We talk with Dr. Dean Allen - renowned Author, Historian, Lecturer, and Media Presenter. Dean has authored several books, two of which are are titled "Frontier Land - Exploring the Eastern Cape."

So much of our history played out in this area - and it really is a fascinating part of South Africa. We have digitised these two books and all the spots Dean discusses and describes are on the Road Trip RSA app.

The Road Trip SA app is available for download

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We have a chat with Simon Green - "The Blockhouse Guy". Simon has authored two books on the blockhouses of the Anglo-Boer War - a very handy field guide, as well as a more in-depth analysis of the engineering behind these 9000+ structures the British Military left behind in South Africa.

We have digitised the field guide - so if you are looking to visit a Blockhouse - the Road Trip app will get you there.

The Road Trip SA app is available for download

Do you want to visit and explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris

Middelburg, Cradock, Cookhouse and through Slagtersnek - some really evocative and emotional spots on this route. The story of the "Chair Monument", and the site of what is considered to be the first resistance to British rule that ended rather badly at Slagtersnek.

The Road Trip SA app is available for download

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This highway traverses the Kalahari through to Upington - where you have to visit Scotty Smith, the Donkey Memorial, and the Camel Statue - follow the Gariep river through Prieska, Britstown, and De Aar, to eventually intersect the N1 at Hanover. Beautiful changing landscapes from red Kalahari dunes, flat salt-pans - where Sir Malcolm Campbell's "Blue Bird" challenged the land-speed record in 1929 - to the flat-topped koppies of the Karoo. 

The Road Trip SA app is available for download

Do you want to visit and explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris

Some reflections on our visits to the Kruger Park this year. We have visited a wide variety of the camps in the Central / Northern section and give some feedback on our experiences there.

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There have been some criminal incidents perpetrated against tourists visiting South Africa. An awful lot of risk can be mitigated by following some common sense rules. 

The Road Trip SA app is available for download

Do you want to visit and explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris

Ladysmith is right at the centre of what we call "The Battlefields" region. So much of our history played out here - the Voortrekkers and their conflicts with the Zulu, the British and their battles with the Zulu, and then this area was pivotal in both conflicts between the British Empire and the Boer Republics. The N11 branches off the N3 (Johannesburg to Durban) at Ladysmith and then traverses the Drakensberg escarpment through Newcastle, Ermelo, Middelburg and then takes you right up to Groblersbrug on the border with Botswana.

The Road Trip SA app is available for download

Do you want to visit and explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris

The N9 branches off the N1 in Colesburg and takes you south. It takes you over beautiful Karoo landscapes through Noupoort, Middelburg, and with a short detour you can visit Nieu-Bethesda - one of the quintessential "Karoo-dorpies". The VOC influence is still to be seen in Graaff-Reinet - and this is an obligatory overnight stop.

The highway then takes you just to the East of the Swartberg Mountain range, and you enter the Little Karoo. Slightly greener, slightly more fertile, and home to thousands of Ostriches!

The Road Trip SA app is available for download
Do you want to explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris

The Road Trip SA app is available for download

Do you want to visit and explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris

No. 72 (Basutoland) Squadron is commemorated in Maseru and remembered forever in the design one the most popular blankets sold in Lesotho. The N8 then actually starts at the border with South Africa - it skirts Ladybrand where Robey Leibbrandt is buried, then heads to Bloemfontein. We explore a bit of that city, chat about a few spots in Kimberley, and eventually end in Groblershoop.

The Road Trip SA app is available for download
Do you want to explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris

The Road Trip SA app is available for download

Do you want to visit and explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris

Winelands transform to fruit and wheatfields - the West Coast is booming. A beautiful drive through undulating hills and passing towns like Malmesbury, Moorreesburg, Citrusdal, and Clanwilliam. Each and every one is worth a short detour and you get to see the citrus industry in full swing and if you really look - you can trace the tracks of missionaries and pioneers as well. Once north of Vanrhynsdorp and over the Knersvlakte you are in Namaqualand - and little towns like Springbok evoke memories of early explorers and copper mining.

The Road Trip SA app is available for download
Do you want to explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris

The Road Trip SA app is available for download

Do you want to visit and explore South Africa? Touch Africa Safaris