Believe it when I say I have done a bit of travelling in my life.
I have been fortunate enough to have visited many large cities across the world. But here I was in November 2018, going to Graaff-Reinet for the very first time. Established in 1786 by the Dutch East India Company, Graaff was to become a force to be reckoned with in the South African political landscape of the time. The town is full of surprises, for instance, finding the Kitchen School of South Africa is situated there, was not what I had expected. SO culinary students from disadvantaged communities across South Africa could be found strolling the town’s streets speaking different South African languages. I went there as a guest of Volkswagen South Africa. The commercial vehicle division decided to showcase what the Caddy and siblings Kombi and Caravelle have to offer. Indeed the people movers are true travel and family cars. We landed in Port Elizabeth on the Friday afternoon, whisked to lunch at Bocadillos restaurant.
After lunch we were ready to drive the three hour long route to Graaff-Reinet, a small charismatic town further south of the Eastern Cape Province. My driving partner Bruce Fraser opted for the Caddy for this first leg of the drive. Most of the group members were looking forward to Graaff-Reinet. I for one have never been to Graaff as it is affectionately known. Our home was the Drostdy Hotel. The hotel possess a combination of modern and old Cape style. Painted in white with colourful highlights on windows and doors, The Drostdy has a personality and character of small town and a soul of a big city. The rich heritage of the town is captivating. We spent the Saturday exploring several historic places in the town.
We arrived around 17:00 on Friday, checked in and then immediately made our way back into the Volkswagens and headed out to the Valley of Desolation. We drove up to the hill and what I saw was pure beauty. The valley below lies Graaff-Reinet and all its charms can be witnessed from atop the hill.
Some of the places we visited on Saturday included the Bavarian Brewery, Owl House, Fossil Museum, Rides Car Museum and Reinet Museum. This was a shock to the system as I did not expect to find so much life in such a small town in the middle of “nowhere”.
If you have the time and means please take a journey to Graaff, you won’t regret it, I am sure to return but this time driving down all the way from Gauteng
