This is part of a series of posts following the LookSouth Road Trip from September 2023.
1 September – Spring has sprung… what better time to head out on a roadtrip around South Africa.
The plan?
To do a hiking trail along the Western Cape coast, then travel up the west coast to view the Namaqualand Daisies and play some golf.
The two-week trip included:
First stop – Kuilfontein Stable Cottages outside Colesberg;
The next two days a visit to the quaint village of Nieu-Bethesda, and stay over at Breathe Cottage, Uniondale;
Then onto the four-day Oystercatcher Trail at Boggoms Bay;
After the trail drive to Jacobsbaai and Springbok to find the flowers;
The final stop – Magersfontein Golf Estate.
Our Arrival in Colesburg
On the first day of our journey from Johannesburg we passed the small farming and mining town of Theunissen (named after a Boer War Commandant), 45kms south of Welkom on the R30.
A feature of the town is a class 16DA locomotive that was withdrawn in 1973. It was sanded, repaired and painted to its original plinth colours by the Outdoor School Knoppiesvlei.
1820 Settlers established farms in the district, a well-travelled route used by traders, hunters and explorers. In the centre of Colesberg is the beautiful Dutch Reformed Church built in 1866, with the tower added in 1926.
We spent the night on the outskirts of Colesberg (famous for its merino sheep farming and racehorse stud farms) at the Kuilfontein Guest farm. 1820 Settlers established farms in the district, a well-travelled route used by traders, hunters and explorers.
We were very privileged on the farm to spot a wedge of SA’s national bird – the magnificent Blue Crane. Interestingly, the collective noun for Blue Cranes in flight is a wedge of Blue Cranes.
Click here to continue reading Part 2 of the story