Location

The country to the north-west of the river-port city of East London takes you through enchanting upland terrain towards Bloemfontein, the Free State provincial capital.

Much of the countryside, lying to the east of the N6 highway, sprawls over the lovely foothills of the southern Drakensberg range and is much favoured by hikers, winter-sportsmen and seekers after tranquility and scenic beauty; that to the west, on the fringes of the Great Karoo, is drier, more austere but with a haunting beauty all its own.

Largest of the region's centres are Fort Beaufort, Queenstown and Aliwal North, set on the south bank of the Orange/Gariep River and notable for its curative springs, for the local game reserve and for the Bushman rock-art sites of the wider area.

The town's rather curious name was conferred by the Cape colonial governor Sir Harry Smith to remind posterity of his victory over the Sikhs at Aliwal, in India, in 1846 (the 'North' was added afterwards, to avoid confusion with another newly named place far away on the south coast).

Among the more notable, perhaps more charming smaller centres are Stutterheim, Alice, Balfour, Hogsback and Cathcart. Hogsback, an exquisite upland village surrounded by beautiful forests, is worth more than a brief stopover.

Other pleasant little places include:

Indwe,

a handsome little village resting among the foothills of the high Stormberg (the name is the Xhosa word for the blue crane, South Africa's national bird); and Lady Frere, on the banks of the Cacadu River; Dordrecht, enveloped by the spectacular Witteberg mountains, boasts some attractive Victorian buildings;

Rhodes

is an enchanting village in a scenic mountain setting and much favoured by artists, skiers (in winter), trout-fishermen, hikers and hunters of game-birds.

Barkly East,

also popular among anglers (the annual trout festival is held here in March), is linked to Elliot by a scenically stunning pass; in fact railway trains between the two centres have to negotiate eight 'reverses' on their run down the steep gradient (this is thought to be a world record).

Elliot

is known for the beauty of its mountain surrounds, for the Gilliecullem waterfall, the towering Gatberg massif (the 'gat' is a large hole through its summit), and for the Bushman rock-art of the area (an especially extensive series of paintings can be seen on a farm between the village and Barkly East).

Lady Grey

is surprisingly well endowed with attractions: it has some fine old buildings (notably the original jailhouse and the magistrate's court), the respected Witteberg academy of arts and culture, the Lady Grey dam and nature reserve, the Karringmelk Cape vulture sanctuary, the Aloe nature reserve (with its the Aloe trail), and the splendid Lammergeier nature reserve. Burgersdorp, in the west, is the region's oldest town (founded in 1846) and you'll find some intriguing displays in its museum.

Molteno,

beneath the Bamboesberg ('bamboo mountain', part of the high Stormberg range) also offers intriguing local-history and cultural displays in its museum; military enthusiasts beat a path to the Stormberg battle site, scene of one of a trio of defeats inflicted on the Imperial armies by Boer forces during the disastrous 'British Black Week' of 1899.

Highlights

• Spectacular scenic drives through and over the mountains.
• Bushman rock-art sites all along the Drakensberg's slopes to the east.
• Lady Grey is worth a special visit for its vulture sanctuary and for the Lammergeier nature reserve. The lammergeier is the Afrikaans name for the rare bearded vulture, a large (2.5-metre wingspan) eagle-like bird noted for its immense nest of sticks lined with all manner of bits and pieces (domestic refuse included) and for the unique way it deals with bones that are too large to swallow - it carries them high into the air and drops them down onto the rocks far below, and continues doing so until they've smashed into digestible pieces. The reserve, an ecologically sensitive farm, offers excellent facilities for hikers, bikers, wild-flower enthusiasts and 4x4 trailists.
• Outdoor enjoyment without parallel - hiking, rambling, fly-fishing, bird watching, birding and horse trails, mountain biking, rock-climbing; abseiling, 4x4 trails; white-water tubing.

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