Early in the last century a
young man from Worcester, near Cape Town, Petrus Johannes Meiring (a grandson of Pastor
Arnoldus Meiring who arrived from Lingen in Germany in 1743) rode into the Klein Karoo's
Elephants River Valley. He never stopped exploring and eventually discovered the route
through the Swartberg Mountain Range, which in later years became the famous
Meiringspoort.
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Long before the village was
established, De Rust had already been a place to outspan and rest before challenging the
route through the poort. In 1900 De Rust was established on a portion of Meiring's farm.
The area is malaria-free, safe with a very
low crime rate and we pride ourselves on a fantastic climate - beautiful sunny winter days
with cool nights. Summers are perfect, hot and sunny.
The town itself is peaceful and tree lined with excellent examples of late
19th century architecture. Our drinking water from a mountain spring puts expensive
bottled water to shame..
