Barkly East

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Geography and History

Barkly East is a town in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, seat of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, and 117 km by road E.S.E. of Aliwal North, lying in the mountainous area just South of Lesotho.

Like Barkly West, Barkley East is named after Sir Henry Barkly, governor of the Cape Colony from 1870-1877.

Activities

The area is well known for excellent trout fishing.

A variety of caves contain rock paintings by the San that date back hundreds of years, and visitors interested in San art stay at cottages on local farms.

It has been one of the few areas in South Africa where winter sports are pursued, and in summer fly fishing for trout and indigenous small mouth yellow fish, trail running, mountain biking, ancient rock-art, tennis and the magnificent scenery draw tourists to the district.

A more recent development is the mountainous terrain attracting off-road bikers who revel in traversing the numerous passes in the area. Even more recent is the opening of the winter fly fishing season on Wild Trout Association waters around Barkly East, Lady Grey, Rhodes and Wartrail. Xhosa and Afrikaans are spoken by most of the people, while English and Sotho are also spoken. The primary economic base of the district is sheep-farming, the pasturage being excellent.

The Barkly East museum is worth a visit.

Tiffindell Alpine retreat is a wonderful escape throughout the year with activities like skiing and snow boarding on offer!