Old-fashioned Country Hospitality
If the name ‘Schalk Lourens’ rings a bell, this dorp will definitely be an easy sell. Yup, Groot Marico may not be that big in size, but it punches way above its weight when it comes to character and good, old-fashioned country hospitality.
Get ready for a truly enchanting bush-veldt atmosphere in dorp with an African character, a down-to-earth attitude and sunsets to die for. This is an archetypal bush-veldt setting and just the place to settle down and enjoy the irony and earthy humour captured in his famous books by the celebrated author, Herman Charles Bosman. After all, this is the hometown of Bosman’s comical protagonist, Oom Schalk Lourens, and a few days in town are sure to deliver more than a few real-life characters from his stories.
The town’s name is derived from one of the only perennial rivers in the region, the Marico, which also injects a sense of life into the arid surroundings. Founded on the farm Wonderfontein, this warm-hearted dorp was granted town status in 1948. Its pre-colonial history dates way back, with the Mangope faction of the baHurutshe tribe settling here until the 1850s before crossing the border to Botswana.
A few enchanting old buildings survived under towering gum trees, including a wall surrounding the local Information Centre, originally built by Italian prisoners of war during World War II. Expect the weather to be scorching for most of the year, with big booming thunderstorms strafing the umbrella-topped thorn trees.
Did You Know? Groot Marico’s telephone exchange was only automated towards the end of the year 2000, but most farms still make use of the manual telephone exchange... Nommer asb!?
By Jacques Marais
There are a number of towns across the world that only become known due to some strange twist of fate. This is the case with Groot Marico. I...
Herman Charles Bosman may have spent only six months in Groot Marico before being imprisoned for the murder of his step-brother while on hol...
Welcome to the world of Oom Schalk Lourens, arguably one of South Africa’s best-known mythical literary anti-heroes. If you’ve read abou...
At the information centre – which doubles as Bosman Mecca – we met Santa and Egbert van Bart, the driving force behind the society....
The Information Centre in the main street is also home to the Art Factory, filled with arts and crafts made by locals, displaying leatherwor...