Currently viewing: Somerset East: Main Page

 

EVENTS:

Somerset East Museum Country Fair

(1 November 2008)

- In conjunction with the Garden Club Rose Show

09:00 - 15:00 Market on the grounds of the Old Parsonage Museum. Teas & Coffees, lunches, crafts & Christmas gifts, preserves, cheese and foods from the country pantry.

9 May 2009

Contact the tourism officer at 042 243 1333 ext. 272 or 073 698 6539 for more information.

 

Fook Festival (2008)

23 - 25 July 2008

 

Bruintjieshoogte Cycle Tour

Bruintjieshoogte Marathon

 

Fook Festival 2007 (Cultural Youth Festival)

 

---

BLUE CRANE ROUTE MUNICIPALITY:

For information / documents about the municipality, please click here

 

 

 

Interesting Facts:

Somerset East was established by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825

Somerset East is just 180km from Port Elizabeth

The first annual Biltong Festival in Somerset East was held in 1991.

Somerset East Airfield Co-Ordinates:

S 23 Dergees 45 Minutes 07.9 Seconds

E 25 Degrees 35 Minutes 40.3 Seconds

 

The Walter Battiss Art Gallery are now open every Saturday from 10:00 - 12:00 and are serving Boschberg Blend Coffee.

 

Links:

Crane Directory
Woes Afrikaans
Open Space
Gill College

Old Gillians

NG Kerk
Karoo Heartland

 

Pam Golding Properties

 

View / Sign our Guest Book

 

Taffy Shearing's blog for collecting information about Somerset East's history

Welcome to Somerset East

...Heart of the Blue Crane Route

Somerset East is a beautiful town in the Blue Crane Route in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Enjoy your visit to the website.

The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 from Pearston, via Somerset East, to Cookhouse. Somerset East, at the foot of the Boschberg Mountains, is a quaint, serene little town that's as famous for the natural beauty as it is for its many beautiful national monument buildings.

The forested, mountainous backdrop creates a dramatic setting for the town (which is within sight of no less than 16 waterfalls). This is where you'll find the thickly wooded Boschberg Nature Reserve, with it's popular hiking trails - including a 15km circular route to an overnight hut at the summit of the mountain. As the Route's name suggest, Somerset East is an excellent bird-watching destination - other adventures include trout fishing on five local dams, as well as Rainbow and Brown trout fishing in the Glen Avon Waterfall pools, malaria free safari and hunting operations. The highly-rated 9-hole golf course is said to be one of the most beautiful in the country.

Amongst the many noteworthy buildings in the town are the Old Wesleyan Chapel, which now houses the Somerset East Museum, and the officers' mess, which now houses the largest collection of paintings by the renowned South African artist Walter Battiss.

Annual events include the Castle Lager Biltong Festival, the Bruintjieshoogte Marathon, Bruintjieshoogte Cycle Tour (run between Pearston & Somerset East) and the Spring Rose & Flower show - Somerset East is known to produce some of the finest roses in the country.

Website Info

This website is designed and developed by Open Space, with full co-operation with the Blue Crane Route Municipality and the Blue Crane Development Agency.

Contact Info:

Blue Crane Route Municipality

  042 243 1333

  someast@netactive.co.za

Blue Crane Route Tourism

  bluecranetourism@isat.co.za

Blue Crane Development Agency

  042 243 0095

  bcdac@lantic.net

Museum & Art Gallery

  076 191 4644 (Kurt Badenhorst)

Webmaster

  Open Space Web Design

  +27 (0)84 513 5082

  webmaster@somerseteast.co.za

WEBSITE LAST UPDATED:

17 January 2010