The Whyte House

During 2014 we came across and purchased an isolated plot with the most magnificent views of the Sneeuberg Mountains. We felt that this would be a perfect location to establish an upmarket guesthouse and thereby add further value to tourist accommodation in Graaff-Reinet. In 2015 we assembled a team of locals and started an owner built adventure. From our Karoo farm , Ou Tweefontein, hidden 53 km away in the Sneeuberg mountains we sourced all the necessary poplar beams for the thatch structure, as well as the reeds which were used for the ceilings of the rooms. All the gravel and sand was trucked in as well from our dry river beds. Finally in July 2016 the Whyte House was completed. We look forward to giving all our guests a very warm welcome and endeavor to make your Karoo visit unforgettable!

Surrounded by the Camdeboo National Park, Graaff-Reinet, the heart of the “Great Karoo” – Place of Thirst – is a boundless and mysterious area covered by vast livestock and game farms, where broad plains roll away to distant koppies and multilayered mountains that seem to touch the indigo sky. Our guest house offers accommodation in Graaff-Reinet which allow you to listen to the silence, breathe in the aged earth and the Karoo bossies (which conjure up the taste of Karoo lamb!), and gaze at a startlingly clear horizon that seems drawn at the other end of the earth. Our clear night skies are studded with countless stars and huge bright planets; even other galaxies are visible with the naked eye, offering some of the best star gazing in the world. Fossils of some of the earliest forms of one-celled life have been discovered here, indicating that life has existed in this region for three billion years. The richness of pre-dinosaur fossils in this region is world-renowned. We invite you to experience the magic of this area, discover eccentric little hamlets, sprawling farmsteads, the historical town of Graaff-Reinet and the nearby villages of Aberdeen and Nieu Bethesda!