About Fort Beaufort
Fort Beaufort, a historic town in the Amathole District of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, lies at the confluence of the Kat and Brak rivers.
Fort Beaufort actually started as a mission station started by Rev Joseph Williams of the London Missionary Society in 1816. In 1822 it became a military fort, and in 1837 it was named Fort Beaufort in honour of the Duke of Beaufort, father of Lord Charles Henry Somerset, the first British Governor of the Cape Colony. The town and surrounding area played a prominent role in the Frontier Wars (1834 – 1853).
Today, Fort Beaufort is situated in a thriving citrus and game farming community, and is also a thriving small town surrounded by many Xhosa villages.
Fort Beaufort is ideally placed to be used as a base to explore the following picturesque and historic surrounding places:
- Hogsback (various forest walks and waterfalls) – 40 minutes
- Fort Fordyce (game and nature reserve and several walks) – 40 minutes
- Mpofu game reserve - 40 minutes
- Double Drift Game Reserve - 45 minutes
- Grahamstown (historic town and National Arts Festival annually) – 60 minutes
- Alice (University of Fort Hare, where Nelson Mandela studied) – 20 minutes
- Katberg Eco Mountain Resort (golf, hikes, horse riding) – 45 minutes
- Bedford (quaint little town famous for its Garden Festival in October) – 40 minutes
- East London – 90 minutes
