"Free State - Land Between Orange and... " a Free State Travel Page by MikeAtSea

The plains of South Africa's interior plateau between the Vaal and Orange Rivers form the Free State Province.

This tranquil land of the ever-present windmill is the geographic and agricultural centre of South Africa. Of all the provinces, this one presents the classic scene of the sunny veld, the high-lying, spacious grass-covered prairie land with deep-blue African skies, majestic cloud formations in summer and a skyline broken by the occasional flat-topped koppie (hill-like mountain).

The Free State is fast becoming a tourist destination in its own right. Famous for its warm South African hospitality, `boerekos’ (traditional Afrikaner farm-style cuisine) and decidedly slower-paced lifestyle, this province has become a mecca for holiday-makers intent on exploring small-town South Africa.

Known, locally, as South Africa's 'bread basket', the Free State is cultivated by more than 30 000 farms to produce over 70% of South Africa's grain consumption. It is also home to the most productive gold and diamond mines in the world.

The Free State border on the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, North-West, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Province and also shares a border with Lesotho. The biggest part of the Free State is an undulating plain at between 1 000 m and 1 500 m. However, the eastern and southern region, which borders Lesotho, is hilly to mountainous, with scattered flat-topped hills or ‘kopjes’. The Orange River forms the southern boundary of the Free State and includes the Gariep and Vanderkloof Dams, which are the largest dams in the country. The northern Free State is drained by smaller rivers, which are, as is the Orange River, extensively utilised for irrigation.