The little town of Askham is the last stop before entering one of the world’s largest conservation areas. The Askham community developed around the school that has a boarding house which was built in 1931, and the Dutch Reformed Church of Askham that also serves the whole Kalahari.

The Scottish land surveyor, Rodger Jackson, gave Askham its name when he surveyed farms in the Kuruman river in 1919. Various explanations are given for Jackson’s choice. Some say that Jackson named Askham after a town on the Irish coast. Others say that Jackson took the name from a farmer’s words: “Ask him”, or from the message he sent to request ingredients for his breakfast: “Ask ham!”.

For the traveller, Asham offers all one needs for your vehicle and yourself.  The people of the Kalahari, renowned for their hospitality, love spoiling guests with traditional cuisine like roosterkoek, juicy Kalahari lamb dishes, melktert and, in season, the sought after n’abba or Kalahari truffle.

• If you feel the urge to explore the remote Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, only 73 km from Askham.
• Take on the Richtersveld National Park, only ... km from Askham.
• Go further a field to the Sossusvlei Dunes in Namibia, the Etosha National Park or to the Okavango Delta in Botswana.