A flight of fancy

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A giant vulture made from about 40 000 limestone rocks is putting Van Zylsrus on the tourism map while raising awareness of vulture conservation and the Kalahari’s creative economy.

Owned by the Vanzylsrus Hotel, the attraction is managed for the benefit of the local community and creative economy. Visitors can also enjoy an official “geoglyph coffee” at the hotel, while a portion of entrance fees goes towards vulture conservation.

Van Zylsrus is home to an international vulture conservation project funded and maintained by French benefactors.

The idea for the giant bird came from siblings Anni Snyman and PC Janse van Rensburg, leaders of the Site_Specific Collective land-art team.

South African artist, educator and author Pieter Pienaar, who helped organise the first Van Zylsrus Arts Week and was involved in the project, said creating the geoglyph required months of planning and physical labour.

Artists, day labourers and local residents worked together, from detailed painting to the demanding task of collecting and positioning heavy limestone rocks on the red Kalahari soil.

“For nine months I lived with this ‘vision of stones’,” Pienaar said. “I joined groups of day labourers to collect stones and load them onto Kobus Duvenhage Bouers’ truck.”

The first line of the geoglyph was laid in October 2025, ahead of the first Van Zylsrus Arts Week.

Artists from near and far

The 2026 team included artists and participants from South Africa and abroad.

Among them was Polish-born artist and cook known as “Zebest”, while his wife, Janet, who teaches art to children in the Overberg, encouraged participants to draw and create objects from paper.

Ingrid from Loxton and Raymondo also joined the project, having previously worked with Snyman on the “Rivierhaas” geoglyph near Loxton.

Pienaar highlighted Ingrid’s work in strengthening the rural creative economy in the Karoo through cycling tours, job creation, weaving and clothing production.

Canadian art student Coreen also took part.

“She was captivated by her first geoglyph experience in the Kalahari and described it as feeling as though she had travelled to the moon and back in 10 days,” Pienaar said.

Flooding, a full moon and several travel detours added to the experience for participants, including retired couple Gustaf and Retha, who joined towards the end of the project with their two dogs.

Art meets tourism and conservation

For Pienaar, the project brought together art, landscape and community.

“As a Kalahari artist, it was a special experience to dream about the geoglyph with other artists and then give that dream literal form,” he said.

About 40 000 limestone rocks were used to create the 3.5km-long design, which visitors can explore along a walking trail.

Pienaar believes the vulture conservation trail could become the largest man-made geoglyph in Africa.

A geoglyph is a large design created on the ground using stones, soil or other natural materials. Because of their scale, such works are often best viewed from above.

The Van Zylsrus geoglyph offers visitors a distinctive attraction while demonstrating how land art can support tourism, conservation and rural creative enterprise.

For enquiries, contact Pieter Pienaar on +27 83 585 3512 or Vanzylsrus Hotel on +27 82 453 0254.

Article translated by Otis Daniels with the kind permission of Gemsbok.