Ladybrand, Thabo Mofutsanyana

The pretty town of Ladybrand, sometimes spoken of as a sleepy border town, is surrounded by the undulating hills of the eastern Free State, almost midway between the towns of Hobhouse and Ficksburg virtually on the edge of the border with Lesotho. For this reason, and the fact that many of its residents commute daily to Maseru, Ladybrand is often lovingly referred to as the 'capital' of Lesotho, and is considered its gateway.

Ladybrand also lies in the Caledon Valley, believed to have been man's stomping ground for tens of thousands of years, where the likes of Rose Cottage Cave, a Middle Paleolithic cave on the Platberg, roughly 3 kilometres east of Ladybrand, dates back more than 50 000 years. This area is also one of the world's prime rock art regions, where the 'first people' of this country, the San, left thousands of paintings on rock about their lives - an inspiration to artists today. Over 300 sites occur in and around Ladybrand and Tandjiesberg is one of 12 rock art national heritage sites in South Africa.

Ladybrand lies on the Maloti Drakensberg Route, a route that straddles the borders of South Africa and Lesotho including parts of the Eastern Cape, Eastern Free State and the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg. It passes through the towns of Ladybrand, Hobhouse, Wepener, Vanstadensrus and Zastron, and the route features the beautiful Maluti Mountains and a series of mountain passes. It includes highlights such as sleeping in a mud hut, the Basotho Cultural Village, scenery beyond description, the Eye of Zastron and camping at Egmont Dam.