Cradock Archives - TRAVELBUCKET

SCHREINER: KAROO WRITERS FESTIVAL

by Inge Triegaardt Earlier this month we were invited to a festival that would normally be frowned upon in our household. Why? Well, I honestly do not have an answer for you. Maybe because we don’t see ourselves as being on a high enough level (whatever level that is) or we simply would not want to attend, because reading books for a couple of days and listening to people reading books is straight out boring! Oh how wrong could we be! This is the perfect place to be in the middle of winter, all snuggled up in an old Victorian Hotel in the middle of the Karoo, with winter woolies and fires crackling in the background. Yes, we braved the cold and headed to the Karoo town of Cradock for the weekend of 17-21 June to attend the Schreiner: Karoo Writers Festival. Upon arrival we soon bumped into the likes… Read more >

ANN’S VILLA – A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST

This national monument, formerly known as Webster’s Hotel, was built in 1864 and lies at the foot of the Zuurberg Pass has a colourful history spanning decades. The year 1867 marks the year that diamonds were discovered along the Orange River and fortune hunters flocked to the mining sites via every known route. The Webster Hotel was conveniently situated and benefitted from this as they offered accommodation, food, a smithy and a well-stocked retail shop on the premises. Business was good. When and how the name changes from Webster’s hotel to Ann’s Villa came about is not clear from old papers, but today it is still known as Ann’s Villa. From old records it seems that a school was started 24 years after the villa was built. The teacher for the school, stayed in the first room upstairs in the villa. It seems that the Websters also paid the teacher’s… Read more >

Tag Archive: Cradock

SCHREINER: KAROO WRITERS FESTIVAL

ANN’S VILLA – A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST