Olifantshoek is a farming town situated at the foot of the Lange Mountains on the Namakwari Route in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, along the N14 National Route.
Olifantshoek is located 53.1 km south-west of Kathu, 60 km north-west of Postmasburg, 80 km south-west of Kuruman, and 163 km north-east of Upington.
The town’s name Olifantshoek is of Afrikaans origin and means “elephants’ corner” or “elephants’ glen”, referring to the many elephant skeletons that Dutch settlers found in the area. It may also be translated from Tswana “ditlou”.
Olifantshoek falls within the Gamagara Local Municipality and the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality.
For millions of years, a natural reservoir beneath the dunes has washed the red oxide out of the sand leaving white dunes which remain. These white dunes contrast against the rust-red sand of the rest of the Kalahari.
During hot and dry conditions, the grains of sand rub together to create a deep hum. These sounds are best heard in close proximity to the dunes during the summer months between September and April. Rain silences the sounds of the dunes. The town is also known as the ‘Gateway to the White and Roaring Sands’.
This town should not be confused with Olifantshoek village in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.
History
The town of Olifantshoek was officially founded in 1912, and allegedly named after the tusk of an elephant that was used to purchase the farm on which the town was built. Many other elephant bones were found in the area.
The developed from a police post and is administered by a village management board.