Cape Travel Guides - Self Drive Routes - Accommodation - Car Hire

ADVERTISE IN THE 2010 SOUTHERN AFRICA TRAVEL GUIDE SERIES  |  HOME  

  Back one page

  INFORMATION:
  GRAAFF REINET  |  SOMERSET EAST 

 
Province: Eastern Cape
Region: Karoo Heartland
Route: Blue Crane Route


BLUE CRANE ROUTE - Towns: Graaff Reinet, Pearston to Somerset East 

A route through typical Karoo countryside, with mountain ranges flanking the road and ending at the green and pleasant town of Somerset East. The route starts at Graaff-Reinet justly known as the "Gem of the Karoo", which is a town of great charm and historic interest. Graaff-Reinet is tucked into a loop of the Sundays River, overlooked by Spandau Kop mountain and almost completely encircled by the 16 500ha Karoo Nature Reserve, a feature unique in the world. The reserve has a 19 km game viewing drive and hiking trails. 

It includes one of South Africa's most dramatic sights, the Valley of Desolation, where the elements and geological processes over millions of years have carved rocks into pinnacles and strange formations.
 
Van Ryneveld's Dam has birdlife and water sport. Graaff-Reinet is a treasure house of architecture, art, national monuments, museums and places of historical interest and beauty. There are more national monuments (200) in this town than in any other in South Africa. Gracious Cape Dutch buildings and Victorian villas on treeIined streets are preserved to give Graaff-Reinet a timeless atmosphere. 

Leaving Graaff.Reinet, the route passes several scenic mountain ranges including Bruintjieshoogte, from where the Plains of Camdeboo can be seen. The farm of Cranemere, 60 km from Graaff-Reinet, is the home of the Palmer family and houses a museum with Middle Stone Age implements. The museum may be viewed only by prior appointment. Tel Marianne Palmer 27 42 246 1492. 

The small town of PEARSTON serves a farming community. A focal point is the handsome Dutch Reformed Church. SOMERSET EAST has a serene, picture book setting, reminiscent of a Western Cape town. The streets are lined with oak trees, and many of its beautiful buildings have been declared national monuments. The town lies at the foot of the Bosberg Mountain, which has spectacular views along a mountain drive.

 The Bosberg Nature Reserve is thickly wooded, with rich bird life and fynbos. Trout fishing is available at two dams. The town is the centre for an important sheep-farming and mohair district. It is the highest producer of mohair in South Africa. The renowned Biltong Festival rocks the normally tranquil town once a year. Two of its many noteworthy buildings are the Georgian-style museum and the Walter Battiss Art Gallery which houses the largest collection of Walter Battiss paintings in South Africa