Graaff Reinet (E 14)

Name: Graaf Reinett

Surrounded by the Camdeboo National Park, Graaff-Reinet, the heart of the “Great Karoo” – Place of Thirst – is a boundless and mysterious area covered by vast sheep and game farms, where broad plains roll away to distant koppies and multilayered mountains that seem to touch the indigo sky. Listen to the silence, breathe in the aged earth and the Karoo bossies (which conjure up the taste of Karoo lamb!), and gaze at a startlingly clear horizon that seems drawn at the other end of the earth. Our clear night skies are studded with countless stars and huge bright planets; even other galaxies are visible with the naked eye, offering some of the best star gazing in the world. Fossils of some of the earliest forms of one-celled life have been discovered here, indicating that life has existed in this region for three billion years. The richness of pre-dinosaur fossils in this region is world-renowned.


http://www.graaffreinet.co.za/
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Historic fact:
Graaf-Reinet a small Karoo town in South Africa is today a tourist destination because of its history. Graaff-Reinet has much of its history preserved in its architecture one of the reasons Tourists flock to the area. Around 1770 the trek of the Boers had penetrated from the Cape into the area of todays Graaff-Reinet. Here, at the margin of the colony, they led an unsteady life under constant threat from Xhosa groups, but as independent and autonomous farmers.

This situation was too difficult for the Cape Town administration to inspect, so they decided to establish a state authority in the region. The first administrator was installed here in 1785. He determined the borders of his territory in 1786, had an administration building erected - the Drostdy - and named the place after the then Governor Jacob van der Graaff and his wife Cornelia Reinet.

The attempt to secure government authority turned out to be difficult. The self-assured citizens resisted any supervision. In 1795 they even proclaimed an autonomous republic, an endeavour which failed however, mainly due to the arrival of the English at the Cape that same year.

But the government also did not manage to establish lasting peace, and when at the end of the 19th century the Boer War broke out, the citizens of Graaff-Reinet fought fiercely on the side of the Boers. Nowadays Graaff-Reinet with its 200 monument-protected buildings is one of the best preserved historical places in the country.
http://www.countryroads.co.za/content/graaff-reinet.html
Other interesting info:

Cradled in a crook of the Sundays River, to the approaching traveller, Graaff -Reinet seems like a verdant oasis in the stark surrounding landscape.

Graaff-Reinet is home to more National Monuments than any other town or city in South Africa. Round every corner a piece of our history is revealed to intersted visitors.

A short stroll down Cradock Street will reveal more than 50 of these historic homes. Take a walk down Parsonage Street in the centre of town - on the western end is the seat of the former Dutch authority of the Cape (Drostdy Hotel), while facing it at the estern end lies the erstwhile ecclesiastical power.

Or visit Reinet House, which forms part of a museum complex of four historic builidings.

The imposing stone structure of the Grootkerk at the norhern end of Church Street overlooks the commercial hub of the town. http://www.places.co.za/html/graaff_reinet.html


Spandau Hill is another famous landmark in the Graaff-Reinet region.

The charming little town of Nieu-Bethesda is set in a fertile valley of the Sneeuberg mountains beneath Compassberg (2502m). It is 56km from Graaff-Reinet.

Where to stay:

http://www.graaffreinet.co.za/listing/gideon_scheepers_memorial