The Bruintjies Hoogte Hotel

In the days before we had motorized vehicles, the Karoo was dotted with many small resting places.  A horse or cart or oxwagon could only go so far in a day, and living such solitary lives in the harsh Karoo landscape, people also needed sustenance on a journey, and company to while away the time.  Why not sleep in the countryside you ask?  Well, if you've tried that in the winter months, then you'll know that it can get extremely cold out there!  And in summer, well, then it gets too hot to travel in the middle of the day.  Any excuse!

If you look at the historical Inns, Hotels and eating places, you'll find that they are about a day's horse ride apart.  Quite scary when you look at the distances today, in that we could travel in an hour what our ancestors did in a day.   

We found out a while ago, that one such hotel, the Bruintjies Hoogte Hotel, was owned by one of Alan's school teacher's parents back in the day.  Small world, isn't it?  Very few of these small resting places are still operational today, and there is really not much other than a few foundations left of the Bruintjies Hoogte Hotel.  But can you imagine waking up to this view?

Maybe we should arrange a tour around all the remaining country inns in our neck of the woods...