The South African Town De Aar is situated in the Northern Cape Province on the rail line between Cape Town and Kimberley which was established in the late 19th century. It is the second most important rail junction in South Africa. The rail lines from the Eastern and Western Cape, the Transvaal provinces, Zimbabwe and Namibia all meet at De Aar. There is a 110 km of track and a high traffic rate of railway traffic each day.
The Great Karoo town of De Aar is also the commercial centre for the South African Livestock farming industry and Wool production industry. There is a copious underground water source supplying the needs of the town and surrounding areas which is called the artery (De Aar) for which the town is named.
There are a number of interesting attractions and activities to be found in and around De Aar which is a well known top South African destination for para gliders and many international and national paragliding records in recent years have been set at this venue. De Aar is also very popular for cross country hang gliding.
In the town itself there is The Garden of Remembrance honouring British soldiers that were killed during the Anglo-Boer war (South African war),
The House is a national monument which has been converted to a museum and restaurant and is well worth a visit. Olive Schreiner was a famous feminist and author who wrote “Woman and Labour” and lived in this house with her husband Samuel Cronwright from 1907 – 1913.
In the vicinity of De Aar are the farms Nooitgedacht and Brandfontein that have ancient Khoisan rock engravings that can be viewed.
De Aar is also the home of thousands of kestrels and during the summer months just before sunset the sky is filled with these birds as they arrive to settle in the big trees in the town.