Three Sisters, Upper Karoo

Between Beaufort West and Hanover on the N1 there is virtually nothing. By nothing, I am not describing the beauty of the scenery, of which there is plenty, but the lack of any development. This part of the journey between Johannesburg and Cape Town begins to get a little, well, long.

It is a three hour drive between the two towns, and unless a detour to Victoria West, Richmond or De Aar is on the itinerary, it is going to begin to feel impossibly straight and possibly hot as by that time you're into early afternoon, and in summer this is when the car begins to bake.

But about 75 kilometres outside of Beaufort West, you'll find Three Sisters, first sighted more or less where you would join the road to Victoria West. It is not a town but a series of three very distinctive hills (some would call them koppies) almost in the shape of rondawels, that emerge on the right-hand side of the road if you're travelling north. If you're travelling south, then sighting them is a sign that you are almost halfway and that a rest is in order.

Not only are the Three Sisters, with their accompanying filling station, particularly beautiful but they have also come to represent something of a landmark. They're virtually an icon of the N1 and everyone knows to look out for them. For the kids on the back seat, it's a welcome diversion, and since it takes quite a while between initially sighting them, and actually passing them, gives one a welcome diversion.

A stay on a farm or similar, in and around Three Sisters, promises gorgeous scenery, a welcome break, veld and mountains for hiking, typical Karoo hospitality and the promise of a home-reared lamb dinner of some description.