Where to go in Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Graaff-Reinet

Graaff Reinet is where you encounter the legendary Karoo hospitality, living history, matchless architecture, abundant birdlife, game drives, unique accommodation, unforgettable farm holidays, hiking, 4x4 trails, paragliding, antique hunting, and heaps more...

TOWN AND SURROUNDS
In the Sunday Times and Tourism SA's Travellers' Choice survey, readers ranked Graaff-Reinet one of the top small towns in South Africa to visit. And it is not difficult to see why. Lying in the foothills of the Sneeuberg Mountain, it is one of the few towns in the world surrounded by a nature reserve - set in a horse shoe bend of the Sundays River.

This picturesque town with white-washed buildings and green shutters is not only the oldest town in the Eastern Cape, but also radiates peace and tranquillity – the real ‘Gem of the Karoo’. It is an increasingly popular stop-over for travellers passing between Eastern and Western Cape or between Gauteng and the Cape, and entices more than a stop-over – whether it is to explore the architecture and the town itself, or for the more adventurous to travel into the Valley of Desolation or any number of other adventure opportunities.

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HOW TO GET THERE
Take the "Adventurescape Route" between Jo'burg and CapeTown via the N9 turnoff at Colesburg to Graaff~Reinet.

Graaff~Reinet is ideally situated as an ideal stop between many of the major centres in South Africa, but it is the visitor who takes the time out to explore this unique area, who will experience the adventure of a lifetime.
T
he route via Graaff~Reinet is the best access between the Goldfields of Gauteng and the spectacular Garden Route and on to the winelands and Cape Town in the south.

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WHAT TO DO
Explore the Graaff-Reinet Museum, comprising four buildings:
1. Reinet House, a cultural history museum built in Cape Dutch style boasting a huge grapevine planted in 1870

2. The Old Library on the corner of Church and Somerset Streets, housing fossilised Karoo reptiles (from 200 million years ago), clothing, reproduction of San paintings and 1860 photographs

3. The Old Residency on Parsonage Street which houses sporting rifles

4. Urquhart House on Market Square, which houses antique furniture, a peach-pip kitchen, and a genealogical research centre

5. Visit the Drosdty Hotel, built in 1806, once the home and offices of the Landrost

6.Vist the Dutch Reformed Church, built in 1886,

7.Definitely explore the Karoo Nature Reserve – of which Graaff Reinet is the centre. The reserve is 16500ha and is home to the van Ryneveld Dam. The Reserve also boasts the world-famous Valley of Desolation (one of nature's wonders).

The reserve includes a 19km game drive, and includes numerous game and bird species, as well as fantastic hiking trails. The van Ryneveld Dam offers watersports and angling, whilst the Valley of Desolation is one of South Africa's most striking sights with awesome scenery - a geological phenomenon revealing the effect of the elements and geological processes over millions of years.

Superb vantage ponts overlook sheer cliffs, huge rocks on the valley's floor and rock pinnacles, with a toposcope at the lookout point providing a panoramic view. There are picnic sites, a lapa complex and an education centre within the reserve.

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HIKING TRAILS
There are a number of hiking trails in the area, including :
Valley of Desolation Hiking Trail
- 1.5km
- starts at the parking area of the Valley
- 45 minutes
- views of the Karoo and mountains
- look for Black eagles, dassies and the Cape crag lizard and numerous buck
- Eerstefontein Hiking Trail
- 3 trails of 5km, 11km and 14km
- start and end at the Spandau Kop gate
- picnic spots on the route
- look for Black wildebeest, kudu, duiker, steenbok and springbok
- hikes restricted to trail paths
- Driekoppe Hiking Trail
- overnight trail (hut accommodates 10)
- runs through the mountains of the eastern sector
- views Karoo landscape and vegetation
- look for kudu, red hartebeest, klipspringer, mountain zebra, duiker and steenbok

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Graaff-Reinet

Graaff-Reinet images