The Namibian town of Grootfontein's Herero name is 'Otjiwanda Tjongue' which means leopard’s crest - as the area has a high density of these agile cats. It seems a pity that when formally naming the town it was decided to base the name of the Bushman name of Gei-/ous, which translates into Afrikaans as Grootfontein (meaning large spring). Perhaps the name was influenced by the fact that there is a large spring within the town boundaries while leopards are only occasionally spotted!

Grootfontein is the centre for a large cattle farming community while copper mining is also prevalent in the area. The section of Namibia around Tsumeb, Otavi & Grootfontein is often referred to as the 'Otavi Triangle'. The area receives considerably higher rainfall than parts of Namibia situated further west and south and contains much of the country's best commercial farmland.

During spring the Jacaranda trees flower, bathing the town in a swathe of purple. Situated in a prominent position atop a hill is the 'Old Fort Museum'. Originally a Schutztruppe fortress built in 1896 - today the museum houses a complete smithy which was used in the production of ox-wagons.

Probably the town is best known for being situated 20km's from the Hoba Meteorite - the world's largest meteorite. Discovered by Jacobus Hermanus Brits in the 1920s the meteorite is 3 meters long, 1 meter wide and weighs around 50 tons. Unfortunately Hoba has been subjected to numerous incidents of vandalism as visitors have chipped of pieces to take home with them.

Two other points of interest in the area are the large Baobab tree (romantically called 'Tree 1063') on the farm Keibeb, 60km north of Grootfontein and the Ghaub Cave on the Guest Farm of the same name.

Whatever you make of Grootfontein I'm sure most people would rather live in a town called 'Leopards Crest' than 'Large Fountain'.