De Aar, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

🇿🇦 De Aar is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is the second-most important railway junction in the country, situated on the line between Cape Town and Kimberley. The junction was of particular strategic importance to the British during the Second Boer War. De Aar is also a primary commercial distribution centre for a large area of the central Great Karoo. Major production activities of the area include wool production and livestock farming. The area is also popular for hunting, although the region is rather arid. De Aar is also affectionately known as "Die SES" deriving its nickname from the six farms that have surrounded De Aar since the 1900s.

History De Aar was originally established on the Farm "De Aar". The name means "the artery", a reference to its underground water supply. The Cape Government Railways were founded in 1872, and the route that the government chose for the line to connect the Kimberley diamond fields to Cape Town on the coast, ran directly through De Aar. Because of its central location, the government also selected the location for a junction between this first railway line, and the other Cape railway networks further east, in 1881. In 1899 two brothers who ran a trading store and hotel at the junction, Isaac and Wulf Friedlander, purchased the farm of De Aar. Following the Anglo Boer War, the Friedlander brothers surveyed the land for the establishment of a town. The municipality was created a year later and the town's first mayor, Dr Harry Baker, was elected in 1907.

The South African Defence Force's 97 Ammunition Depot is located 7 km (4.3 mi) outside of De Aar. This is a large facility, and includes 186 magazines and an internal railway system. The South African Army's School of Ammunition is also located at the facility.

Tourist attractions There are ancient Khoisan rock engravings on the Volksrust and Brandfontein farms. Additionally, there is a "Garden of Remembrance", which honours the British troops killed in the Anglo-Boer War. The town is also home to a major military ammunition dump. The DoD Ammunition Sub Depot De Aar is located about 2 km west of the town. De Aar is famous amongst Paragliding & Hang-Gliding pilots worldwide as it holds 2 World records & some countries' National Distance records. De Aar was also the host to the XC World Series in 2008 and 2009. During the summer months De Aar is home for several thousand Kestrels. Every evening the birds fill the sky above town and land in the big trees near the hospital just as the sun sets to spend the night. • Doornkloof Nature Reserve • Karoo Gariep Conservancy • Rolfontein Nature Reserve • Hamilton Jansen Tourism Officer, General Secretary and Founder of Tourism Committee of the broader Pixley Ka Seme Region. 2003 • Members of the Tourism Committee: Hamilton Jansen General Secretary, Tony Rautenbach Chairperson, Nannie Fouche Treasurer, Desiree Pansi Public relations, Charlotte Klopper, Badsie Wienand, Ben Jacobs and Sam Mooi additional members.