GREYTON

Greyton (140km from Cape Town) is the Greyton most expect to find: neat white thatched cottages under majestic oaks; wide dirt avenues; idle hours at tuisgebak coffee shops; a corner café selling bread, milk and Boxer tobacco; other places peddling antiques and bric-and-brac; and prostrate Sunday afternoons. Greyton is all this and a bit more – a speculator’s feeding ground and a ‘traditional’ village where the donkey-cart trails a distant second to BMW as traditional vehicle of choice. When all is said and done, when the authentic and the contrived have been mixed in, there’s no escaping the log-fire weekend appeal of this village nestled below the Riviersonderend mountains.



Things To Do
  • There is no denying it, Greyton is pretty – thanks to a combination of natural setting and controlled town planning. The Post House, Greyton Lodge and the Moravian Church are just three of many historical buildings in the village.
     
  • The popular 14km Boesmanskloof Trail (tel 028-254 9564) linking Greyton to McGregor is the village highlight for many visitors. This beautiful route can be completed in a day if you’re fit, but those who don’t wish to go all the way are free to walk the first 5km without a permit. Apart from the Boesmanskloof traverse, the Greyton Nature Reserve is a 220ha tract of fynbos, proteas, waterfalls and several short trails. The tourism office (tel 028-254 9564) can provide you with a map.
     
  • The pleasant mission station and museum complex of Genadendal is just up the road from Greyton; apart from a walk through yesteryear it has a Moravian restaurant – booking is advisable (tel 028-251 8523). A 25km overnight hiking trail also kicks off from Genadendal; permits can be arranged through the Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve in McGregor (tel 023-625 1621).
     
  • Like many country towns, Greyton buzzes on Saturday morning. Much of this frenetic activity occurs around the village square and its weekly market. Peddling a wide range of fresh produce and other interesting country fare, you can stock up for the weekend and, unlike Pick ‘n Pay, have fun at the same time.
     
  • Greyton has a good choice of restaurants. Incorporating an espresso bar, wine shop and art gallery, The Oak and Vigne Café (tel 028-254 9037) is flavour of the day among the Greyton trendset – you’re likely to bump into half of Cape Town there on Saturday morning. Greyton Lodge (tel 028-254 9876) is open all day and has live music every Friday evening. For dinner, again there’s Greyton Lodge, as well as Abbey Rose (tel 028-254 9470), Peppertree Restaurant (tel 028-254 9164) and the Old Mill Restaurant (tel 028-254 9811), among others.