Gariep Dam from Wall
Cousin S' farm is some 7 hours from Johannesburg, so we left the following morning. We travelled on the N1, past Kroonstad, through Bloemfontein and the Free State and into the Eastern Cape. It was interesting to travel to the Eastern Cape again; I hadn't been there in 10 or more years. We turned off the national road about 150km south of Bloem and filled up with petrol. We then stopped at the Gariep (formerly HF Verwoerd) Dam. There was a lot of water in the dam although the countryside was dry.
We turned off near Venterstad and headed for Steynsburg and S' farm. The regional roads are in surprisingly good condition and the remainder of the trip took about an hour. The country around Venterstad is relatively flat interspersed with the rugged flat topped hills that are iconic to the karoo landscape.
Typical Karoo Landscape
We went down a small very windey pass, the road dotted with rocks; some large some small, from frequent rockslides that plague the cutting. It was really a wake-up call after the earlier monotony of the flatland. Crossing the railway line as we entered Steynsburg, it felt like entering a time warp,everything looked exactly the same as it had done when we visited as children, only a bit more decrepit and definitely a lot more uncared for.
Turning left towards Molteno, and following the railway line we headed for the farm. Every few kilometres or so we passed homesteads, all surrounded by tall trees and all green oases of cultivated lands and gardens. The karoo, and this area in particular is floating on a vast network of underground aquifers, providing the lifeblood of the farms. Farms seem inevitably named after the underground springs, "fonteine", that sustain the livestock. "Roosterfontein", "Morsfontein" and "Vlakfontein" are typical of the trend.
The dirt road to S' farm branches north on the outskirts of town. Forget what I said earlier about the well maintained roads! This one in particular was appalling and appeared never to have been graded. Interesting new landmarks in the form of solar powered telephone microwave towers now dot the landscape. They will never compete with the iconic and ever-present windmills though!
It was about lunchtime and we had arrived. Some things for certain had not changed: the Karoo hospitality and the quality (and quantity) of the food.
Turning left towards Molteno, and following the railway line we headed for the farm. Every few kilometres or so we passed homesteads, all surrounded by tall trees and all green oases of cultivated lands and gardens. The karoo, and this area in particular is floating on a vast network of underground aquifers, providing the lifeblood of the farms. Farms seem inevitably named after the underground springs, "fonteine", that sustain the livestock. "Roosterfontein", "Morsfontein" and "Vlakfontein" are typical of the trend.
The dirt road to S' farm branches north on the outskirts of town. Forget what I said earlier about the well maintained roads! This one in particular was appalling and appeared never to have been graded. Interesting new landmarks in the form of solar powered telephone microwave towers now dot the landscape. They will never compete with the iconic and ever-present windmills though!
It was about lunchtime and we had arrived. Some things for certain had not changed: the Karoo hospitality and the quality (and quantity) of the food.
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