Rovos Stop Two — Matjiesfontein, South Africa

By Glen Bruels
This is part of a series called South Africa 2026
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After a relaxing night on the train, we were ready for our second stop — Matjiesfontein, a settlement in the Central Karoo District in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This is actually the perfect little hamlet to visit on Rovos Rail because it has two similarities: (1) it got its start because of the railroad, and (2) it took an entrepreneur to make it happen. While originally settled by local indigenous people, the decision to build a railway route that would connect Cape Town to the diamond fields of Kimberley was what created the opportunity for this village to come into being. Apparently the Prime Minister at the time took a ruler and drew a straight line on the map between the two cities, gave the annotated map to his civil engineers and said make it so! As the line extended into the countryside and it was decided to put a small depot here, the superintendent of that stretch of railway (James Douglas Logan) saw an opportunity and bought up a lot of land in the area. His idea was to set up a refreshment station for passing trains. That became so successful that the town actually grew up around it in 1884, designed in the Victorian style, including a grand hotel that continues to host guests today. This reminded me a lot of the story of Fred Harvey who built a series of hotels, restaurants, and sightseeing tours along the rail lines in New Mexico in the late 1800s. The town also became a getaway for those suffering from respiratory ailments with a Victorian spa and health resort being built there,  and many famous writers, artists, and retired military found their way there to live. During the South African War, 10,000 troops bivouacked in the area and the hotel became a hospital. Over the years as travel by train became less popular, the fortunes of the village were threatened, but in 1968 a hotelier named Rawdon bought the whole thing and turned it into a destination resort. It became a National Heritage Site in 1975.

We were excited about visiting the village and were a bit confused when it was announced on the train that they were offering a 5K walk for those who wanted to go. That seemed a bit odd, but I decided to make the trek while Deb stayed on the train. I have to say that it was a little eerie to see the train pull out and leave us in the dust. It was a healthy (if a bit warm) walk and when I finally made it to town and met Deb, I found out why the walk was arranged — it was Sunday and nearly everything was closed in the village. Deb did wander around and took a lot of pictures of the place. I opted to go to the pub and have a local brew. Matjiesfontein does look like a nice place to visit. Apparently, the spa is quite good and it is a destination wedding location. Ah well, back on the train to finish the voyage to Cape Town!

The start of our 5K walk. Everyone was motivated although we really didn’t understand why we were doing this.
Taken by Deb from the train. We are volksmarching!
The pack began to thin out, but everyone was plodding along.
Meanwhile, Deb rode into town on the train…
… arriving at the very attractive station.
Nearby was the double decker bus that could give you a great tour of the village — except on Sundays.
And then there was the Transport Museum that had conveyances from the early days of wagons…
… to more modern transport.
The old post office served as a vital link for the authors that lived there to send the latest manuscripts to their editors. Today it is a gift shop.
Of course, the star attraction is Lord Milner’s House which today is the main hotel in the village. Walking around in it gives you a real sense of what life was like back in the day.
For our purposes, however, the Laird’s Arms (the only pub in town) served our purpose quite well.
Old school gas pumps. Gravity feed was always a good idea.

 

 

 

This entry was posted in Africa, South Africa, Travel
Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

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