Its SouthAfrica

Thabo Mofutsanyana, the Eastern Free State, is undoubtedly the core of the province, encapsulating the essence of its diversity.

It is here that the Maluti Mountains meet those of the Drakensberg to form a rugged sandstone backdrop to an area that contains: charming towns, despite the distance between them that include Clarens; undulating hills, battle sites, first rate fly fishing, the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, and the annual Ficksburg cherry festival.

Resting between the Orange River in the south and the Vaal River in the north, the Eatern Free State (Thabo Mofutsanyana) boasts a rugged and mountainous area in the east that is completely contrary to the Free State image of endless maize fields and dry, blue skies. These served the Basotho people (people of the peaks) who used the caves and slopes of the Maluti Mountains as hideaways and a means of defence in years gone by.

The valleys, by contrast, are densely vegetated, through which hiking trails effortlessly provide one with breathtaking scenery, including the Korannaberg hiking Trail at Excelsior.

The Golden Gate National Park, the Free State’s only national park, lies in the rolling foothills of the Maluti Mountains, close to Clarens.

The Qwa-Qwa National Park, which merged with Golden Gate Highlands national park, includes the Basotho cultural village and other historical highlights such as the Van Reenen family graveyard.

Some twenty seven farms near Fouriesburg claim instances of Bushman rock art, Tweespruit boasts the Claerhout Art Gallery, Bethlehem, the commercial centre of Thabo Mofutsanyana is also home to the Wolhuterskop Nature Reserve, and November is the time to visit Ficksburg for the famous cherry festival. How much more persuasion does one need?