DAJ Murray and I foot-slogging from Grahamstown to Alicedale … along the railway track.
One of those ventures birthed in The Rat. About 56km depending on route. Tent and provisions packed for a two-day assault. The old steam-engine track may be game fenced – the Eastern Cape is virtually one big game reserve – in which case we’ll switch to gravel road.
And why suck a quest? Well, generations of extraordinarily well educated (and properly privileged) people traversed that track in years gone by.
The G’Town – Alicedale section (completed in 1881) part of the old Cape Colony’s massive investment in rail infrastructure. Regrettably discontinued in the early 90’s. Poor lot had to go by bus and later aeroplane.
Scenery will be breathtaking. Hills tough. That old geezer laboured out of Gtown at walking pace. Can’t wait. Will battle to sleep tonight. Photos and track reports to follow.
GRAEME HOLMES
Before moving back to Grahamstown in Oct 2017, Graeme was a bank executive based in the big smoke and craziness of Joburg. He has 20 years’ experience in the Payments Industry. He is a Chartered Accountant, has a Masters in Management by Research (MMR) from Wits Business School, and attended an Advanced Management Programme (AMP) offered by INSEAD (The Business School for the World!) in France.
Graeme is the founder of The Grahamstown Project. It’s simple. He says, “Grahamstown is a microcosm of South Africa. If we can’t get this place to function properly then the whole country is stuffed. Many of the troubles we experience as a country today have their roots here in Grahamstown. it is here where black and white people first engaged in conflict on the African continent. It is here where 9 wars of dispossession over 100 years took place and virtually destroyed the amaXhosa nation. But we are where we are. I don’t have a British passport and the boat-trip back to where my ancestors came from is exorbitantly expensive. Furthermore, this is my home. I am a son of Africa. We must work together to redress the injustices of the past and move as one into a brighter future.”
Graeme is an avid historian, writer, vlogger and public speaker. Like and follow the Facebook page. Join him on a tour. Contact him. He would love that.