Graaff-Reinet, the Eastern Cape's oldest town, lies in the centre of the Karoo Heartland at the Sundays River, backed by the Sneeuberg Mountains. With more than 200 restored Victorian houses, this archetypal Karoo town has the country's largest concentration of national monuments and is home to one of the most impressive Dutch Reformed churches. Various museums document the area's history with fossils and collections including the chronicle of Robert Sobukwe, freedom fighter and founder of the Pan African Congress. Graaff-Reinet is surrounded by the Camdeboo National Park, rich with fascinating fauna and flora - a welcomed oasis in the arid Karoo. The park's main attraction is the spectacular Valley of Desolation, a palaeontologist's paradise with one of the world's largest natural graveyards of prehistoric fossilized bones. The breathtaking dolerite columns and cliffs of volcanic origin, some of them high as 120 metres, offer great hiking opportunities and scenic settings. Try... read more