Graaff-Reinet. Fossils from millions of years ago. The Valley of Desolation. And the Drostdy Hotel. This historical town is worth exploring.
The fourth oldest town in South Africa deserves more than a stopover on the drive down to the Cape.
Established by the Dutch East India Company in 1786, Graaff-Reinet was originally established as a trading post, expanding trading inland from the Cape. This Eastern Cape Province town was the starting point for Great Trek groups, and here you’ll find more national monuments than in any other town in the country. So there’s history. And it’s everywhere. And it makes for a fascinating – and massively enjoyable – destination.
Base yourselves at the grand, gorgeous Drostdy Hotel, which was built in the early 1800s and turned into a hotel in 1878. A century or so later, it was bought by Anton Rupert (who grew up in the town) in conjunction with Historical Homes of South Africa. After Rupert’s death 20 years ago, it was refurbished and donated by the Rupert family to the SA College of Tourism.
The hotel is glorious … with firm nods to the historical Cape Dutch influence and traditional Karoo aesthetics. It’s all plush armchairs and sofas and acres of botanical and bird prints, walls of antelope skulls and antique writing tables, and carefully curated ornaments. The gardens are magnificent, landscaped to perfection, with sculptures in the grounds, and many rooms – once old workers’ cottages – grouped around central, private pools, with loungers to relax in and quiet little nooks to hide with a book and a bottle of wine.
Talking wine, there’s an elegant cellar, The Vinoteque, lined with bottle after bottle of exceptional wine … this is Rupert country, after all! A lovely option is a private wine tasting with the resident sommelier … a tasting of four or five wines takes about an hour; the charcuterie board served with this gives added appeal.
Graaff-Reinet appears to have a good restaurant on every corner, but we wouldn’t bother leaving the hotel. Breakfasts (don’t hesitate to order the eggs Bennie with salmon on a potato rosti), lunches (if you finish the Wagyu beef burger, you’re a hungry bugger) and dinners (the lamb curry and pearl barley risotto vie for top spot, while the three-course set menu is fine, fine dining) are served in De Camdeboo – a proper old-school restaurant – or out on the pretty verandah if the weather plays nice.
If you’re feeling sociable and festive, there’s a cozy bar (if it’s chilly, be sure to explore the warm cocktail options … hot chocolate with Baileys went down a treat); if you’re after a little quiet time, there’s a library and lounge, or head to the hotel’s Africology spa, the inviting Wijnkamer wine shop, and the Imibala Art Gallery, which showcases local artists and has regularly updated exhibitions featuring diverse collections for viewing and for sale.
