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Amatola Mountain View

King Williams Town Eastern Cape - South Africa

Email Amatola Mountain View Reservations: booksa@madbookings.com

For the foreign traveler, it is a great base from which to spend time exploring a fascinating part of South Africa and learning about what shaped our past and present.
It is a gateway to the beautiful Wild Coast for those traveling east, and a popular stop over for those traveling west to Addo Elephant Park, the Garden Route and Cape Town.

Area Attractions:
Explore our Forests
The forests of the Amathola Mountains which our guesthouse looks onto are among the finest in the country.
The Forests of the Amatholas and the Waterkloof along with the Fish River bush were the natural fortresses of the amaXhosa during the Frontier Wars.

Go Hiking:
Today the Amathole Mountains provide some of the nicest hiking to be enjoyed anywhere. The 6 Day 100km Amathole Hiking trail is regarded as the King of trails in South Africa, but shorter day walks can also be undertaken such as to Sandile’s Cave.

Visit the Amathole Museum:
Among the many places of interest in King is the Amathole Museum which contains one of the largest collections (over 40 000 specimens) of African mammals in the world.
Best known for Hubertha the wandering hippo that walked all the way from Zululand to the Kieskamma River it also houses the Kitton library – a most valuable collection of books, including some written by the very first European explorers of Southern Africa.

Visit the churches:
King is known for its fine church buildings – many built of stone. The Brownlee Congregational church built in 1860 is a reminder that King began as a mission station.
The Missionary Museum (the only one of its kind in the country) is housed in what was originally the Wesleyan Church and portrays the history of missionary Endeavour in SA.

Explore Rock art sites:
Rock art holds great fascination and Victor Biggs of Thomas River is the expert in this field. African art can be enjoyed at the De Beers Art gallery on the Fort Hare Campus in Alice 60km from here.
Into Struggle History?
A struggle history tour of the region can be most rewarding. Visit freedom Square and the ANC, PAC / Azapo archives at Fort Hare. Visit Steve Biko’s grave and also the graves of Griffith and Victoria Mxenge. A tour in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela from Mveso (his place of birth) to Qunu to Clarkbury to Healdtown to Fort Hare can be done in one day but necessitates an early start and a lot of traveling on poor roads.

Go on a Frontier War Tour:
There are four official routes in the Amathole Region namely: The Maqoma, Sandile, Phalo and Ndlambe Routes. Prior reading up on the regions history will be a great advantage and wet your appetite. Mostert’s ‘Frontiers’ is good. Guided tours to the forts as well as battlefields of both here and KwaZulu Natal are a highlight of many a tourists visit to South Africa.
Follow in the steps of the first missionaries
Visits to the sites of the early mission stations are equally fascinating.
The first missionary endeavors among the Bantu speaking people of South Africa began at the edge of the Pirie forest.
When David Livingstone was just a boy of 4 years old, John Brownlee and Robert Moffat set sail for Africa’s shores. They were both gardeners, who were to devote their entire lives to missionary endeavor. Moffat headed north, Brownlee headed east to found the first permanent mission station among the Xhosa people. Six years later he moved with his family together with Dyani Tshatshu to begin the Buffalo Mission that later grew into a garrison town named King William’s Town. (King has a missionary museum, open to the public by prior arrangement).

Visit wildlife reserves:
Double Drift Game Reserve on the Fish River can be enjoyed without having to break the bank.
The ruins of Fort Wiltshire and Double Drift Post that are to be found on the banks of the rivers bordering this reserve, add to the interest of ones visit.
It was once part of no mans land. Inkwenkwezi is another game reserve within an hour’s drive of King and is close to the coast.

Relax on golden beaches:
Also within an hours drive, you have a choice of many fine beaches. Lovely for those sunny windless days when it’s not too hot! And then beyond the Great Kei River lies the famous Wild Coast!
Interact with local cultures
Meet local people or rough it and stay a night in a rural Xhosa homestead instead of some artificial “cultural village”
For those who Know King William’s Town, we are next to Tree Tops close to their back gate, just a little behind Grey Hospital and at the end of the same street as Hemmingway’s Guesthouse but at the western end of the street, at the intersection of Beaumont and Gerhardi Street.

GPS co-ordinates 32 deg 52 min 39.20 sec South 27 deg 23 min 51.27 sec East

Directions:
Entering King from Stutterheim on Alexandra Road you will drive to the 2nd robot and turn left into Queens Road (the deeds office will now be on your left and a war memorial on your right), then drive up to the robot at the first intersection and turn right into Kings Road.
Pass 3 houses on your left hand side and turn left into Gerhardi Street. We are the second house on the left hand side.

Entering King from East London on Alexandra Road you will drive to the 2nd robot at Maitland Road (NG Church), turn right and drive up six blocks and where our sign board is turn left into Beaumont Road. Drive all the way to the T junction and our Guesthouse will be right in front of you. (Don't be confused when Beaumont splits into two at the stop street, just carry on straight.)
Entering King from Port Elizabeth on Cathcart Street you will drive through 4 robots (the museum will now be on your right).
The street name changes from Cathcart to Albert Road but you continue on (watch out for the speed bump) then turn up into the first street you come to on your right which is Kings Road.

Going up Kings Road you will cross over Queens Rd at the robot and then take the first road to the left which is Gerhardi Street left (you are now behind Grey Hospital) and we are the second house on the left hand side
Entering King from Bhisho down Maitland Road, drive past the first robot and quiet a long distance down you will see a school sports field on the left.
Shortly after passing it you will see our sign board along with Hemmingsway Guesthouse. Turn right into Beaumont Road and drive all the way to the T junction and our Guesthouse will be right in front of you. (Don't be confused when Beaumont splits into two at the stop street, just carry on straight.)

About us:
Pat runs the King Williams Town guesthouse assisted by Nomarie, Colinah and Lungiswa. Siya runs the office and is the voice behind the phone. Christopher takes great pride in the up keep of the garden.
Rob, Pat’s husband who is a registered tour guide, has a rich knowledge of the region and its history and can provide you with all the necessary information you need to add to the enjoyment of your stay and enhance your traveling experience.
Pat, is a kind warm hearted person, who strives to make one feel part of the family and from comments shared, is achieving that and the same can be said of the staff too.

Email Amatola Mountain View Reservations: booksa@madbookings.com