Visited a stunning location today in the hills of the Eastern Cape called Thomas River. I drove up there to enjoy Christmas lunch with family.
Here is the long and short of it from their website:
Thomas River, named in 1801, takes its name from an English deserter, Thomas Bentley. Part of Van Der Kemps missionary, Bentley was killed by a poison Bushman Arrow while crossing the river, thus duly named Thomas River.
The original train station, sited between the stone forts, dates from the late 1870’s with the new station coming into being in 1926. The station saw its last train in 1948 when the new line opened.
Thomas River Historical Village, reborn in 2003, has been passionately restored by Jeff and Ann Sansom to take you back to yesteryear.
The food was great, home cooked and traditional, perfect for Christmas lunch. I loved the bar which was in the old general dealer which still sports the original store counter now as the bar counter.
One of the owners, it’s a family run establishment, spent time talking to us and making us feel welcome. Happy to share is knowledge of the village and local area which was a real treat.
It’s quiet. I love that about places like this.
And if you love bushmen (I’m a real fan of their culture and their art) then this is a good place to come visit. This was bushman country and Andrew says there some fantastic trails and many locations where you can enjoy viewing bushman rock art. It’s a good hike into the hills, so today was not the day to go enjoy that, but I will come back to do this.
You can stay there too and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to get away in the Eastern Cape.
Useful info:
- Website: www.oldthomasriver.co.za
- Google Maps
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