Accommodation Near Matjiesfontein
*All distances listed are as the crow flies, and not actual travel distances.
Matjiesfontein Reviews
More info about Matjiesfontein
Appearing almost as a film set in the desert, Matjiesfontein is an actual village with a magnificent hotel and various other facilities. Roughly 500 people live in the village which has been declared a national monument in its entirety.
Matjiesfontein began as a sanatorium for those suffering from lung complaints after the farm owner, Scotsman James Logan had himself recovered while taking in the fresh Karoo air. At the time, a railway line between Cape Town and Kimberley had just been constructed and Logan set about building a village with lamp posts imported from England, electrifying the village and providing a sanitary works at great personal expense to ensure that Matjiesfontein became a regular stop for the elite. Visitors included Cecil Rhodes, Lord Randolph Churchill and the Sultan of Zanzibar, all wanting to take in the air. South African author Olive Schreiner rented a small home in the village for a time.
During the South African... Show more