17 things to do in Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo – Roxanne Reid

By Roxanne Reid
The small village of Nieu Bethesda in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Karoo was once a dusty little place no one had heard of. Then it rocketed to fame on the reputation of Helen Martins’ strangely compelling Owl House and Camel Yard. But there’s much more to it than the Owl House. After making multiple visits over the past few years, here’s my pick of things to do in Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo.

​About 50km north of Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo heartland, Nieu Bethesda began life as a church town in 1875. Its biblical name means ‘place of flowing water’ and was the inspiration of Graaff-Reinet’s Reverend Charles Murray. Once most famous for Karoo lamb and agriculture, today it’s better known for the ‘outsider art’ of the Owl House.

It’s a small village of gravel roads, where sheep and horses are more likely to be roadblocks than other vehicles. Walk the streets to admire the many attractive old buildings, watch horses drink from the water furrows (see point 3), or go in September to see the pear trees in full white blossom. Although there are lots of activities to keep you busy, don’t miss out on some stoepsit – just sitting chilling on the verandah to watch the passing parade. 

How did such a tiny, unknown backwater of a village become so famous? Well, playwright Athol Fugard bought a house there in 1970 – now a self-catering guesthouse. After he wrote The Road to Mecca in 1985, a play based on Helen Martins (see point 1), visitors started wanting to visit the Owl House (see point 2). And that led to the birth of guesthouses and restaurants to service their needs. Artists and creative people also began to make the village their home. Here are some reasons to visit this pretty little rural hamlet.

1. Visit the Helen Martins museum 
No, this is not the same as the Owl House. Visit the Helen Martins museum in Martins Street before you visit the Owl House, which is around the corner but accessed from this museum. You get tickets for the Owl House here too. Watch an introductory video about Helen and the Owl House, and browse old photos and letters. See from a collection of photos how pretty she was when she was young and get an understanding of how having what is now thought to have been undiagnosed bipolar disorder affected her. A letter to her lover Johannes Hattingh says: ‘I am in hell, the days get heavier and darker.’ She committed suicide by drinking caustic soda in 1976, but not before creating the Owl House and Camel Yard as her creative legacy.

To help you find your way around, download a map of the village here or get a copy from the tourism office at the Helen Martins Museum.

2. Experience the Owl House

Opened to the public in 1996, Helen Martins’ Owl House is unique, an outpouring of her creative drive. Inside, walls and ceilings are painted in bright colours and patterns, all covered with glass chips that she used to grind in a coffee grinder and spray onto the paint while it was wet. There are lots of mirrors too. Despite the light and mirrors, sensitive people usually tune into the gloominess and darkness too. The Camel Yard outside is chockfull of cement and glass figures, inspired mainly by the bible, and the poetry of Omar Khayam and William Blake. They include humans, owls and camels, as well as churches and strange creatures that are half man, half beast.

Read more about the Owl House and Camel Yard

3. Explore the water mill and water furrows

​Take a stroll up and down some of Nieu Bethesda’s streets and you’ll see the old leivore (water furrows) that provide water to the village. Locals feed water into their gardens and plots using smaller gated channels. All the water comes from a spring above the village, and if you cross the suspension bridge to the other side of the Gats River opposite the Owl House you can still see the old watermill that was built in 1860. The original old wooden wheel was replaced by a metal one long ago.

4. Visit the Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre

The Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre uses info boards, models and videos to tell the story of early mammal-like reptiles in the Karoo in the Permian period 253 million years ago – way before the first dinosaurs ever walked the earth. It’s named after James Kitching, who grew up in Nieu Bethesda and later became famous because of his knack for discovering fossils. He became professor in palaeontology at the University of the Witwatersrand. From the centre, you can go with a guide to see fossils still embedded in the rock of the riverbed nearby.

5. Explore the Art Route

Nieu Bethesda has an active art scene and you can visit various art, sculpture and pottery studios in the village. My favourite because it’s so different is the Bethesda Arts Centre of the First People. It showcases the work of various artists working with fabric and linocuts, with the appliques illustrating /Xam (a KhoiSan group) mythology as a centrepoint. You’ll find animal fables about the hare, meerkat, eland, and praying mantis illustrated in huge, vibrant pieces of fabric art. There’s always someone on hand to explain the culture and beliefs that inspired them. They really are spectacular so don’t miss a visit here.

Next door and part of this complex is the quirky three-storey Bethesda Tower that has accommodation at the top and a shop and café on the ground floor. I haven’t tried the food here but it deserves a second look if you’re visiting the Bushman museum, even if only to admire the fairytale tower.

Other galleries and places of interest to art lovers include Helen Martins’ Owl House and Camelyard (see point 2), the Stone Folk of Ongeluksloot (see point 14), the Infinity Gallery, Gregg Price Art Gallery, and Coert Steynberg Art Gallery.

6. Duck in to a bookshop

If you love quirky bookshops full of buried treasure, duck into Dustcovers in Hudson Street. It’s stuffed full of pre-loved books, from collectable Africana to good fiction and light reading – or, as its Facebook page puts it, ‘damn fine reads’. You might meet one of the owner’s dogs as a bonus.

7. Eat at Nieu Bethesda restaurants

Stirlings @ The Ibis
For a tiny village, Nieu Bethesda has some excellent restaurants and food experiences. Top of the pops for me is a visit to Stirlings @ the Ibis Lounge for gourmet Karoo dining. Enjoy lunch or dinner inside or outside in the courtyard. There are only a few tables so it’s best to book ahead to avoid disappointment. On an earlier visit to Nieu Bethesda, we stopped with few expectations and left wishing we’d discovered this lovely place before our last day.

The focus is on seasonal, local, organic, and sustainable ingredients, thanks at least in part to the restaurant’s own vegetable and herb garden. There’s an a la carte menu that includes items like skilpadjies, lamb chops, lamb or chicken potjie, and mutton or veggie curry. But do yourself a favour and don’t miss the unforgettable ‘Karoo Food Experience’ that takes you on a journey discovering new flavours in six plates. Hear the story of how they forage, grow and source their ingredients.

Chef Barbara Weitz calls herself a ‘cook’s apothecary’ and adds a bit of magic to everything she touches. She has a passion for food and for plants, and loves to share new flavours that guests may never have tasted. For instance, you may be treated to delectable flavours of unusual ingredients like African wormwood, wild mint, wood sorrel, or agave blossoms. One of our favourites was refreshing sorbet made from the fruit of the Queen of the Night cactus. ‘We just want everyone who dines with us to enjoy the space, and the love and energy we put into creating each meal,’ says Barbara.

The restaurant is open from Fridays to Mondays, and booking is highly recommended.

Barbara and husband Johan took over The Ibis in September 2017 after spending 14 years in the safari industry in Tanzania. They also offer B&B accommodation, with rooms looking out over a garden courtyard with a swimming pool.

Antie Evelyne se Eetplek

Antie Evelyne se Eetplek
This restaurant in the settlement of Pienaarsig is in Evelyne Olifant’s front yard, with a corrugated iron roof for shade. It seats around 20 people and you might meet other South Africans or guests from overseas. Enjoy traditional boerekos like chicken pie, Karoo lamb chops, caramelised pumpkin and vetkoek in generous portions. It’s good old home cooking at an affordable price, and a chance to support a local.

​Antie Evelyne has created the restaurant as a way to be self-sufficient, and though she’s getting on in years now she and her helpers still deliver a great experience you’ll remember. She also runs a free soup kitchen and does her best to keep the local kids away from alcohol, drugs and violence. Phone 083-8735526 to book ahead so she knows how many to cater for.

Zalig
Diagonally opposite the Owl House is Zalig where we had fabulous crisp, thin-based wood-fired pizzas. My vegan one had beetroot and butternut with some walnut sprinkles but no cheese and looked as fabulous as it tasted. My husband had a pulled lamb pizza with minted yoghurt, which he couldn’t stop talking about. They also have about half a dozen pasta…