The most popular posts on my blog to date have been those 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 these posts in far greater numbers 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 those posts.

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 since my previous posts

Here’s what I found …..

Cottage with it All!

We came across this charmingly “artworked” cottage a couple of kilometres before the town itself- a perfect combination of reality and imagination and incorporating several of Fourie’s trademark features-

The side wall has a zebra in a doorway, a real door and an alcove with a tractor

The front wall has a friendly couple waving forever to passers-by, a real door, and…

a real window decorated with painted shutters, a few balloons, flowers and a black cat just visible through the lace curtain

Cheetah on a Rock with Two Cubs

This house on the main road through the village has just one painting of a cheetah and its cubs perched on a rock

Zooming in, the detail becomes clear…

Leopard in a Tree

Further on along the same road, this small shop serves as the canvas for another of the big cats – this time a Leopard in a tree

Leopard Watching

Still on the Leopard theme, this one has surely spotted prey, judging by the focused stare

Fish Eagle

One wall of another modest house is adorned with this image of an African Fish-Eagle with a fish clutched in its talons

Lion in a House

I particularly enjoy the quirky side of Fourie’s artistic murals, such as this lion glaring at you through a large ‘hole in the wall’ of the abode, with a sunbird perched on a thin stem for good luck

More Cheetahs

My first post on this unique town included the image below of cheetahs with a real dog (disturbingly chained) on the front lawn.

The dog is no longer there (thank goodness) but the adjoining wall has now been decorated with another cheetah scene

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

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!

South Africa is many things – a “World in One Country” is one description that is often used. A recent trip to the small town of Friemersheim reminded us just how rewarding it can be for those prepared to go off the beaten track and explore some of the so-called backwaters of our amazing, sometimes frustrating, never boring, country.

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

A Bit of History

I had travelled through this small town on a couple of occasions in recent years while bird atlasing in the area, but there was never a reason to stop or explore the town other than to find a few birds to add to the atlas list that I was occupied with at the time.

Wikipedia has the following to say about the history of the settlement :

A small agricultural community about 15 km from Groot-Brakrivier, Friemersheim was founded by a German missionary in the early nineteenth century. In 1869, through the efforts of Reverend Johann Kretzen of the Berliner Missionary Society, a school and church were built on the farm Gonnakraal, which Kretzen had bought for his sister.

After his sister’s death in 1872, he bequeathed the farm to the Dutch Reformed Missionary Society, and later it was renamed Friemersheim, after Kretzen’s town of birth in Germany. It remained in the ownership of the Dutch Reformed Church until the 1960s, when it was sold to the state

Art Gallery?

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. Our drive through the village wasn’t done in a planned fashion – after driving most of the main street we turned off and meandered along some of the side streets, discovering murals along the way.

These are some that we found, but there are more hidden away in spots we didn’t get to, so there’s a reason to return ….

Parked Truck and a Rhino getting an apple from Young Girl

The murals are executed in some detail and many leave you momentarily wondering what is real and what is a result of the artist’s undoubtedly vivid imagination. Quirky comes to mind as you find one mural after another, all of which tend to raise a smile, even a loud chuckle – and that I’m sure is what Fourie Ackermann was aiming for.

At first glance of this one, the Rhino being fed an apple is obviously painted, but the GMC truck in the garage has you looking twice, then realising it’s also a mural. The two people in the garden are real by the way.

You feel as if you can climb in and drive away – but it’s actually a blank wall…

Bataleur and a Tannie (She’s real!)

The chatty, friendly owner of this house posed in front of the mural of a Bataleur Eagle at our request and told us a bit about the murals elsewhere in Friemersheim. Her mural was one of the first done by the artist and according to the Tannie (pronounced “tunnie” – the respectful Afrikaans term for Auntie) took the artist just two days to complete.

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

Whales and a Boy in a boat

Some of the murals, such as this one, are completely unexpected after seeing mostly animals and birds depicted – this one depicts whales underwater reaching out to a boy in a boat

Girl at a Window, Shark….!

As with the previous images, this old home stands alone on a hill and would hardly be noticed if it wasn’t for the murals

The same home, showing the side view with its depiction of a shark ‘popping out’ of the wall. Just look at how the wall is drawn back like a curtain to reveal the fearsome shark

Friendly Man waving, Goat in Window

Yet another small home on a hill with the door painted to look like a larger than life man waving to you. Oh, and he’s wearing a Springbok rugby jersey!

Beyond quirky is this depiction of a goat standing on a window ledge with curtains billowing and outsize butterflies fluttering

Cape Sugarbird on Protea

Another Friendly Man waving

Horse and Donkey with Cat, Pretty Window

Here again you need to look carefully – the garden and flowers are real and blend in wonderfully with the rather odd menagerie and the window that looks so real but is painted on a blank wall. And there’s one of those balloons again

Cheetahs and a (Real) Dog

When we stopped to view these cheetahs, we were wary of the fierce looking dog which leaped aggressively towards us – but was restrained by the chain to which it was tethered. We felt some pity towards the unfortunate dog in this situation, although this breed does not enjoy a good reputation.

Nevertheless, the Cheetahs were fascinating, especially the one climbing through the ‘hole in the wall’.

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