Gap Year News Articles

World famous hostel closes down

22 Jul 2010

The iconic Old Gaol backpackers destination in Grahamstown, South Africa will close its doors for the last time at the end of this month. generations of gap year travellers have been posting tributes on Facebook and Twitter as it faces closure. Owner Brian Peltasson lost a campaign to keep it open with the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) but he has opened a new hostel across town. Peltasson said that his new venue may have 30 beds, but unlike the Old Gaol, it does not have a pub or several live music venues and it is nowhere near 186 years old. In recent years SAHRA objected to the running of a pub from a national monument and decided to open a “heritage training centre” there instead.