Smithfield to Philippolis – the upper Gariep route

WWith the magnificent Gariep Dam as its centre spot, this road trip through the southern Free State takes you back in time to the days of early human habitation and the violent era of the South African (Second Anglo-Boer) War, to quiet little villages that have hardly been touched by the hands of time. 

Our journey along what we'll call the upper Gariep route begins in the southern Free State town of Smithfield, a place of farmers, artists and publicans. 

If you’re someone who likes to paint or draw a country landscape, set up your easel and capture the pure space of the veld (wild fields) around Smithfield. Here’s a mountain outline, there’s a windmill silhouette and a secretary bird on an early-morning hunt for breakfast. 

We return to our B&B and a generous meal to start the day. Then we walk through Smithfield, meet some of its friendly townsfolk and peek into the various general dealers, art galleries and craft shops along the way before getting in our vehicle and heading off. 

Shortly before lunch we arrive at the concentration camp memorial outside Bethulie. The graveyard contains the remains of more than 1 700 people who died here during the South African (Second Anglo-Boer) War at the turn of the 20th century. 

These concentration camp sites are a sad part of this country’s backstory, but very interesting from a military history point of view. 

We forage for some lunch in a Bethulie pub and then wander down the road to the village of Gariep, perched on a hill overlooking the great dam of the same name. 

Tonight we stay in a chic establishment called the De Stijl Gariep Hotel, dine on gourmet food and take our nightcaps on the porch overlooking the legendary Gariep Dam. 

In the morning, we sip coffee and watch the sun rise over the dam, one of the most romantic settings in the vast Karoo. 

We spend the day being ‘dude Karoo farmers’ on Prior Grange Guest Farm at nearby Springfontein. If you have an interest in ancient rock etchings or the South African War, then stay close to the owner, Blackie de Swardt. He is passionate about those subjects – also about farming and cricket. (By the way, Prior Grange has its own cricket pitch, and if it’s your lucky day, you can get to watch some good country cricket.) 

After a lovely evening spent in the Prior Grange guest cottages and the pub in the old barn, we have breakfast and head west to Philippolis on a scenic dirt road. 

This old town is worth a full day’s wander. Because it never underwent an architectural remake like so many other country towns of the 1950s, Philippolis still retains its Victorian-era charm. Many first-time visitors to Philippolis end up buying little weekend cottages here – and many of them come here to live at some stage of their life. 

There’s a good book shop, an art gallery, a number of guesthouses and, on surrounding farms, some great birding to be done. 

One of the special features of the Philippolis area is Tiger Canyons, where visitors can arrange to see a tiger-breeding programme. The sight of one of these magnificent beasts striding the flat lands of the Karoo is pure magic...