HARMONY ESTATE GUEST LODGE
Estate Agency in Springbok

We are here to make you feel welcome and help you in any way to make your visit to our beautiful part of South Africa a pleasant one. Okiep is the oldest mining town in South Africa where copper was first discovered and mined in Extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the small town of Pofadder in the east, north from the great Orange River and south beyond Garies, Namaqualand is indeed a vast and varied region. During the arid summer months it is difficult for the tourist to imagine the phenomenon of the yearly wild flower appearance. After the winter rainfall, Namaqualand dons her coat of many colours and for a brief moment, the wildflowers invade the countryside. Copper and diamond mining brought a diversity of people to the area and thus created economic stability. Phillips and King was the first mining company to actually start mining in Namaqualand although many so called mining companies were formed during the 1850’s copper mining rush from Cape Town. Okiep was for many years the centre of the Namaqualand copper fileds which was known at the turn of the century as the richest copper mining area in the world. The Cornish Pump House is in fact a steam pump engine which is fully intact and is the only remaining pump house of its sort in the Southern Hemisphere. Many of these pump houses remain in Cornwall, England. Much of the old mining works still remain in Okiep, especially the remains of the old Cornish miners’ workings and stone masonry in the surrounding areas. The railway line was built under the supervision of Thomas Hall, a Cornish Railway Engineer and was built from 1866 and. From 1873 to 1894 the only form of power on the railway line were mules and the Namaqualand Mule Train was world famous in its time. Other unique geological formations are also found in the area together with beautiful unsploit scenery. History has repeated itself in the SA diamond and gold rushes, and in every financial bubble since. Nature has been a source of inspiration for many, and the same goes for BBC’s first Eric Hoskings Photography Award winner, Heinrich van den Berg. Flowers for the Future Nature has been a source of inspiration for many, and the same goes for BBC’s first Eric Hoskings Photography Award winner, Heinrich van den Berg. Namaqualand is a wonderland that is extremely dry during summer, however the visitor is rewarded with a most magnificent display of wild flowers when the rainy season revives the well known variety of plants indigenous to this region that we are so proud of.