This small Karoo town, about 50 km south-west of Graaff-Reinet, is surrounded by the Camdeboo Mountains. Camdeboo is a Khoisan word meaning “green hole”, the name believed to have originally been given to a green valley situated between Aberdeen and Graaff-Reinet. This valley, known as the Camdeboo Conservancy, lies in the shadows of the towering […]
The peaceful little village of Addo lies at the entrance to the Sundays River Valley with its aromatic citrus fruit orchards and vibrantly-coloured roses. The famous Shamwari Game Reserve and Greater Addo Elephant National Park are close by. Adventure And Sport Cricket: Can be played at the Addo Polo Club. Darlington Dam: The dam is […]
Beautiful Alexandria was founded in 1856 and named after Rev Alexander Smith, who ministered to the pioneer population. It is the centre of South Africa’s chicory industry and famed for its pineapples. It is also the first major holiday destination on Route R72 from Port Elizabeth to East London. Adventure And Sport Biking and 4×4: […]
Bathurst, with its oak-lined streets, is a typical example of a Settler town and is thus a very popular historical tourism destination. British tourists have likened the town to a typical hamlet in the English Cotswolds. The town was named after the British Colonial Secretary of the time, Lord Bathurst. Originally, Bathurst was to have […]
Settlement in the Cookhouse area started when troops patrolling the eastern boundary along the Great Fish River pitched camp here. The first building was a small stone hut used for shelter and cooking. Today, the town is an important railway junction on the main route from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg and an important centre serving […]
Graaff-Reinet, also known as “the gem of the Karoo”, is the oldest town in the Eastern Cape and the fourth oldest town in South Africa. It started as the site for a “Trek Boer” (migrating farmer) magistracy and was named after Governor Cornelius Jacob van de Graaff and his wife Reynet. The town has a […]
The town was founded in 1812 when Colonel John Graham, who had been sent to quell the unrest on the border, selected Grahamstown, near the Kowie River, as one of two military stronghold sites. At this stage white settlers west of the Kowie River met with strong resistance from Xhosa tribes in the area. The […]
This town, named after the treasurer of the London Missionary Society, William Hankey, was founded on the farm Wagendrift, the property of Dr John Philip. Dr Philip was instrumental in starting a method of irrigation that has far outlived him and still forms the basis of one of the oldest such systems in the country. […]
Humansdorp lies at the foot of the Kouga Mountains and at the entrance to the Kromme River Estuary. During the 1840s, the sheep farmers in the valley of the Kromme (“Crooked”) River became aware of the necessity for a church and rural community centre in the area. In 1849, Matthys Human donated a large portion […]
In 1849, the St Helena whaler, JA Jeffrey, established a harbour at this spot because it was ideally situated midway between the Gamtoos and Kromme Rivers and the estuaries of the Kabeljous and Seekoei Rivers. Jeffrey’s fresh produce business thrived until 1905, when a narrow-gauge railway was built and it ceased to be the only […]
