August 2024

  •  Road Trip

It’s still Winter here in the Southern Hemisphere, but we couldn’t put off a camping weekend any longer. Having seen the Great Kei Bridge on a previous visit (read here), we wondered what beautiful places are beyond that bridge.

We have read about the amazing views in the Barkly East area – a small town in a mountainous area just south of Lesotho.

It’s a four-hour drive from East London to Barkly East and then another hour (on dirt road) to our amazing camp site on a farm at the foot of the Witteberge. You might think that it’s too far to drive for just a weekend – but you’ll understand why we were so keen to go there when you see the incredible views.

  • Today we’re going to show you just how beautiful the road was and then conclude with the discovery of a lovely place in Barkly East.
  • In the next post we will take you to our camp site – unique and probably the camp site with the most beautiful view we have ever seen. (You can read about that here).
  • And in the last post it’s going to be hiking time. We were surrounded by incredibly beautiful mountains and rock formations – just wow! (You can read about that here).

After four hours of driving we finally arrived at Barkly East. We were tired from concentrating on the busy road where many loose animals roam. But then, for the last hour our tiredness instantly disappeared – we were suddenly surrounded by incredible beauty.

Loch Bridge near Barkly East

Views of the Kraai River from the bridge

The Loch Bridge was constructed by Joseph Newey and completed in 1893. It is one of the last stone arch bridges in the country which is still in use today.

After driving over this beautiful old bridge, we stopped and took photos. It was also a good time to stretch the legs. However, we had barely started driving again, when we just had to stop again to view the Kraai River from a viewpoint on the Kraai River Pass.

View of the Kraai River

On a hill along the river we could see railway tracks and also a railway bridge over the Kraai River.

Railway tracks on the hill

Closer look at the railway bridge

There are quite a few farms on this route and I was very excited to spot lambs along the way.

Crossing a small stream

Cute lambs

The views of the mountains were beautiful. After stopping for the umpteenth time to take photos, we decided not to stop again if we wanted to reach our camp site before sunset.

View of the Witteberge Mountain Range

The moment we turned left at the sign to the farm Balloch where our camp site was located, an absolute wonderland of majestic mountains unfolded in front of our eyes.

Entering the farm Balloch

We were surprised to see snow on the mountain in front of us – Berto and I immediately looked at each other and we had the same question: “Did we bring enough warm bedding for a tent weekend”?

Snow on the mountain in the background

There was no doubt in our minds that this farm, in the middle of the Witteberge, is picture perfect. Although it is only 3.5km to the camp site, we drove for a very long time before we reached it, because we stopped almost every 100m to take more pictures.

Mountains on the farm Balloch

Farm dam (with that snowy mountain again)

That view!

Winter landscape

We couldn’t take enough pictures of the mountain with the snow on it. And even though it was just a little snow, it’s something we don’t see often.

Mountain with snow in the last light of the day

Rock formations

Balancing rocks

With about 500m left to our campsite Berto engaged our bakkie into 4×4 – it was now a bit of a bumpy ride.

Almost at our camp site

And that’s where we’re going to stop for now. Next week we will show you just how beautiful and unique this camp site is.

…

Moving on to Sunday and we leave Balloch with heavy hearts.

Egyptian geese at the farm dam

The drive back to Barkley East was just as beautiful as when we drove here two days ago. Of course, we had to stop again at the Loch Bridge one last time.

Loch Bridge

Kraai River

We only had coffee and tea before we left our camp site and went looking for a place in Barkly East where we might get a sandwich and coffee. Besides getting exactly that, we also discovered a gem of a place.

Royal Manor Hotel (Barkly East):

The Royal Manor Hotel is a beautifully renovated 1867 historic building full of character. It has high ceilings, lovely chandeliers, wooden floors and 14 rooms where guests can stay.

Royal Manor Hotel

We ordered take away toasted breakfast sandwiches and coffee. While we were waiting for our food, we walked through the beautiful reception area. The décor is lovely and there are various products for sale.

Entrance to the Royal Manor Hotel

Seating areas

Old staircase leading to the upper rooms

Various products for sale

Lovely décor

Front porch of the hotel

While we were standing outside in the warm winter sun, a local walked past and saw us standing with our camera. He posed cheekily while Berto took a few photos of him.

Local posing on the empty roads of Barkly East

With our delicious sandwiches and hot coffee, it was time to drive the long way home. We could have stayed here much longer!

Fortunately, we can relive our weekend again when we show you our beautiful camp site in our next post. See you there.