Into Lesotho - 320km

FOURIESBURG

...lies within the territory disputed by the Basotho under Moshoeshoe I, resulting in the Basotho wars of 1858, 1865 and 1867. In terms of the Treaty of Thaba Bosiu, signed in 1866 by Chief Paulus Mopeli (Moshoeshoe’s brother), the areas of Fouriesburg, Clarens, the Little Caledon River and Witsieshoek were awarded to the Orange Free State. Fouriesburg also figured in the South African War: following the occupation of Bloemfontein by British forces in March 1900, the Boer forces fell back to the Brandwater Basin, establishing a provisional government at Fouriesburg and making the town their headquarters. The British sealed off five of the six passes giving access to the basin and encountered little resistance from the Boers when they attacked Slabbert’s Nek on 23 July. The only remaining exit, the Golden Gate, was sealed off on 28 July and the following day General Marthinus Prinsloo and 4 300 men surrendered. About 20 km east of Fouriesburg, a memorial to the British and Boer forces killed in battle marks the site of Surrender Hill, where the Boers laid down their arms. General JH Olivier, however, refused to recognise the surrender and escaped with 1 500 men through the Golden Gate. In Fouriesburg itself is the house where President Marthinus Steyn lived during the town’s brief tenure as a capital city.

FICKSBURG

...lies in a magnificent setting between the Mpharane (Imperani) Mountains and the western banks of the Caledon River. Founded in 1867, the town was named after Commandant-General Johan Fick, who commanded the Boer forces in the Third Basotho War. The town is centred around a nucleus of three sandstone buildings: the old Magistrate’s Court, built in the late 19th century, the Town Hall (1897) and the Post Office (1907). The Magistrate’s Court now serves as a museum devoted to the town’s history and the cherry industry.

The fertile valley of the Caledon River here is covered with wheatlands, fields of asparagus and cherry orchards, and is especially attractive during the first three weeks of September when the white cherry blossoms transform the valley into a fairy-tale landscape. The cool, mild winter temperatures are ideally suited to growing cherries, and the Ficksburg region has become the largest producer of this fruit in South Africa. Twelve cultivars are grown, with yellow cherries being produced for the glacé industry and ‘red’ cherries sold for fresh consumption. In November the town hosts the annual Cherry Festival.

CLOCOLAN

...takes its name from the Sesotho word hlohloloane, which is translated as ‘bump and fight’ – a reference to a dispute over a basket of wheat. Situated to the west of Prynn’s Mountain, the town was laid out on two farms in 1906. The cherry industry of the eastern Free State originated in the Clocolan district, where the first trees were planted by Henry Pickstone in 1904. The surrounding farms are also important producers of wheat, maize and potatoes. Handwoven carpets, rugs, jerseys and other articles are produced by Lethoteng Weavers, a community project, at an informal factory in the town.

MODDERPOORT

...ranks as one of South Africa’s top cultural attractions and features San rock art, Iron Age remains and the well-known Cave Church. The 6 000-ha farm Modderpoort was bought for the Society of St Augustine by Bishop Twells in 1869. The first place of worship was a rock shelter, which was ingeniously converted into a church by building a wall, incorporating a door and window, across the entrance. The priory was built in 1871 and the sandstone church was completed in 1902. The graves of missionaries who worked here can still be seen, as well as the grave of the Basotho prophetess, Mantsopa Makheta. Fearing that she would become too powerful, Moshoeshoe sent her into exile to Modderpoort in the late 1860s, where she converted to Christianity. Following her conversion, it appears that she practised a combination of traditional ancestor worship and Christianity. Pilgrims still visit her grave.