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Free State - Eastern Freestate Routes |  |
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The presence of gold was suspected on the grassland plains to the north of Bloemfontein as far back as the 1930s, after farming interests hit a lava seam in their search for precious water, but it wasn't until 1946 that a fabulously rich seam of the precious metal was unearthed. The seam turned out to be an incredibly rich extension of the famed Witwatersrand Reef far to the north, and by the early 1950s the mines were penetrating deep into the ground, satellite industries were proliferating and brand new towns had been born. Biggest of the centres and still the 'capital' of the region is Welkom. Gold changed the character of this part of the Free State, and has indeed added interest to it, but the region has retained much of its traditional, pastoral, rather sleepy personality, which will charm those who set out to explore the byways.
Virginia One of the region's more recently established centres, somewhat similar to nearby Welkom but smaller, and very much a 'garden town'. A visit to one of the workings (among these is the famed Harmony Mine) is a must. So is a trip around the local biltong (dried venison) factory. Tourist amenities include the local golf club (an especially challenging course), and the game reserve, home to some otherwise elusive antelope species. Winburg On the N1 highway south-east of Welkom, Winburg served as the first capital of the territory which became the Orange Free State. Founded in 1842, the name means 'town of victory' - which commemorates, not some feat of arms or a grand political triumph but the conclusion of an argument among the founding trekker-burgers about where exactly to build their village. Worth visiting is the Voortrekker Monument and its adjacent museum, and the Garden of Remembrance. Willem Pretorius Game Reserve Located to the north-east of Winburg (see above), this 9,000-hectare sanctuary girds the spacious Allemanskraal Dam, focus of a pleasant public resort. Numbered among the reserve's wildlife are white rhino, giraffe, buffalo, wildebeest, many kinds of antelope and about 220 bird species (waterbirds on the dam, game birds on the grasslands; breeding martial and fish eagles may also be seen). The public resort, set on a rocky hill overlooking the dam, offers self-catering accommodation, restaurant, shop, swimming pool, golf course and a bowling green. Theunissen North-west of Winburg; a small centre whose surrounding area is noted for the Free State's only wine farm (visitors are welcome to sample the vintages), and for the Erfenis Dam Nature Reserve. The latter, which straddles the Vet River, is a popular angler's venue but there's also much for the game-viewer on the grasslands and among the marshes, including plains zebra, black wildebeest and various antelope species. Protea Pan A large salt-pan 13 kilometres from the tiny centre of Bultfontein, special for its flock of flamingos. Closer to Bultfontein is the A.C. van Wyk Game Reserve. Sandveld Nature Reserve This largish (37,000-hectare) expanse of grassland, Kalahari thornveld and wetland, around the spacious Bloemhof Dam at the confluence of the Vet and Vaal rivers some 10 kilometres from the village of Hoopstad, is home to a number of big game animals, among them rhino, giraffe, buffalo, blue wildebeest and various kinds of buck. It also encloses a predator park. Waterbirds, among them wild ducks and geese, are attracted to the dam - as are anglers and picnickers. Bothaville The village, on the sandy banks of the Vals River, is the hub of an extensive maize-growing area; of interest to visitors is its surprising floral wealth: At least two farms in the surrounding area are famed for their cultivated roses. One of them - Middelbult - also features miniature vegetables and Arabian horses; Arabian breeds can also be viewed at the Sadat horse farm. Bothaville boasts one of the country's few surviving 'witblitz' ('white lightning') stills, a large copper affair used for producing a powerful brandy-type home brew much favoured by country folk until fairly recent times. |
NOTE!
GOLDFIELDS Western Cape
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