Last Friday, the Makana opening of council was held in Riebeek East, shifting the limelight away from Grahamstown. Even though it's the hometown of our mayor, Zamuxolo Peter, this village is often forgotten. Desiree Schirlinger went out to discover what goes on in this quiet village that keeps to itself between the Eastern Cape hills.
Last Friday, the Makana opening of council was held in Riebeek East, shifting the limelight away from Grahamstown. Even though it's the hometown of our mayor, Zamuxolo Peter, this village is often forgotten. Desiree Schirlinger went out to discover what goes on in this quiet village that keeps to itself between the Eastern Cape hills.
“You must live here! Not Grahamstown man, here!” said Riebeeck East local Virginia Kontyo, although in the same breath she continued to say, “but things are so very expensive, gas and food and sending your children to school, because we are so far away…”
A visitor to Riebeek East from East London, Lorna Pradervand joked that, “Friday was the most traffic this town has ever seen,” after it hosted a successful council opening last week.
City slickers and non-locals might not understand why people choose to live there, so Grocott's Mail took a look at the breakdown of life in Riebeek East; the who, where, when, what and why of this intriguing 182-year-old town.
Who: Riebeek East is a small hamlet that is part of the Makana Municipality. There are about 67 people living in the town and 800 people living in the township. “The industry around here is mainly beef farming,” said born-and-bred local, Honey Booi. “The town is a centre for the farmers in the area, where they can meet and go to church,” he said.
Where: Riebeek East can be found on the R400 about 40km west of Grahamstown. The turn-off is to the left about 20km out, and this last 20km is on a dirt road, which at the moment is in a decent condition.
When: Named after Dutch explorer Jan van Riebeeck, Riebeek East was founded in 1830 on the Mooimeisiesfontein farm, which was home to the South African Boer leader, Piet Retief. His once grand house still stands there today, but sadly it is in complete ruins.
What: Chatting to locals and visitors, the main appeal of Riebeek East is something not often heard of in South Africa: “There is no crime here at all!” said Mooimeisies Guest House owner Cary Clark. “It's a strong community lifestyle we live here, and so no one dares to steal as everyone knows everyone.” Booi agrees with Clark: “There's not a lot of crime here, however there are problems in other places,” he said.
Booi has lived in Riebeek East his whole life and says he wishes he could leave for somewhere better equipped and less isolated, though. “There is no well-stocked grocery store here, so we have to travel through to Grahamstown whenever we can to get supplies," he told Grocott's Mail.
"A taxi ride is R35 one way, a lot of people can't afford R70 just to travel.” But the hamlet is similar to Grahamstown in some ways, and sadly unemployment is also a reality in Riebeek East as the only work available is on beef farms or with the municipality.
However, there are those helping the community in a big way. Yolande Pradervand started the iBhabhatane Creche in 2009, which now cares for about 35 children, feeding them two meals a day. A recent donation of computers and a projector from IT company, Unisys, is also benefiting the whole community.
The creche now lets the Riebeek East Combined School give computer lessons with their equipment and workshops can be held for members of the community to improve their computer literacy.
Why: So you may still wonder why you would want to visit Riebeek East? Surprisingly, there is a lot going on there! Day hikes on unmarked hiking trails allow the more adventurous visitors room to wander the succulent speckled hills freely, while remembering to keep an eye out for bushman paintings.
Two mountain bike routes (one 77km and the other 90km long) are marked in the surrounding kloofs, a highly popular activity for novices and experts alike. For those who are less outdoor-inclined there are sessions held at the Mooimeisies Guest House, where evenings of great music and company are hosted.
“Our Riebeek East sessions have become very popular, a great evening out”, according to Clark. Musicians like Black South Easter, Dave Goldblum, Tim Hopwood and Joe van der Linden have all added their voices to this unique social get together.
Other activities like photographic courses and mosaic courses are also organised by the guest house. Please note that there is no petrol station or banking/ATM facilities in Riebeek East so bring fuel and funds. The music sessions occur at random, and dates can be found at www.riebeeckeast.co.za.
