Alicedale, Frontier Country

Lovely Alicedale, in the interior of the Eastern Cape, lies in Bushmans River Canyon in the shadow of the Swartwatersberg hills, roughly an hour’s drive from Grahamstown. This charming Victorian village that provides a real ‘dorp’ experience today served as the central railway junction for rail transport in the country up until the mid 1990s, where after it virtually died a death.

The main reason that Alicedale finds itself very firmly back on the map is a R25 million development, the Bushman Sands Country Estate, that included a regeneration strategy that saw almost 200 plots go on sale at an incredibly reasonable price with a nominal down payment resulting in something of a stampede as people rushed to live in Alicedale. Alicedale is quietly being restored to her former glory, and that includes the townships of Kwanonzwa, Kazi and Transriviere where residents have each been given 25 litres of paint and an indigenous tree.

The Gary Player golf course is a further temptation for avid golfers, whilst the breathtaking views from Alicedale of the hills from almost every edge of the village, and the lure of Bushmans River Canyon draws day visitors from Grahamstown. In store for the little town are a number of B&Bs, a sports complex, a bakery, butchery, art gallery, petrol station and craft market in the town square. And you can still take an old-fashioned train ride into Alicedale from Grahamstown through some of the most beautiful landscapes and an historical tunnel.