“A Lush Oasis”: Afrikaner Proudly Shows Difference in Orania in the 1970s vs Now

• An Afrikaner X user took to the Elon Musk-owned platform to share pictures of what Orania looked like in the 1970s compared to now
• The current photo of the white separatist town showed more greenery, which the X user deemed "a lush oasis"
• Many social media users applauded Orania's growth, while other app users laughed at what the residents achieved

Orania, the white separatist town founded by Afrikaners in the Northern Cape, reeled in controversy after people were made aware of who the town was made for.

Despite the bad publicity, Afrikaners still show pride in their town, with one person showing how Orania grew in over 50 years.

Orania's stark transformation

X user Volkstraat took to their account on the social media platform to show what Orania looked like in the 1970s compared to what it looked like in 2025.

The app user said with pride:

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"Afrikaners have turned their desert homeland into a lush oasis. Nothing was easy."

Greenery took over in the latest picture of the town, showing how residents improved their living space.

Take a look at the picture posted on X below:

More about Orania

The information hub South Africa Info explains that in 1970, Orania was originally built for construction workers for the Orange River Project. The area was left vacant for years until Afrikaners bought the town and surrounding land as a pilot project and starting point for Afrikaner settlement.

The self-catering retreat Wilger Rus states that the self-declared Afrikaner cultural community was established in 1991 and operates under private ownership, with its governance and operation being largely independent. However, it is still legally a part of South Africa.

Internet impressed with Orania's growth

Hundreds of social media users entered the comment section with compliments about the town's growth, with many crediting Mother Nature.

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However, there were a few app users who didn't find the growth impressive.

@ephemere_I said to the online community:

"Where there's a will, there's a way."

@Boneidles noted to the residents:

"You had good rain, I see."

@hypergraphing stated in a retweet:

"These pictures are worth more than a thousand words."

@MisstressV pointed out:

"The Afrikaners took a desert and made it fertile and lush."

Tagging the City of Johannesburg's X account, @AMzansiGuy wrote:

"This is what before and after photos of improvement should look like. Maybe send a delegation to Orania to learn the ways of city management."

@_ThabisoMabuza laughed and shared in the comment section:

"A whole 50 years just for trees."

@DPRyoongi sarcastically asked on the app:

"So, it took you 50+ years to plant trees and grow grass? A round of applause for a fish that swims."

3 Other stories about Orania

• In another article, Briefly News reported about an Orania resident who unpacked the brief history of Afrikaners and why they celebrate on 27 February.
• A video showed a black artist performing in Orania, which saw many Afrikaner concert-goers singing and dancing to the musician's set.
• A Ghanaian content creator travelled to Orania and interviewed a resident, who provided more information about the privately owned town.

Source: Briefly News