Oviston-trip: 13 June 2017
On the 13th of June, the Karoo Homeschoolers gathered at Teebus Tunnel Water Affairs for an exciting day out. We started our day by visiting the Orange-Fish River Tunnel, which was constructed between 1966 and 1975. As we entered the tunnel, we witnessed what was truly an engineering wonder. With a diameter of 5 meters, this construction tunnels through 83 kilometers of Karoo rock and soil, diverting life-giving water from the Gariep Dam to the Fish River in the arid Eastern Cape. This created a far more stable source of water for irrigation, household and industrial purposes in that part of the Karoo. A little-known fact is that the tunnels also house a fully operational hydro-electrical power station. What boggles the mind, is that in this electricity-hungry country, it has never once been put to use! Eventhough our visit to the Orange-Fish River Tunnel was quite fascinating, this was only the beginning of our adventurous day.
A few kilometers from the outlet of the tunnel, we enjoyed a king’s meal of hotdogs on Rob and Kelly Southey’s farm, Lucernedale. When everyone was well fed and rested, we went on to our next stop, Waterlea dairy farm.
Upon getting close to our destination, we were met with a welcoming committee of mostly well-mannered cows, although a few of them seemed a little over-excited at our presence. Mr. Robert Lord and his team uses the herringbone milking system to efficiently milk an astonishing number of 750 cows daily - and this is only operating at half of the total capacity they can handle! This milking system is considerably cheaper to set up than a rotary dairy parlour. It is also more labour intensive, thereby creating more job opportunities and bringing economic growth to the local population. Waterlea also boasts the first outdoor milk tank in South Africa, with a capacity of 34 000 liters of milk and no need for a roof!
Hanneke Pienaar (16)