Free State Travel Guide
The Free State with its rolling hills, wide golden plains, impressive sandstone mountains and almost 340 days of sunshine per year, is a haven for the outdoor enthusiast.
The two main cities in the province are Bloemfontein, the capital, and Welkom. Bloemfontein is the economic and cultural centre of the Free State. It is also called the City of Roses, a modern city and is seat of the South African Supreme Court.
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The name, Bloemfontein, means Spring of Flowers - a rather pretty name that it does actually live up to. The city is planted with thousands of rose bushes, which makes for a fabulously colourful roadside display. A small nature reserve, strangely enough called Naval Hill, right in the middle of the city carries the green theme a bit further.
There's the usual smattering of art galleries and some interesting museums, including the War Museum and the National Women's Monument . OK - so Bloemfontein is not exactly the tourist mecca of the universe, but it's a good stopover place if you're driving the N1 and it's probably worth spending a day there if you have the time. There are decent restaurants, some nice pubs and some good live music venues. It's also the closest city to the Kingdom of Lesotho.
Bloemfontein Accommodation
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South Africa
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The unique Golden Gate National Park was established in 1963 to protect its spectacular sandstone highlands, which are unsurpassed in their variety of rock shapes and colour.
A great number of rare and unusual flowers grow here, including arum lilies, watsonias, fire lilies and red-hot pokers. There is also a magnificent and colourful variety of game animals and birdlife.
Great caves and rock shelters are set in a landscape filled with spectacular colours and unusual rocks.
Golden Gate Accommodation
The Free State's largest nature reserve is a combination of the 36 487 ha Gariep Dam (which holds back a vast 6 000 million cubic litres of water) on the Orange River and an 11 237 ha game sanctuary on its northern shore.
The game reserve accommodates the largest population of springbok in any reserve in the country and also features Cape mountain zebra, klipspringer, black wildebeest, red hartebeest and ostrich.
Situated between Bloemfontein and Colesberg in the Free State, it is an ideal place to stop over on your way between Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Gariep Dam Accommodation