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Verneukpan is a widespread dry salt pan south of
Kenhardt Kenhardt (founded 1868) is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. This little town is about 120 km from Upington, the largest town in the area. History On 27 December 1868, special magistrate Maximillian Jackson with a ...
, between Swartkop and Diemansput in the
Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi ...
, South Africa. ''Verneuk'' is
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...
for to trick, mislead, screw or swindle. The pan is used for aerotowing operations. During the rainy seasons many birds flock to the
pans Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookwar ...
, when they contain water. The surface is completely flat, and is approximately long and wide. In 1929 the pan was used by Sir Malcolm Campbell, who unsuccessfully attempted to break the
land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
in his Napier-Campbell Blue Bird. Andy Green visited the pan during 2008, while investigating surfaces for use by Bloodhound SSC.


Location

This region contains very little vegetation, primarily very low shrubs and yellow grass among a rocky desert kind of landscape. During the seasons many birds flock to the
pans Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookwar ...
, when they contain water, after some rainfall. Temperature above 40 °C is not uncommon. The surface is completely flat, claimed to be a dried-up lake estimated long and wide. A large section of the pan's surface is moderately covered with grass and rocks. It can be reached by driving about south from Kenhardt on the way to
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
.


Former Agricultural Contours

Aerial imagery has revealed extensive former agricultural contouring on this pan, suggesting a once much wetter climate. This region was included in a Sciforums article by Walter Wagner regarding such former agriculture in an article entitled Ancient Dikes, Dams and Reservoirs of the Kalahari Region. Another article suggested it was connected to a similar region further north.


Landspeed records


Malcolm Campbell

In 1929 the pan was used by Sir Malcolm Campbell, attempting to raise the land speed record in his Napier-Campbell Blue Bird. The trip to the Bushmanland was not an easy one for Campbell. First he lost his briefcase with important papers in it. Secondly he survived when his aeroplane crashed in a tree near Calvinia. A threatening assignment was facing the people preparing the track. Willem Louw was in charge sweeping the pan. Puffadders and
scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always endi ...
s were very common in the area and the temperature could rise to 42 °C in the shade during the summer. Campbell and his crew underestimated the Verneukpan's tricks. The track, starting from a hill on the outskirts and striking into the heart of the pan was supposed to be long. It was spread out directly west–east and looked straight into the rising sun. The
dust devil A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively short-lived whirlwind. Its size ranges from small (half a metre wide and a few metres tall) to large (more than 10 m wide and more than 1 km tall). The primary vertical motion is ...
s were a major hazard for Campbell.
Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meani ...
s created phantom trees and ghostly men on stilts. Extremely sharp stones were spread all over the pan's surface. When these stones were removed, holes were left. The day of the ''Flash in the Pan'' was postponed time after time. A
tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like ot ...
on the track, was named ''Blue Bird II''. During the setbacks, the targeted record of was pushed to . Campbell wanted to reach , but his mean speed for the measured mile was . He failed to break the record when the coarse surface damaged his tyres. He had vanquished the speed record he had come to South Africa for, but it was 6 weeks too late. With only one set of tyres left, he took on the record, reaching . The Bluebird started her last run on 25 January 1929, at 05:00, under the moon and the early light. She flashed like a silver bullet along the white line that stretched beyond sight. He set two records that day. The first for the , reaching . Secondly for the , reaching . He promised to come back in his ''
Springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm ...
''. He eventually never did. In a new Bluebird designed by
Reid Railton Reid A. Railton (1895–1977) was a British automotive engineer, and designer of land and water speed record vehicles. Biography Reid Antony Railton was the son of a Manchester stockbroker: Charles Withingon Railton and his wife Charlotte Eliza ...
, Campbell broke the land speed record four more times at Daytona. In 1935 Campbell did exceed reaching at
Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the ...
in
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
, becoming the first man to exceed on land. The track that he compacted on the pan is still visible today.


Vic Proctor

During 1952 Vic Proctor tried to set the world motorcycle record on his Vincent Black Lightning, but eventually crashed at around . Later that year he set the ''Flying Mile'' record, but not at Verneukpan.


Bloodhound SSC

Andy Green also visited the pan during 2008, as he needed to check every possible surface to rank them all for use by Bloodhound SSC. The pan is well known for its high-quality alkali playa surface, which would be perfect for Bloodhound. Unfortunately it is also covered by a huge number of stones (klippe). While the pan meets all the other requirements for a land speed record track, removing the stones over the huge area needed would require a vast amount of manual work.


Accidents

This is also the place where Johan Jacobs – South African
land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
holder and former fighter pilot – died on 27 June 2006. His jet car, Edge, went out of control and flipped while travelling at approximately . This happened during a practice run for an attempt to break the 24-second world record for the standing mile over .


Activities

The pan is a well-known kiting destination in South Africa. The widespread open spaces offer opportunities for
parasailing Parasailing, also known as parascending, paraskiing or parakiting, is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that resembles a parachute, known as a parasail ...
. The pan is also used by kite-surfers, an
extreme sport Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...
using wind buggies. These are bicycle-like vehicles with a sail attached to them. With wind buggies speeds of up to can be reached. There are also many viewpoints that are used for
birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...
. South African pop singer
Karlien van Jaarsveld Karlien van Jaarsveld (born 1985) is a South African singer-songwriter in Afrikaans. Her debut album, ''As the Curtain Falls'', was released in 2010. Previously a member of a rock group, she is now a solo artist who has won several awards in Sou ...
recorded the music video for 'Hande' on the fields. The farm Kareeboomdam played host to The Brightrock Battle of the Sports challenge with some of South Africa's best-known sports people like John Smith, Makaya Ntini, Bruce Foredyce, Butch James, Schalk Brits, and Lance Klusner in 2020. The farm has direct access to "Campbell’s Koppie" with views across the length of the pan and the Sir Malcolm Campbell's track and allows visitors to wild camp on Verneukpan.


See also

*
Etosha pan The Etosha Pan is a large endorheic salt pan, forming part of the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin in the north of Namibia. It is a hollow in the ground in which water may collect or in which a deposit of salt remains after water has evaporated. The 120-ki ...
*
Kenhardt Kenhardt (founded 1868) is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. This little town is about 120 km from Upington, the largest town in the area. History On 27 December 1868, special magistrate Maximillian Jackson with a ...
*
Makgadikgadi Pan The Makgadikgadi Pan ( Tswana pronunciation ), a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a l ...
*
Salar de Uyuni Salar de Uyuni (or "Salar de Tunupa") is the world's largest salt flat, or playa, at over in area. It is in the Daniel Campos Province in Potosí in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes at an elevation of above sea level. The Sala ...
*
Sua Pan The Sua Pan or Sowa Pan is a large natural topographic depression within the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. It is located near the village of '' Sowa'', whose name means salt in the language of the San. The Sua salt pan is one of three large ...
*
Hakskeenpan Hakskeenpan or Hakskeen Pan is a mud and salt pan in the Kalahari Desert, in Southern Africa. It is located in the Mier region in the Northern Cape Province, in South Africa, at above sea level. The pan covers an area of approximately 140  ...


References


External links


Verneukpan Wild Camping

Verneukpan – Accommodation – South Africa


{{Northern Cape_province Karoo Landforms of the Northern Cape Salt flats of South Africa