South Africa Guide
The Eastern Cape
Graaff-Reinet
It's little wonder that tour buses pull in to GRAAFF-REINET in their numbers; this is a beautiful town, one of the few places in the Eastern Cape where you'd want to wander freely day and night, taking in historical buildings and the occasional little museum, and have a meal or a drink before strolling back to your accommodation.
Graaff-Reinet has a large population of Afrikaans-speaking coloured people, mostly living on the south side of town, some of slave origin, others the descendants of indigenous Khoi and San who were forced to work on frontier farms. The dry mountains surrounding the town are part of the Camdeboo National Park whose main attraction is the Valley of Desolation, a B-movie name for an impressive site. The rocky canyon, echoing bird calls and expansive skies of the valley, shouldn't be missed.