One of the most popular posts on my blog to date has been the one I wrote about the quirky artwork that adorns the outside walls of random homes in the small village of Friemersheim in the Southern Cape.

For some reason readers have been attracted to this post in far greater numbers – over a 1000 views so far – than any of my other 300 plus posts – a tad ironic when you consider the title of my blog is “Mostly Birding”, as this is the one post that has no birds mentioned other than those depicted in the murals!

But I’m not complaining – It’s just the persuasion I need to post some more photos of the artwork that has appeared since that original post.

So let me remind you about Friemersheim with some of the details from the original post …..

Where is Friemersheim?

This small town, described by some as a hamlet, lies a short distance inland of Great Brak River, itself a small town on the coast of the southern Cape, not far from our home town Mossel Bay

The Artwork

Friemersheim was firmly placed on the tourist map during lockdown, when South African artist Fourie Ackermann, who moved to the area in 2015, decided to liven things up with murals painted on the walls of local houses. And did he make a good job of it!

It is an ongoing project it seems, as new murals ‘pop up’ on houses throughout the spread-out town on a regular basis.

During a recent bird atlasing trip to the area around the town I took some ‘time off’ from birding to drive through the town and view the murals that had appeared over the last year or two

Here’s what I found …..

Note that most of my photos were taken from a vantage point some distance away from the house and fences tend to get in the way, but I don’t think they distract from the enjoyment of these unique artworks

Zebras fighting, dust flying, birds fleeing … and a hidden Wildebeest

The street-facing wall of this rather modest home provides the ‘canvas’ for a dramatic scene of a fight between two Zebras, with dust being kicked up and birds being forced to scatter

Buffalo with young lad riding on the back

This mural on the side wall of another home is quite fanciful – Buffaloes are known as one of the most dangerous animals and hardly suited to being ridden by a young lad as depicted here. Nevertheless an imaginative mural brilliantly executed

Elephants performing, an Aloe …. and a balloon

This mural is just as fanciful with elephants acting unnaturally at first glance – one on its hind legs, the other two sitting on a bench. But then I remembered the elephants in the circuses of my youth doing exactly that so perhaps the artist had similar recollections

The addition of a balloon to many of the murals is just another quirky ‘signature’ by the artist

Fearsome Hippo, Boy and Girl balancing, Gyppo taking off

This mural intrigued me the most – you have to look carefully to spot the actual rainwater drainpipe running in line with the painted dead tree which acts as the bridge for the two youngsters daring to cross over. The pipe is painted the same colour as the ‘bridge’ so blends in masterfully

Wildebeest challenging

This mural on the wall of an outside room depicts another species fond of showing their superiority by challenging competitors – the Wildebeest

This town is a treat to see if you are ever in the area!