Free State flats

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not dishing the Free State. It has some stunningly beautiful areas... but not on the N1. Driving the N1 between the Eastern / Western Cape and Gauteng is like pulling teeth. The land is flat and the road just goes on forever. After miles and miles of flat you go up a bit of … Continue reading Free State flats →

Twin Towered Church

The 'Tweetoringkerk' (Twin Towered Church) in Bloemfontein is one of the city's most notable buildings. It's cornerstone was laid by President Brand in 1878. It was built in the German neo-Gothic style and inuargirated on 7 May 1880. Up to then the occasion was the biggest Bloemfontein has ever seen with about 6 000 people attending, most of … Continue reading Twin Towered Church →

National Afrikaans Literature Museum

The National Afrikaans Literature Museum in Bloemfontein is only about a block from the Fourth Raadsaal I featured yesterday. This building originally accommodated the government structures of the Republic of the Orange Free State in the 1800s and is reminiscent of the old Cape-Dutch architecture in the area. The National Afrikaans Literature Museum, with the … Continue reading National Afrikaans Literature Museum →

The Fourth Raadsaal

Bloemfontein in the Free State has a collection of beautiful historic buildings and statues all situated in the centre of town. The one I liked the most on my recent visit was the Fourth Raadsaal. The foundation stone was laid by then Orange Free State President F. W. Reitz in 1890 and the building was completed in … Continue reading The Fourth Raadsaal →

Bloemfontein from Naval Hill

The city of Bloemfontein (Bloem meaning bloom or flower and fontein meaning fountain) is the capital of the Free State province and is situated roughly in the centre of South Africa. The city's nickname is the City of Roses (although there wasn't really any roses in bloom around at the time of my visit. Perhaps … Continue reading Bloemfontein from Naval Hill →

Gariep Dam revisited

Two years ago we camped at the Forever Resorts' Gariep Dam Resort and had a marvelous time in the sun and next to the pool. Afterwards I did this post on the dam. Last week we headed for Gauteng for Chaos Boy to compete in the SA Trampoline Championships and stopped at the Gariep Dam on the … Continue reading Gariep Dam revisited →

Gariep Dam Sunrise

With the sun rising just after 05:00 am, I didn't think that I will be able to get up early enough to get a decent sunrise pic over the Gariep Dam while on holiday. But luck (if you can call it that)was on my side. One night we had a couple with three small kids … Continue reading Gariep Dam Sunrise →

Gariep Dam

The big unpacking has started. We got back yesterday from our two week camping holiday and everything is out of the car and waiting to be sorted, cleaned or stored. At least I've downloaded all my pics. The first week was spent camping at the Gariep Dam in the center of South Africa while the … Continue reading Gariep Dam →