wine and cheese/ savoury platter from OK FOODS shop, cuddle outside, gaze at the stars and make a wish while admiring the full moon or you could just simply relax and enjoy the exhilarating peace of this unspoiled small Karoo town from the luxury of your cottage.  Perlman House allows you to experience a relaxing time with your family, loved ones and/or with your friends!    

  • We welcome you to join us in discovering this remote town and area and experience for yourself how unique Perlman House and Sutherland is with its rich history! 
  • Kambro Veldplant Route is a three to twelve kilometers walking and mountain biking trail which starts on Middelfontein Farm.  The plants are carefully numbered, corresponding to a manual, which you can collect along with a key and map from Juanita Hutchins 071 491 2446, R10 per person. 
  • Louw Huis Museum on the corner of Jubilee and Northumberland streets was built in 1861.  It is here where poets NP van Wyk Louw and WEG Louw, who put Afrikaans on the literary map, were born.  Tours must be booked.  R20 per person.  Tel 023571131 
  • Horse riding 28km outside town at Blesfontein Farm. Only by appointment Tel 023 571 2631 or 083 633 4913 
  • Golf course outside town. Contact Willie de Jongh at 082 774 1566 
  • Visiting the Planetarium.  Book a show with Alta Steenkamp 083 633 4913 
  • Walking the Silhouette Hiking Trail Tel 023 571 2616 after 19:00 
  • Stargazing. see Stargazing while in Sutherland 
  • SALT.  South African Largest Telescope - Book a day or night tour 023 571 2436 
  • Die Tolhuis. Visit uncle Tjol at his local pub in Verlatenkloof 
  • Drive a scenic route. See Drive out for the day 
  • The historical NG Church on the main road of Sutherland.  Designed by architect Charles Freeman, the church was occupied by British soldiers during the Anglo Boer War before it could be consecrated!  Graffiti scribbled on the walls and a door by the British troops is still visible in the church.   
  • Graveyards.  If you are a historian or have an interest in graves of the Anglo Boer war then the Sutherland graveyards will hold an interest for you.  The graveyards are unique for their gravestones etched using handmade sandstone tools.  War graves from the Anglo Boer war are in the English graveyard (left-hand side as you enter town) where one soldier is named on two gravestones!  This soldier received a communal burial after drowning in a flash flood and a military cross was awarded later by the British government which was placed in the same graveyard.  A Jewish graveyard (at the local graveyard left in the corner) is the resting place of some of Sutherland's business owners and also of the first owner of Perlman House, Barnett Perlman.  He died in the 1918 flu epidemic. 
  • 4 x 4 route at Blesfontein Farm is well worth the 28 kilometers drive out of town.  It is an easy to tackle route, culminating at a viewpoint on the lip of the Roggeveld escarpment. 
    Tel 083 633 4913 or 0235712631 
  • 4 x 4 route at Skurweberg 45km outside Sutherland (northwest side).  Nice trail with a special view down towards the Tanqua Karoo from the escarpment.  Excellent hospitality from Elsa and Witjan Vd Merwe at reasonable prices.   
    Tel 0235712728 

Drive Out For The Day

  • To Williston 140km via the R354 route.  Don’t miss the Mall. 
  • To Fraserburg 108km via R356 route 
  • To Matjiesfontein 110km via the R354 route.  Visit the village with its famous hotel, car museum, and museum at the railway station.  
  • From Sutherland drive down Ouberg Pass and up with Gannaga Pass.  Drive in at Gannaga Lodge at the top for a snack or a drink.  Warm friendly locals.  Then to Middelpos and back to Sutherland with the R354. 
  • Gravel road all the way takes the spare wheel with!  Middelpos Boerboels of Koos Vd Westhuizen is famous countrywide. 
  • Scenic drives:   Gannaga Pass.  The Gannaga Pass is a magnificent gravel road descending 548 meters through the Roggeveld Mountains from the high plateaux near Middelpos and levels off on the endless plains of the Tankwa Karoo.  The pass does not break any records in terms of altitude, gradient or length, but it possesses an almost ethereal quality from a combination of graceful curves, raw mountain beauty, and scope of vision that is rarely repeated in other passes.  
  • Ouberg Pass.  It is a much-preferred gravel road pass by adventure travelers.  It is an impressive pass with an altitude gain of 820 meters over 10,4km to produce a stiff average gradient of 1:13 but the steepest parts are at 1:5 – which are very steep! 
  • Tankwa Karoo National Park 103km via R356 route – Possible to drive Gannaga Pass and Ouberg Pass doing a circle route back to Sutherland via R354.