Between the Vaal River to the north and the Gariep (Orange) River to the south lies an undulating plateau and sparsely populated prairie land known as Free State. In the latter half of the 19th century the region was an independent Boer Republic governed by the Voortrekkers who had left the British Cape Colony in the 1830s. During this brief period of independence, Bloemfontein developed into a fine modern capital with many grand sandstone buildings. But the discovery of diamonds at Jagersfontein and Kimberley, along with gold in the second independent Boer Republic of the time, led to the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War on 11 October 1899, a fact that has left its mark on the province.
While there is not much to see in the arid farmlands to the west of Bloemfontein, the Maluti Mountains in the eastern Free State hold many surprises. The scenery is spectacular as it rises to meet the lands of Lesotho, scattered with dams, mountain rivers and nature reserves, and connected by pretty rural villages with a wide range of accommodation choices and activities. At the centre of this area lies the spectacular Golden Gate Highlands National Park, where, even during the summer months, the hills can sometimes be covered with snow.
Bloemfontein is one of South Africa’s most central transport hubs for buses, flights and trains, so you will not have any trouble getting to the Free State’s capital. Getting around this part of South Africa is another matter, however, and you will need a car to explore it properly. The general flow of traffic is between the Cape and Johannesburg along the N1 but there are several contrasting routes you can take from Bloemfontein.
The N1 north takes you across the veld to Johannesburg; most of the countryside is flat and scattered with ugly mine dumps. There is little to stop for between here and Gauteng. The N1 south passes by the early settler towns of the Xhariep region before entering the Great Karoo. There is a long way to go before you reach the first fertile valleys of the Cape. The N8 to the east goes to the higher lands of Lesotho and what are known as the Eastern Highlands. The countryside here is the most spectacular in Free State and this is the main road to Maseru (140 km), the capital of Lesotho. Thaba ’Nchu is a huge township that used not to be signposted from the main road during Apartheid; the lands around here were once part of the quasi-independent homeland known as Bophuthatswana, but it is all Free State today. Finally a short trip to the west along the N8 takes you to the mining town of Kimberley; further west the road skirts the fringes of the Kalahari en route to Namibia.
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