Centurion to Weppener.

At 0km...,

In December 2011 my wife, Cheryl, and I took a quick three day photographic journey to Philippolis via Bethulie. Both these towns are in the southern Freestate. The area is quite arid and flat with of course the 'mighty' Orange river flowing into the Gariep dam.

We stayed in Bethulie the first night and then drove to Philippolis for our 2nd and last night. On the third day we drove back home. We drove  a total of about 1600km over the three days.

I wrote about this journey in my blog starting at the end and working my way back to the beginning.

........this is the beginning.....

At 210km's...

We left Centurion early the morning and drove as much as we could to get out of the City environment and to reach the 'platteland' as quickly as possible. Our first stop was at 210km where I was attracted by the row of bluegum of trees on the horizon and the ubiquitous watermill that is found all over our country.

click on images to enlarge...

At 334km, just outside Welkom where we stopped for breakfast,  I saw this typical farmgate with the names of the farmer and his wife written in red on the white gate. ...'Jan' en 'Koekie'...I always wondered why we Afrikaners name so many of our woman after a biscuit......opposite the gate on the other side of the road was a lone telephone pole assisted by another pole with the flat Freestate landscape behind

At 416km's...

Because of roadworks on the main road to Bloemfontein we took a detour through Brandfort. We stopped and stretched our legs in front of this beautiful and well preserved old Dutch Reformed Church...

At 511k's...

Bloemfontein was a big disappointment, not that we wanted to stop and take photographs, but it just looked so tatty and dirty, and this was just before the 100th anniversary of the ANC which was held there a few days later....I hoped the city council made an attempt to clean up the city..

After we had left Bloemfontein we drove through the townships adjacent to the city for a very long distance before we reached open and clean landscapes. It is quite nerve wracking driving through the township areas as the normal rules of the road don't apply. The are no more fences next to the road so one would have cattle and goats casually strolling across the road in front off incomming traffic, pedestians walking all over the place and taxis doing what South African taxis do.....

Once we had left the city behind we were in the typical Freestate landscape again were there are only yellow grass land, clouds and telephone poles....

At 558km's ...

On the road to Dewetsdorp we saw this typical rural bridge over a small river. The bridge was painted white and reminded me of my youth. In those days we didn't have any highways and we always traveled on roads just like the one we were on now.....narrow roads through an unending flat grass landscape with the only points of interest the telephone lines, black tar roads and every now and again the little white bridges.....

regards, Ivan...