It was a long, long, LONG drive from Hogsback to Fouriesburg in the Eastern Free State. Despite the fact that we left at 8:30am, we still arrived at Camelroc Guest Farm after sunset and that was after driving like the devil was chasing us.
Stay & Play: Camelroc Guest Farm
When we planned this trip, we never wanted to drive past all the small towns but I literally couldn’t find any self catering accommodation between Hogsback and the Free State. There were loads of game farms, bed and breakfasts and hotels but nothing that would work for us and our increasingly tiny budget. So, we drove through Whittlesea, Jamestown and Lady Grey. Then it was a quick (very stinky) toilet stop in Aliwal North before we crossed the border to the Free State and ALL the pot holes. Wow, you guys! I had no idea! 
I have no idea how your cars still have tyres in working order.
Despite the pot holes the Free State is breathtaking. All those wide open spaces filled with fields of gold and those endless blue skies. So much beauty! After all the windmills, sunflower fields, goats and cows, we eventually reached Camelroc Guest Farm in the dark so we had to wait until sunrise to see where exactly we had chosen to stay for 4 nights.
We woke up to utter perfection at the foot of the Maluti Mountains and overlooking Lesotho from our bedroom window. I mean, really now. Lesotho was the reason for my choice as Camelroc Guest Farm is less than 1km from the Caledonspoort Border Post. And I was unnecessarily worried that this would mean noisy trucks and taxis, ruining our peace and quiet. We barely heard anything.
We were allocated Chalet number 10 and we found that it was perfect for our needs. It would, in fact be the perfect choice for people wanting to holiday with a group of friends, some of whom like camping. The chalet is right next to the camp sites but the best part is that it’s far enough away from the main chalets that you get all the wildlife coming to visit.
We had all sorts of buck come to see what we were doing as well as guinea fowl and all kinds of other birds. It’s the kind of place where you can sit outside for ages and just watch the mountain residents carry on with their day to day lives while you catch up on a good book.
This is the perfect place to stay for mountain bikers and hiking enthusiasts. Anton went for a walk up to the cave above our chalet and came home with these breathtaking pictures.
We spent a lovely peaceful Sunday relaxing and recovering from the long drive. There are no TVs in the rooms and cellphone reception isn’t great. In fact there is no signal at all as you approach the border post but Camelroc have installed WiFi which you can use near the swimming pool and if you’re in view of the reception area. 
After an aborted effort to cross the border into Lesotho without unabridged birth certificates for the kids, we ended up spending the morning in the Bethlehem Home Affairs office instead. Fun! 🙁
But, after all the formalities had been addressed, we left the office with a letter from management confirming our application and we successfully crossed the border the next day.
But more about that in our next post.. 😉
Disclaimer: We paid a slightly discounted rate in exchange for a blog post. All words, pictures and opinions are our own.
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