Day Three: Hello Free-State!

Every morning when I get in my car and hit the road, my head is a big melkskommel of stress, fear, doubt, and overwhelming uneasiness. I stress about how I am going to write my story, how I am going to find people to talk to, how not to get fat, etc. It lasts for about an hour and then the road sends a natural calmness over me. The road and the absolute beauty of our country.

After a not-so-healthy Wimpy breakfast in Queenstown I left for Burgersdorp to meet the van Schalkwyks. Philip van Schalkwyk and his wife (whose name I can't remember) work at Alberts Butchery on the Molteno Road. They did not have much to tell me so they sent me to the local museum where I was taken on a tour by Dalene Bredenkamp. Dalene is a born and bred Burgersdorpian and has worked as a secretary at the museum for 20 years. She also doesn't know much about the Great Trek but she took me outside to the back of the museum to show me a real ox-wagon. It is huge! I honestly don't know how the heck those voortrekkers managed up and down the rocky slopes of the Drakensberg and other mountains with such long vehicles! Strong and determined people they were.

I had lunch at a very cute coffee shop about 10m from the museum called Hagenhuis Coffee Shop. They have light meals, drinks, antiques, and crafts. Or what I call 'kakkies': those 'things' you don't need but buy anyways. There isn't a specific 'kakkie' item but I'm sure you'll know it when you see it.

I then drove on to Smithfield, which is about two hours from Burgersdorp (if you drive slowly and take photos of random things like I did), and is also where I am staying tonight (in a lovely Bnb called Bokmakierie Bnb). It's a big house with vibrant colours, a great collection of artworks by the owner himself (and others) as well as a whole lot of interesting looking, for lack of a better word, stuff.

Peter and Linda Retief, the owners, are a pair of wonderful people. They have interesting stories, great backgrounds, and really care about their town. Linda was born in Grahamstown and has lived all over, while Peter was born in Adelaide and also lived all over. Surprisingly, they are not strictly speaking Afrikaans, and Peter, similar to me, has is also confused about whether he is an Afrikaner or not. He believes that Afrikaners are really breaking new ground in music, art, and theatre. Afrikaans artists like Jan Blohm and Valiant Swart are often the inspiration behind his paintings.

I think these Retief's are perhaps famous in the arts world. I don't know. I just get the feeling. Especially because Peter told me that a well-known travel journalist is staying here on Tuesday night. And because he gave me two FREAKING AWESOME 'underground' South African magazines which cannot be bought in a shop, only from a contributing journalist. Hmm, where the hell am I?

I don't really care because I am so happy. And grateful. And I wish I could take out my eye-balls and stick them on here to show the world all they beauty that I have seen in the past three days. Happiness is this.

Side-view of an ox-wagon, Burgersdorp Museum, Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape. 2013

Front of an ox-wagon, Burgersdorp Museum, Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape. 2013.

Back of an ox-wagon, Burgersdorp Museum, Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape. 2013.

Dalene Bredenkamp in front of the Burgersdorp Museum. Dalene has lived in the

town all her life and likes the idea of shopping in a big town but wouldn't

move anywhere else. Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape, 2013.

Hagenhuis Coffee Shop. Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape. 2013.

Reid Street was renamed to Piet Retief Street in 1938 to honour the voortrekker leader

who was killed by Dingane in Natal, Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape. 2013.