Pofadder, Northern Cape

By Chris Marais

Many people think the Northern Cape town of Pofadder is named after South Africa’s famously lazy (but very poisonous) puffadder breed of snake.

In fact, the town gets its name from a local chief called Klaas Pofadder, a livestock rustler who lived and died (in a hail of bullets) at this spot.

The place was called Theronsville but the name never stuck – so it reverted back to Pofadder, in honour of the most dramatic event to have taken place here.

Before you scoot through Pofadder, make a stop at the local hotel, which seems to be the centre of operations for the area.

The people at the Pofadder Hotel know all the local 4X4 and quad-biking routes which take you through the magnificent red dune fields of this part of the Kalahari.

And in spring, the Pofadder region becomes the ‘front door’ of Namaqualand’s northern reaches, and the dry lands come alive with the annual splashes of daisies.

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