Kameel Stoepstorie: Life in Huise tussen treine en spore

The hamlet Kameel is a small human settlement.  Almost like a Whistle-stop. A small village without a church, a farming community in a very dry part or our country. Agricultural activities in the area are mainly maize, sunflower, sorghum and groundnuts. Cattle and sheep farming are also practiced in the area. It’s that small settlement you pass through along a country road. 

The 2.2-hectare village of Kameel, is located in the North West Province of South Africa and it use to have its existence around the old Kameel Railway Station. You will find it on the R377 en route from Delareyville to Stella. It is situated 45km from Delareyville and 17km from Stella. The R377 join with the N18 at Stella. 

Kameel has a huge impact on the lives of the beautiful people that used to live and work here. 

The area is filled with a rich history of days gone by.   Kameel is crammed with remnants from the busy railway line that runs through it. The railway line was built in 1894 and was built as part of a dream of Cecil John Rhodes’s dream to connect the Cape to the port in Beira. He did not want to build the railway line through the then, hostile ZAR land, and negotiated with the Stellaland and Goosen Republics. The part of the line was built on a portion of our Great-Grandfather’s farm.  The average elevation is 1336 meter above sea level. The signage reads 805 miles from Cape Town with a height of 4449 feet.

At the moment there are approximately 30 people residing in the village. Like so many villages and hamlets, Kameel has suffered from rural de-population. In the 1980’s it had around 80 inhabitants. The village can be poetically describes the sights, sounds and smells you would have encountered in a typical Platteland dorp.  

My father, Gerald purchased the houses next to the railway line on 9 March 1999, must say with a little convincing of my younger brother, Cecil. The community was relieved as it would mean that the houses would still be available for many years. The Deed nr T796/1999 was registered in my mother, Florence’s name. Mom passed away on 25 December 2017.

The little complex, situated on a hectare of land, was named after the words my mom used in a letter that she sends to us in 2001.
As a tribute to my mom we named the complex -
Kameel : Huise tussen Treine en tussen Spore
The houses are named after the stations and stops of the trains on the line between Paradise and Kraaipan.
Paradise; Devondale; Rabatho; Mnyani; Doringbult; Curnow; Kameel; Setope; Wirsing; Madibogo and Kraaipan

 The sunsets are beautiful and every early evening tells a different story. Sit on the stoep and sip a glass of wine while you watch this special story every evening.

 

Birds are in abundance and you have to get to know them. The Pied Barbets are our favorites and my Mum used to call them Callers of the Rain.


The huge Acacia trees with the grey seed pots are a special treat. There is a little forest of the trees on Julian and Magda’s farm. Pierneef love to paint it in his own special way.

KameelZA will forever be part of your “memories”

We are now part of Kameel and will share our new chapter in life with you 

Till next time 

Sandra and Hennie