Free State

South Africa’s Free State province boasts some of the most impressive rock features in the world. It’s most renowned for the mighty sandstone cliffs that tower above the Golden Gate Highlands National Park and the hills at Vredefort that form part of a pre-historic meteorite impact crater. Scientists gauge that the meteorite was 10km in diameter, larger than South Africa’s Table Mountain.

The bushman or San paintings are one of South Africa’s greatest cultural treasures. The San people lived in the Drakensberg area for thousands of years before being exterminated in clashes with the Zulus and white settlers. Although the San people are gone, they have left behind a fascinating insight in the paintings and over 20,000 examples at over 500 locations have been recorded.

Golden Gate Highlands National Park

The 12,000 hectare Golden Gate Highlands National Park is famous for it’s ‘Mountains of Gold’ where ochre and gold sandstone outcrops offer up some of the most spectacular scenery in South Africa. The park is well stocked with Eland, Red Hartebeest, Black Wildebeest, Blesbok and Zebra. Look out of the Black Eagles and Bearded Vultures. There are some fantastic vantage points throughout the reserve including Generaalskop, Zuluhoek and the highest, Ribbokop.

Bloemfontein – City of Roses

The city of Bloemfontein (known as The City of Roses) offers a relaxed urban lifestyle with a country feel. There are some excellent restaurants, art galleries and museums. Make sure that you watch a sunset from Naval Hill for its view over the city or and make the annual Rose Festival in October. It’s also a student town and one of the host cities for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. ‘Bloem’ has its very own brand of architecture and a number of high-quality hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs.

Gariep Dam and Watersports

The Free State has three major water sports venues; the Vaal River (northern Free State), Gariep Dam (the largest dam in South Africa) and Sterkfontein Dam (near Harrismith).

Water sports such as fishing and sailing are particularly popular.