Matatiele put down it’s roots in the 1860’s in the shelter of a mountain, alongside wetland pools and marshed teeming with waterfowl. Fence the town’s name, taken from the Basotho and meaning the ‘wild ducks have flown’. With a colourful history of smuggling and gun running, Matatiele today is a hospitable small town with a healthy climate. It became a municipality in 1904 and, along with the rest of East Griqualand, transferred from Cape to Natal control in 1978. it serves local farming and trading communities, as well as neighbouring Transkei (Eastern Cape) and southern Lesotho – the border of which is 22 km to the west. Locals consider Matatiele to be located on the shortest motor route to Cape Town, taking one south through Maclear and Mount Fletcher.

GENERAL INFORMATION

How to get there - Durban 320 km, Kokstad 72 km, Cedarville 22 km

HISTORICAL VIEW

Matatiele Museum - Display depict the history of the town and it’s people

San Rock Art - Also to be seen are Bushman artifacts dating back to the Stone Age

NATURE

Mountain Lake Nature Reserve

Located 12 km from town, on a plateau of rolling grasslands and wetlands. The reserve offers magnificent views of the Drakensberg. The lake covers 30 ha when full and offers excellent trout fishing (rainbow trout ). The reserve is home to more than 80 species, including the rare Rudd’s Lark.

Wilfred Bauer Nature Reserve

Situated 5 km west of town on the Lesotho road the reserve offers picnic facilities, fishing, walking and game viewing.

ATTRACTIONS

Outdoors - Bird Watching, Fishing, Game Viewing

ACTIVITIES

Outdoors – 4 x 4 Routes, Biking, Shooting

Accommodation in and around Matatiele