De Rust Tourism - South Africa

The quaint Klein Karoo village of De Rust lies at the southern portal of the famous Meiringspoort about 35 km from Oudtshoorn. It has a typical Karoo atmosphere steeped in hospitality and time—time for well-being, time for each other and for some, time to become a human being again. De Rust has neither rat-race nor rust and very little crime.

In danger of becoming a ghost town a few decades ago, people have realised its beauty and potential and have flocked in to buy property. The artists, writers, burnt-out businessmen and people terminally sick and tired of crime and corruption, have moved in. Gone are the days when you could pick up a three-bedroomed house here for fifty grand or less…

It has the best of all worlds; from De Rust you need not travel more than 200 km to the breathtaking beaches of the south coast, to the Knysna and Tsitsikamma Forests, to the Cango Caves, to Meiringspoort or Seweweekspoort, to Gamkaskloof (also known as “Die Hel” or “The Hell”), up the Swartberg Pass, visit an ostrich farm or take a wine-route excursion to spoil your taste buds with some of the country’s finest cuisine, or go fossil-hunting on the endless plains of the Great Karoo.

Where else can you stop at a picnic or braai site next to the road without getting mugged or robbed, and where else does it become so quiet at night that you hear nothing else but the booming call of an ostrich, the lost hoot of a Cape Eagle Owl or perhaps the forlorn braying of a donkey?

Yes, there still is such a place. It is called De Rust.

The villagers of De Rust welcome you, trust you will enjoy your stay and come back for more!

Written by Leon Nel