Image: Image of Elandskop hill in Petrus Steyn

Description: Elandskop outside Petrus Steyn, Free State, situated at an altitude of 1,762 m above sea level. It was once made famous by general De Wet who planned his attacks from its top or from the farm called Trommel, just outside Petrus Steyn. A heliograph was also employed from here to communicate across the British blockhouse lines which impeded the movements of Boer commandos. Such communication assisted in keeping general De Wet and president Steyn out of British hands. On a fine day one could establish communication to stations as far afield as Vredefort Road, President Koppie and Vereeniging! Old ruins can also be found on the koppie and could have been left behind by either the Boers or Brits. It is also rumoured that Moshoeshoe’s warriors used Elandskop during Mfecane for spying purposes. With Vegkop just 25 km away, Mzilikazi impis would have also roamed the koppie at the time. Now nominated to be declared a heritage site, Elandskop is home to species like the ouvolk (sungazer), an endangered griddled lizard endemic to the Riemland region. When one hikes up the koppie one finds fauna and ancient plants for medicinal purposes. In honour of the koppie, a local history museum is named for Elandskop!
Title: Image of Elandskop hill in Petrus Steyn
Credit: Own work
Author: Denimcurls
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
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