Graaff-Reinet Accommodation

Accommodation in Graaff-Reinet | Akkommodasie in Graaff-Reinet | Graaff-Reinet Budget Holiday Accommodation

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Take the “Adventure escape Route” between Pretoria and your holiday trip to Cape Town via the N9 turn-off at Colesburg and head towards the budget family accommodation town of Graaff Reinet.

Situated half way Gauteng and the Western Cape Graaff Reinet is ideally situated as an ideal cheap overnight stop over 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 during their budget family holidays.

The route via Graaff Reinet is the best access between the Goldfields of Gauteng and the spectacular Garden Route starting from St Francis Bay and ending at the scenic wine lands of Paarl and Stellenbosch finally leading you to your family holiday is Cape Town.

The original Dutch Reformed church in the town is a prominent stone building in the high street with seating facilities for 1500 people. The building is a reproduction of the Salisbury Cathedral and is typical of numerous other towns in the Klien Karoo Towns such as Gariep.

The Graaff Reinet college is an educational centre of some importance; it was rebuilt in 1906 and has turned Graaff Reinet into a flourishing market for agricultural produce, the district being noted for its mohair industry, sheep and ostrich farming.

The Valley of Desolation is a short 10 minute drive from Graaf Reinet (approximately 13km) ,besides being a geological wonder of weathered dolomite pillars which is a declared national monument with magnificent views over the Karoo plains, the valley also boasts an incredibly diversity of karoo fauna and flora. The wildlife found in the Camdeboo National Park is also bountiful with Cape Buffalo, Cape Mountain Zebra and the heaviest fling bird in the world – the Kori Bustard,

• Tourist Attractions
  The Camdeboo National Park of 200 km², on the outskirts of the town with its interesting flora and fauna.
• Stretch’s Court, a picturesque restored street of Karoo cottages with brightly painted shutters and doors.
• Graaf Reinet House Museum – a Cape Dutch building, formerly the Dutch Reformed Church parsonage
• The Agave Distillery – a distillery producing tequila from the agave plant.
• The Karoo architecture.
• The Dutch Reformed Church in the centre of the town. This Dutch Reformed Church is the only known church in South Africa and possibly in the world to have a kitchen and a chimney.
• The Drostdy Hotel – A Cape Dutch building erected in 1806 as the local seat of government by the VOC. Currently a hotel

Graaff-Reinet lies well within the great geological system known as the Karoo Supergroup. Rocks of the Karoo Supergroup were formed from mud, sand and clay washed by rivers into the low-lying marshy Karoo Basin that existed around 200 million years ago. Examination of the hills and koppies around Graaff-Reinet soon reveals the layered nature of the rock formations, reflecting their origin as banks of sand or clay laid down by stream action.

What may normally appear to be a desolate and barren Karoo landscape to the casual observer, is a treasure chest of information to the paleontologists, as this area is in fact one of the world’s largest natural graveyards. Exposed along the slopes of the Karoo koppies and in the sides of river channels are fossilized bones from the Age of Reptiles.

These animals lived in the prehistoric Karoo marshlands and in many cases their bones and skeletons settled into the mud and sand. Their skeletons were petrified as the layers of sediment gradually hardened into stone. They provide a unique insight into the animal life of the world long before the advent of birds, mammals and man.

Sharing knowledge of an area steeped in culture, history and ecology – offering specialised tours such as:

• Boer War and Local History Tours
• Game Viewing Safaris in and Around the Klien Karoo
• Khoisan Rock Art and other Indigenous Tours
• Fossil Excursions in the Valley of Desolation
• Local Ethnic Township Walkabouts
• Guided Tours to Working Karoo Farms and Game Farms