The annual “Grootfontein Koppie-kalk” is a tradition that began in 1989.
This experience is a special event that all first years, as well as the seniors, look forward to during their three-year stay and study at Grootfontein Agricultural College.
There is no official date when it should be celebrated during the year, as long as it is on a day that suits most students. On Friday, April 22, Earth Day was celebrated worldwide and the students decided to combine it with the Koppiekalk event.
Being out in the veld, walking between the shrubs and grass and smelling the fresh Karoo air, is much better than spending time in a lecture room, especially on Earth Day. Widespread rainfall received in Middelburg and surroundings this summer, caused the stones that spelled out “GROOTFONTEIN 1911 – 2011” to fade and the Karoo shrubs and grass were also starting to cover the whitened ironstones.
Remember the Terry Jacks song, “We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun, but the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time . . .”?
The first-year students ran, walked and crawled up and down the hill with small containers of lime to whiten the stones again, while the seniors made sure nobody hid behind a bush.
Travellers on the N9, next to Grootfontein, that passed the scenery on Friday afternoon, hooted, waved and enjoyed watching this special celebration at the college. It is traditions like Koppiekalk that make student life at Grootfontein worthwhile and memorable, because during such events, students work together and assist one another to achieve a goal and leave a memorable attraction for passersby, as well as themselves, that they can look at every time they pass the mountain on their way to the college.
