Go Sweat in Graaff Reinet

Go sweat in Graaff-Reinet

The Valley of Desolation is a premier tourist attraction in the Camdeboo region. "The road to the top of the valley was tarred in 1978 and today provides tourists with easy access to the viewpoints with their panoramic views of the landscape. The viewpoints at the Valley itself provide a breath-taking view of piled dolerite columns against the backdrop of the plains of the Great Karoo and a timeless sense of wonder at a landscape said to be the product of the erosive and volcanic forces of nature over a period of 200 million years."

We traveled past Graaff-Reinet en route to Nieu Bethesda and spent the night at Jagtpoort between Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg, Eastern cape. Graaff-Reinet is a city filled with South African history and various monuments as a memory of the past. One can easily spend a whole weekend exploring the rich history of this town. We visited some of the monuments and then headed 15km outside Graaff-Reinet- to the Valley of Desolation.

It was an easy ride as the roads are now tarred all the way to the top. The walk to the viewpoint can be done in flops. It is not the kind of place I will let my kids wander off unsupervised, although there is a lot to explore and appreciate. Here we enjoyed the magnificent views and the quietness only the Karoo offers. With an eagle soaring above our heads, we could meditate on life, travelers from the early days discovering this awe-inspiring landmark... And we sat there in the heat, sweating and suffering high temperatures with them, appreciating nature in all its glory...