Travel guide to the Free State, South Africa

Advanced Search

Search our Site:

sitemap

Welcome to the Free State - South Africa's Judicial Capital: -

The main route between Johannesburg and Cape Town (N1) crosses the Free State – retracing the steps of the early missionaries, explorers and Voortrekkers across the great plains.

The Free State offers beautiful scenery and alternative experiences for the off-the -beaten-track traveller and is an excellent gateway into Lesotho.

For more info on the Free State experience and how to get to Lesotho and Malealea Lodge, speak to Hanno at Naval Hill Backpackers.

This page contains information on the various towns on the backpacking route in the Free State. The lodges in each town are linked to their home page.

Each lodge has a booking facility for each room in their establishment or the places on their tours. If you wish to book just follow the instructions on their booking page.

Travel Guide to Backpacking Accommodation in the Free State - South Africa

Select a region or town from the list below: - You will be taken to that region or town.

Bloemfontein.
Naval Hill Backpackers.
Rustlers Backpackers.
Free State - Detailed Map.
The South Sotho People of the Free State.
The Free States Best Lodges.
Free State Backpackers Associations.

Backpack Africa International

Backpack Africa International Logo - Your guarentee of approval in travel
Your Stamp of approval

If you start your journey in Johannesburg you head south on the N1 for a mammoth +1400km journey to Cape Town. Over and above the regular two hour breaks on a long drive an overnight stop in South Africa's Judicial Capital – Bloemfontein is a worthwhile consideration.

At Naval Hill Backpackers you can "outspan" as the Voortrekkers did. This South African term refers to releasing the oxen from the wagon and making camp for the night.

While your intentions may have been to stay a day this outspan process can last longer due to the persuasive lodge manager at Naval Hill Backpackers – Hanno. Hanno will take you on a exploratory visit to this city called the “Rose Capital” of South Africa and also expose you to the wild life in the area – of both animal and human varieties. Daily organised shuttle to Lesotho and Malealea Lodge.

Free State Map

Besotho Cultural Village Free State South Africa When the Boers trekked away from British rule at the Cape in 1836, they crossed the Orange River and found vast, sparsely inhabited grasslands dotted with koppies and teeming with game.

Here they outspanned their oxen, built homesteads and cultivated crops.

Today, this immense, rolling prairie is cloaked with enormous agricultural fields, and the N1 highway links modern towns and rich gold mines, following a similar route to the trail blazed by the Voortrekkers

Away from the streamlined highways, you’ll discover the unique, intriguing character of the province.

Bloemfontein Appeal Court Free State South Africa Quiet villages where life goes by at an enviable, carefree tempo; magnificent sandstone cliffs and mountains soaring high; hiking trails meandering through green valleys, and Bushman paintings evoking images of distant battles, dreams and legends.

And then there are the rivers. The ever-popular playgrounds of the Orange in the south, and its major tributary, the Vaal, attract scores of holiday-makers.

Besides water sports, outdoor enthusiasts have unlimited opportunities for horse-riding, game-viewing, hunting and bird-watching.

The South Sotho People of the Free State

City Hall Bloemfontein Free State South Africa Although most South Sotho ( Basthoto ) people live in the kingdom of Lesotho, many of them inhabit Qwaqwa and other parts of the Free State.

Both men and women, winter and summer, dress in brightly coloured blankets.

The conical, curiously oriental-looking straw hat worn by men is the national emblem of Lesotho.

Marriage customs among traditional South Sotho people involve the exchange of lobola, whereby the bridegroom gives a specified number of cattle to the bride’s parents.

Marriage between relatives is permitted for the simple reason that the practice keeps wealth within the family.

Old tribal traditions still linger in the mountains where the inhabitants are fairly isolated. Farmers till the fields with hand-held ox-drawn ploughs, and they keep cattle, sheep and goats.

Information and images provided courtesy of SATOUR

Backpacker Associations
| BAI - BackPack Africa International | BTSA | HISA |

Backpacker Travel Guides
| Lonely Planet | Rough Guide | Lets Go |

Tourism Associations
| Gauteng Tourism Association |