One of the beauties of back roads touring in our beloved country is there are generally fewer predators out there. I’m thinking this as we leave Richmond in our 4x4 SUV media vehicle — much sought after by hijackers — and make our way onto the N1 to Colesberg.
About 10km out of town I notice an old BMW sedan behind us, with three guys in it. I probably wouldn’t have worried much if the car had sported a number plate, and if it hadn’t then kept pace with us as we overtook cars and slowed down again; for quite some distance. I even pulled over at one stage to let them pass, but they did not.
With my wife, studying the map for dirt track escape routes, I decide to floor the accelerator and put some distance between us. But just past Hanover I see them hurtling past a line of cars and once again, remain a discreet distance behind us. I need to lose them.
The opportunity comes at the Colesberg off-ramp. Without indicating, I turn left and make like Jason Stratham, squealing under the N1 and smoking out of town as fast as I can on the Norvalspont road. I’m making for a dirt track I know just outside town. When I find it I select 4H and reset my brain to Dakar mode. A few kilometres on I take a lesser dirt track off the main one, a route that will eventually lead us back to Gariepdam, the town where we are meeting an estate agent to view a cheap prefab house we might want to retire to.
About 10km on, we stop on the vlaktes and are grateful to see no-one’s following us. We make our way to Gariepdam, yet unfortunately the cigarette smoke-filled house isn’t for us. But we are not deterred, and plan to see our flight of fancy through by looking at other houses around this centrally located dam, the captivating sheet of water that’s special to us.
Before leaving for our base in historical Bethulie on the 360km2 dam’s northeastern shores, we pause for a while at our favourite view site, a derelict government building on a dead-end road above the town.
Here we soak up the juxtaposed scene of many semi-desert koppies floating in a sea of life-giving silver-blue water. A one-time yachtie, I’ve long pored over the charts of this vast dam and dreamt of buying a bilge keeler, so I can spend a few years exploring its many island anchorages and 345km of coastline. One day.
The estate agent has warned us of a badly potholed section along the R701 en route to Bethulie. She has certainly not overstated the case. But these travails are balanced by the sightings of Cape Mountain Zebra and other plains game we’ve seen wandering peacefully in the Gariep Reserve (it stretches from the dam wall all the way to Bethulie).
Unfortunately, proof of our agent’s other warning, the parlous state of the Kopanong Municipality’s finances, (with responsibility for both Gariepdam and Bethulie) hits us when we rock and roll over the abysmal roads leading to our B&B — only ribbons of tar remain on the badly potholed dirt roads in the residential areas.
Yet, Lavender Rose cottage, privately situated behind one of Bethulie’s big old Victorian houses on an extensive plot, is a bastion of peace and beauty in an otherwise dishevelled looking neighbourhood. Our host tells us that the townsfolk generally have a live-and-let-live approach towards each other, something I bear in mind as we walk around the rose garden and are assaulted by the beat of hip-hop music coming from a house down the road.
She’s also provided us with an informative brochure on the town’s attractions, compiled some time back by local guides, Trudie Venter and the late Peter Robak. It reminds one of just what an important bastion of history Bethulie is. For instance, it’s the site of a Boer War concentration camp where 1,737 inmates died; the haunting Memorial Cemetery; a number of Boer War sites and other monuments, as well as period buildings of varied architecture.
This once four-time “Free State town of the year” has also been a font of prominent South Africans. Folklore heroes, such as the brave Louw Wepener lived in these parts; as did my personal favourite, Patrick Mynhardt, ‘The boy from Bethulie’, who turned the often misunderstood satirist Herman Charles Bosman’s books into living and breathing art forms.
We take a drive to the old concentration camp site the next morning. Trudie has told us not to expect much as all the plaques and headstones have been moved to the Memorial Cemetery. But our silent walk on the dirt track between the obelisk erected by Afrikaners (it has a Pierneef thorn tree engraved on it, symbolic of Totius’s poem Vergewe en Vergeet) and the English Monument (still incomplete as it was made too small to accommodate all the brass plaques) fills us with a brooding sense of the terrible tragedy that unfolded here.
Trudie subsequently told me the latter memorial is the only one the British funded, an acknowledgement of their “bad management” of this and other concentration camps nearby. Of the 154,000 inmates of all the concentration camps, (ironically termed “camps of refuge” by the British) 42,081 deaths were recorded, about half of whom were children.
We’re soon off to see more houses in another dam-side town, Oviston. Also surrounded by a reserve, this prefab town was erected in 1964 to accommodate the workers who built the Orange-Fish River tunnel. At 82.8km long and 5.35m in diameter (a double-decker bus could drive through it) it’s the second biggest water supply conduit in the world.
But first we stop in for a prearranged visit with the long-time manager of Lakeview guest house. We learn it was once the recreation centre for the town’s workers, and also that it’s for sale. Yet, despite it having the best dam view in town, it’s too big and expensive for us, and we make our way to our appointments in the more affordable parts of town.
We don’t find what we’re after this time either, but hey, affordable retirement houses in wacky and romantic places are never easy to find. For now, I’ll just keep on dreaming of that yacht on the lake — all the way to my friend’s holiday home in Wilderness tomorrow.
Travel notes
The route:
Section 1: Richmond to Gariepdam town — via the N1 (188km — tar). But, if you’d prefer dirt tracks, follow the dirt road to De Aar (R348 — about 3km south of Richmond) and after about 23km, hook right and follow the track to Hanover (about 70km northeast). Once in Hanover, take the R389 to Hanover Road Station (14km) and then an elliptical dirt track to Colesberg (about 90km — 76km dirt) which passes the small Kilowen Dam. From Colesberg, take the Norvalspont road (R701), and after reaching the turning into the town (about 55km — tar), cross over the Gariep River on the old steel girder bridge and make for Gariepdam town (9km — tar). Distance: Option 1 — The N1: 188km (tar). Option 2 — Predominantly adventurous dirt tracks: about 264km (183km on dirt).
Section 2: Around most of the Gariep Dam (about three-quarters of the Xhariep! scenic route), starting in Norvalspont; to Gariepdam town (9km — tar); Bethulie (48km — tar), Venterstad (33km — tar) and Oviston (12km, plus 9km back onto the R390 to Steynsburg — tar).
Distance Section 2: 111km (all tar). If you’re coming from Joburg and want to go directly to Bethulie (about 45km — tar) from the N1, take the R715 opposite Springfontein.
What can I see along the way:
Norvalspont: the steel girder bridge crossing, by foot or car, over the Gariep River is the main attraction. It was resurrected after its first incarnation was blown up by the Boers. Before that, Scotsman, James Norval, operated a ferry (pont) here for more than 50 years.
Gariepdam town: make sure you admire the spectacular view over the dam from somewhere (a meal or drink at De Stijl will ensure this) and take a walk over the dam wall.
Bethulie: by far the most interesting town en route from an architectural and historical perspective. I would recommend obtaining a Discover Bethulie brochure and either doing a self-drive sightseeing tour or contacting Trudie Venter (083 630 8849) for a guided tour.
Oviston: Again, it’s mainly about the views over the dam. One of the best spots is the Lakeview guest house, so pop in there for a cup of tea or coffee — call Dave on 074 843 9737 to arrange this. A trip into the Oviston Nature Reserve is possible out of hunting season (September 1 to April 30) or on weekends all year round — call 087 285 7390.
Where we stayed: Lavender Rose B&B (Bethulie) — contact Ciliana Viljoen on 076 732 6702.
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