HOFMEYR
Approaching from the south along the R390, your first sighting of Hofmeyr is of two distinctive breast-shaped hills jutting out from behind the town. From the north, the pink spire of the Dutch Reformed church greets the eye from far away.
In the past, driving into town would have meant encountering litter-strewn streets, the odd loiterer on a corner, and crumbling Victorian-era architecture. It's no wonder outsiders often referred to the town as “Stofmeyr”. And it's true, for Hofmeyr was once on its knees.
Since 2020, however, Hofmeyr has been on the rise. Travellers now drive down its mostly clean streets, stop for good meals at The Farmhouse Coffee Shop & Farm Stall (simply called “the padstal”) or book in for the night at a boutique hotel that would do Greyton proud. And there's a passionate, ongoing community initiative that would make even Gift of the Givers take notice.
But first, let's talk about that pink church, built at the height of the Depression in 1933. Local legend has it that when a decision was going to be made on the colour of the church, someone spotted a white bakkie parked in front. It was pink with dust brought in off the flats by the late winter winds. The thinking was this: If we paint the church pink, no one will recognise the dust if it blows onto the walls.
Little did they realise they were creating the town icon and the first pink church in the Karoo…
You buy the hotel, I'll get the padstal
No one wants to spend time and money in a town that takes no pride in itself. Travellers passing through take one look at the piles of rubbish and jam down on the accelerator. Hofmeyr
