Sites

Between Gamma and Aberdeen the corridor traverses a steeply incised and broken landscape along the flanks of the Onder Sneeuberge. The prime economic activity is typical Arid Karoo extensive small-stock farming. Farmsteads are widely dispersed and services’ infrastructure is confined to telephone lines and gravel roads. The population density is very low. The power line will be highly visible where it crosses plateaux but could be disguised within areas of broken terrain.
Two farmsteads, Phillips Plaas and Boksfontein lie within clear sight of this corridor and the visual impact of the power line on these farmsteads will be very high. Below the Onder Sneeuberge the corridor traverses the wide flat drainage basin of the Kraal River. Numerous game farms are present. The Kraal River basin contains predominantly Arid Karoo vegetation with extensive Acacia karroo thickets and stands of reed beds along the larger drainage lines. This relatively well watered area would have attracted both humans and animals in the prehistoric past and open Later Stone Age hunter-gatherer and herder sites are very likely to occur. Rock shelters with paintings and archaeological deposits are known from the lower valleys of the Onder Sneeuberge. The line will be highly visible in this part of the route with few options for blending with the landscape.