The Southern Free State, South Africa's
"Tuscany" Welcome to the
Southern Free State
website, Xhariep (or Gariep) region!
Dedicated to put Rouxville, Smithfield and Zastron on the map!
Tranquility, hospitality and tons of space, what more could you want?
Check the links above
to the various places in this area or view the general info below. As the site is growing we will start with a focus
on Smithfield, Rouxville and Zastron but very soon expand our information to
cover all the dorps in the Southern Free State. Be sure to check our sections on
the menu bar above.
When I first
came to this part of South Africa, it was because I was looking for a place to get away from it all, a place to invest
(not only money but time as well), a place that had not been "discovered". An original place if you know what I mean.. I've seen most of South Africa, from Cape Town to the Kruger park.
Understandably, most foreigners and South Africans alike normally head for the top sites, However, the trend now seems to be changing, where more any more people search for those authentic places, away from the tourist routes and crammed places.
As this site grows, we will be showing more and more of what each village and location has to offer! For the moment we are focusing on Smithfield, Rouxville and Zastron as these are the places that have had the least attention, although that is soon to change! From typical small towns and villages to vast open spaces, to mountain views, the largest dam in South Africa, the most incredible San rock paintings to the nice and welcoming people, all there for you to discover!
Did we mention it just happens to be in the
most beautiful part of the Free State, that the biggest river
(Orange river) as well as the biggest South African Dam are mere
kilometers away, that you can takes you skis in the winter, that you
are very close to the fantastic mountains in Lesotho, that etc, etc?
Well, you get the picture..
Ever dreamed of ending up traveling to a great
little place no one seems to know about?
If so, you've come to the right place. Do you like
nature, water, mountains, snow in winter, peace of
mind? Check out our main feature pages on
Rouxville,
Smithfield and
Zastron!
Most know South Africa, a wonderful country of contrasts, incredible nature and wonderful people!
But some people do not know the Southern Free State.
While the Free State might evoke pictures of vast open fields, The Southern Free
State is much more!
This site intends to showcase some of what the Southern part of the Free State province has to over, and it's a lot!
I think South Africa is an incredible country, hot tourist coastal spot or not! We just want to show you a different side of South Africa, that of the Southern Free State, a side you might not know and that we want to share with you, hoping you will appreciate the wonders it has to offer and that you will pay us a visit soon!
The Mohokare Municipal area
Rouxville is part of the Mohokare Local Municipal area, in the Xhariep district as are Zastron and Smithfield.
The Mohokare Municipal area is situated in the south-eastern Free State. It has the smallest surface area of the three local municipalities in the Xhariep district, covering a mere 8 743 square kilometres (26%). The towns in Mohokare are Zastron, Smithfield and Rouxville.
Maloti Route and Friendly N6 Route
Rouxville is part of the Maloti Route and Smithfield and Rouxville of the
Friendly N6 route. The Maloti Route spans the borders between South Africa and the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho to cover substantial portions of Lesotho as well as the eastern Free State and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.
The route provides travellers with the opportunity to experience a diversity of cultures - including Basotho, English, Xhosa and Afrikaans.
The Maloti Route has something to intrigue and interest everyone - tourists can visit friendly villages, walk where dinosaurs left their footprints, find arts and crafts of the highest quality, fly-fish, visit renown rock art sites, ski &
snow, pony trek and hike. Accommodation on the route ranges from huts in local villages while pony trekking in Lesotho, to homely B&Bs, to graded hotels and luxury lodges.
Links
Check out our main feature pages on Rouxville, Smithfield and Zastron!
Tussen die Riviere Game Farm is our section on this very nice game farm
Xhariep District Municipality have their own very interesting website
Have a look at a slideshow, with plenty of pictures on Smithfield, Rouxville, Zastron, Xhariep.
Both the Friendly N6 Route and the Maloti Route
come through this beautiful area.
Check here for a map of the
Entire Maloti Route or
the Friendly N6 Route
Magazines -
Why take our word for it?
Check out the editions of Country Life SA and Getaway SA to see what they have to say!Country Life featured
3
stories on Smithfield
and Getaway a short passage on the Famous Pig Out in
Smithfield.
Getaway Magazine also published a story on our dorps
ToGoTo Magazine (formerly Nouveau) Autumn 2006 had a number of stories on the Smithfield area and is a great source for good stories, ideas, pictures on central southern Africa.
The Maloti Route for the Rouxville part of the Maloti Route
Entire Maloti Route site
Other general sites related to the area
Have a look at the official Freestate Province site an excellent site with some great pictures in order to a good impression of the Transgariep area, make sure to have a look at the friendly N6 route described, passing through Rouxville.
Freestate online also provides some nice insights and tourist information although it is much about Bloemfontein.
Last but certainly not least have a look at the Free State Provincial Government site, which has (besides useful info for residents) also loads of information of Free State and links to several other sites. Finally there is the Free State Business Bulletin with some nice updated information on their website.
Talking about business, you might want to check out the
Business Referral and
Information Network (BRAIN) site on Free State, which has some statistics
and plenty of info for the business person.
So what are you waiting for? Explore and we look forward to welcome you to our wonderful dorps in the future.
Freestate Province Transgariep Area is a government site about the area
SA explorer is more about the Bloemfontein area
Villages, other tourism sites
Check out our section on the Tussen die Riviere Game Farm
For more general information on SA check out the
South African Explorer Travel Atlas.
The South African Travel Atlas is an online destination guide and map of tourist and recreational activities in South Africa. Includes accommodation, attractions, activities, game parks, nature reserves, many photographs, and much more.
Current weather and forecast for the region can be found here.
About the author of these pages: David Korver, MA, MBA, RODP, is a Dutch, full-time employed organisational development consultant, having worked as a management consultant for large European companies. Son of missionaries, having grown up in Portugal, lived in Zimbabwe and Mozambique for a great number of years and traveled to many other African countries.He is married
and has 3 daugthers, and seeks to combine work with having fun whenever possible. He believes in South Africa and it's huge potential and challenges for equitable development!
Other sites developed by him include
www.korver.com
David Korver at Matobo National
Park
Zimbabwe
