Fort Beaufort

Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape is one of the frontier towns established by the British in 1822 to support the struggle with the Xhosa for possession of the territory.

Close to Hogsback, Grahamstown and Alice, Fort Beaufort is on the banks of the Kat River in the Katriver valley and is surrounded by the Amatola and Katberg Mountains.

Today the area is supported by citrus farming.

Photo from Wikipedia

Fort Beaufort boasts a number of historical sites worth visiting, including the Martello tower, today a national monument, on which sits a mounted cannon that pivots through 360° and is considered one of two in the world – the other is in Canada.

Fort Beaufort is close to The Great Fish River Reserve(40km), a 45000ha malaria free haven for an abundance of big game, like the hippo, kudu, Cape buffalo, elephant, lion and over 100 endangered black rhino – one of the fastest growing populations of the black rhino in South Africa. The Great Fish River that crosses the reserve provides for some spectacular scenery in this rugged terrain of open succulent valley bushveld.  

Just over 25km from Fort Beaufort, on the R63 north, is the little-known Fort Fordyce and Mpofu Nature Reserves. Straddling the sourveld and Afromontane forest biomes, Fort Fordyce Reserve has spectacular biodiversity for its size. Keen twitchers can prowl the forest in search of Knysna turacos (louries), Narina trogons and other megaticks. There is hiking, mountain biking, fishing, horse riding and some good rock climbing. The Mpofu Reserve is much larger and offers game drives, walking trails and bird watching. 

For more information on the Amatola Region, visit ShowMe.