Middelburg is a town of 19,000 people (2011) in the Eastern Cape.

Understand

Middelburg was founded in 1852 halfway between the towns of Graaff-Reinet and Colesberg. The city sits at an altitude of 1279 m in the Great Karoo. One focus in agriculture is sheep breeding; a special breed here is the Dorper sheep. There are also some ostrich farms. Some farms have specialized in keeping game for hunting.

Get in

Middelburg lies approximately 100 km from Graaff-Reinet, Cradock, Steynsburg, Colesberg, Richmond & Hanover.

Take the N9 from Colesberg. The N9 and the N10 cross near Middelburg.

The R56, the shortest route between the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, ends at Middelburg.

See

• Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute. Outside of Middelburg, in addition to a museum, there is a herbarium with over 1000 plant species. (updated Mar 2021)

Eat

There's a Saddlers and at least one more proper a la carte restaurant.

Sleep

Oucor has converted retail space into modern rooms for travelers staying over for the night.

Go next

Continue with the N9 to Graaff-Reinet.