Tourism-Tattler-November-2017

TRANSPORT
The Ford Kuga travelogue media and support team posing with Gariep Dam staff.
Gariep Dam - Free State
Following a delectable dinner, much wine and banter with colleagues,
a restful sleep, and an expansive buffet breakfast the following
morning, we set off for Gariep Dam for a unique experience, this
time driving the 1.5l EcoBoost Trend Auto.
Now, this is where Ford’s travelogue planning took an interesting
turn, for it became apparent that this journey had a theme – namely
water, which was rather appropriate given the shortage of same over
most of South Africa at the time.
Originally named the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam it was officially changed
to Gariep Dam in 1996. Gariep is a Khoekhoe (Khoikhoi) word for
‘river’, the original name of the Orange River. The Gariep Dam is
the largest water storage reservoir in South Africa with a capacity
of approximately 5,34 million megalitres (5,340 hm3) and a surface
area of more than 370 square kilometres when full, although with
the current drought conditions the dam was down to about 62% of
its capacity.
We were met for a group briefing at the Gariep Dam wall by Gert,
after which we proceeded to walk through parts of the 13.2km of
tunnels and more than a thousand steps that lead into the foundation
of the Orange River. We were told that the water thrust is so
tremendous against the convex side of the wall that faces upstream
that the wall actually gives or bends under it. The tour concluded
with an interesting slide show in its well equipped audiovisual room
after which one of the sluice gates were opened to demonstrate the
force of water that can be expelled to alleviate pressure against the
wall. At Oviston, on the south bank of the reservoir, is the inlet of the
Orange-Fish River Tunnel, allowing water to be diverted to the
Great Fish River and most of the Eastern Cape’s western parts.
With minds overflowing on aqua trivia we convened for a brief
photo shoot along the dam wall before setting off for Clarens,
a distance of 421km from Gariep Dam via the R701 and the
R26, which skirts the North Western boundary of Lesotho.
Smithfield - Free State
A brief pit-stop for bladder relief and refreshments in Smithfield
–the third oldest town in the Free State (after Philippolis and
Winburg) – our convoy of Kuga’s continued the scenic drive
through undulating grasslands, sheep and cattle farms.
Clocolan - Free State
Arriving in Clocolan, know in Basotho as ‘Hlohlolwane’
(meaning ‘get up and fight’ after an incident in which the
bumping over of a basket filled with wheat led to a fight),
but the colonialists mispronounced the name and called it
Clocolan.
According to the running commentary from our everknowledgeable
guide Gideo, who was in constant contact
with the convoy via two-way radios – interspersed with
hilarious karaoke with a twist from Meruschka (@MzansiGirl)
– the fertile southern part of the territory we had just driven
through is known as ’no-mans-land’ (aka Lower Caledon
Valley) by virtue of territorial boundary disputes between the
British, Boers and Basotho (it’s an interesting story - read more
about this on the Smithfield link above).
30 Tourism Tattler Trade Journal
NOVEMBER 2017