Adventure near Drakensberg
As with so many places, locals contend that Barkly East has South Africa’s healthiest climate and finest trout fishing. Some even claim the town is the best-kept secret in the country. Barkly East lies in the foot slopes of the Eastern Cape Drakensberg, which climb northward from the town to the Lesotho border.
Barkly East is a quiet, quaint and sleepy town (named after Sir Henry Barkly, governor of the Cape in the 1870’s) with wide streets for comfortable ox-wagon turning and lampposts planted down the centre.
City folk often think of dorps as places to relax and unwind, far from metropolitan bustle, but it is astonishing how busy, active and industrious the inhabitants can be. They’re on the go non stop. But if it’s peace you want - punctuated by a bit of birding and fishing, hiking and biking - then you can do a lot worse than this forgotten corner of the Drakensberg.
By Justin Fox