POSITIVE - KAROO1

When architect Willy Woestijn from Knokke in Belgium first received complaints about Positive, he was nonplussed. You see Willy is an art lover and he considers Positive's dangly bits as the haute de la culture, rather than an obscenity.

Positive, created by sculptor, Angus Taylor, is a 2,6-metre steel statue whose naked appearance on Beach Road, Strand in 2006 caused an uproar.

Adorning an apartment block designed and owned by Woestijn, Positive's presence was supposed to be, well, positive.

But the residents wouldn't hear of it. They were shocked: "It is scandalous. It is disgusting. What about the children?” they said.

In the face of such indignation Woestijn decided to send Positive into exile. To a place far, far away where he wouldn't offend the sensibilities of the townsfolk. To a place where humans are thin on the ground and his nudity (Positive's, that is) could hang free, baking in summer and freezing the proverbials in winter.

Yes, the Karoo was just the place for Positive.

Woestijn bought the farm Karbonaaitjieskraal, at the head of the Hex River Valley, in 2009. Here he has created a new concept called a ‘Hotel Village’.

On the 2,000-hectare farm you find the original two-roomed homestead built in 1790 by a mother and her two daughters – an appropriate anecdote for a Mother's Day visitor. Nearby a larger manor house stands, constructed in 1838, reportedly by the man of the house (for all the other days of the year). Then there is the Sandbag Hotel and the Strawbale Hotel, both built by Woestijn. There is a working farmyard that also houses a conference room and brasserie, as well as a separate à la carte restaurant. And there is a church, for weddings, baptisms and other religious events.

An art gallery, a five-star tented town and a wellness spa are all in the plans for Karoo1, as the farm is now known, so-called because it's the first farm you reach in the Karoo after climbing the Hex River Pass.

Woestijn's personality oozes through every pore of the place. Pieces of art enrich each room and fill every space in the village. In the Karoo there is a lot of spare space.

Following the old road to Kimberley you can walk, or travel by Polaris, to a koppie overlooking the farm. Here the staff have collected all the fossils (we're talking genuine Karoo fossils, not the tannies of Strand) into one place.

In the summer months a dip in the kloof pools, fed by a constant fountain that bubbles up out of an underground aquifer, is a welcome respite from the heat.

The kloof has its own extraordinary history, one that saw the Boer commandos outwitting the British by sheer courage and ingenuity. It is told that during the Anglo-Boer War, the Boers hid up in the kloof, while the British waited for their surrender at the entrance. The latter's confidence was due to the steep and sheer drop on the downstream side of the kloof, from which you can see the distant town of Ceres. Apparently though, the Boers were made of sterner stuff and, at night, using ropes, they lowered themselves and their horses hundreds of metres to the valley floor.

In the middle of all this history, in pride of place, stands Positive. In all his glory.

He faces east towards the rising sun - the symbol of a new day, a new life, a new beginning.

And in case you're wondering (without the assistance of a photograph) why he's called Positive, it's because of his stance. He stands akimbo, leaning slightly forward, his body language radiating confidence and conviction. Yep, he sure is Positive.

By Clarissa Hughes, Editor of www.tourismupdate.co.za