15 things to do in Clarens in the Free State

​By Roxanne Reid
The eastern part of South Africa’s Free State province, lying along the Maluti mountains, is a place for all seasons. Enjoy afternoon thundershowers in summer and see it transformed into a snowy wonderland in winter. In autumn, trees and grasses form a mosaic of red and copper. Here’s my pick of 15 things to do in Clarens in the Free State.

What to do in Clarens? Your list should definitely include a visit to the Golden Gate Highlands National Park less than 20km east of Clarens to appreciate sandstone mountains formed from compacted sand dunes 190 to 196 million years ago when the area was a desert. If you drive one of the mountain loops you can see mammals like eland, hartebeest and zebra, as well as 60 species of grass and layered views of the surrounding mountains. Visit the vulture hide on the Oribi Loop for a chance to see the endangered bearded vulture (lammergeier) and other vultures. Have fun learning about culture at the Basotho Cultural Village and see the signature Brandwag Buttress (pictured above) lit up at night, when it has a more mysterious aspect than in bright sunshine.

2. Go shopping

I’m not a great lover of shopping but Clarens shops are fun, with everything from pottery, leatherwork and handmade knives to art galleries, traditional blankets and books. Find quality leather shoes, belts and bags at Groundcover, which also has a collection of well-made teddy bears. Other browse-worthy shops include the outdoor Clarens Unique Garden Products with its wrought iron gazebos and other garden furniture, the Ugly Duckling for a collection of bric-a-brac, curios, rugs and furniture, the Cheeky Mouse for scarves, wooden signs and woven mats. For vintage clothing and antiques, visit the Mona Lisa Garment Gallery. There are plenty of nice décor shops dotted around the town to temp you into a purchase.

3. Visit the cutest bookshop in the country 

Bibliophile is a pretty red corrugated iron building reminiscent of the gold prospecting town of Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga. Inside, it’s all honey-blond wood and filtered sunlight, a great atmosphere to encourage book lovers to browse. Unfortunately, the young guy working there on the Monday we visited was bit offhand and didn’t know who Dalene Matthee was, but I suspect Monday is such an off day in Clarens after the busy weekend that they field their weaker players.

4. Delve into history
Pretend you’re a Free Stater during the Anglo-Boer War and discover what it feels like to capitulate to the British by visiting Surrender Hill about 10km from Clarens on the Fouriesburg Road. Or do a historical tour to visit the first Boer settlement after the Great Trek and the cave where women and kids sheltered during the Anglo-Boer War. If really old history (as in palaeontological) floats your boat, book a Dinosaur Tour to follow the fossilised footsteps of dinosaurs and mammal-like reptiles.

5. Go mountain biking

Bring your mountain bike and ride one of the trails in the area. Choose from a sedate 11km village loop or a track through the Clarens Village Conservancy to some single-track technical stuff with tough climbs to the top of a mountain. The guys to talk to are Clarens Xtreme, who will sell you a map for a small fee.

6. Go horse riding 

If a different kind of saddling up appeals to you, go horse riding in Clarens. Do a hour-long morning ride into the mountains around the village or a two-hour sundowner ride on a cowboy ranch. Book ahead with Bokpoort.

7. Put on your walking shoes 

Hiking in Clarens? Tick. There’s a number of short walking trails in and around the town, as part of the Clarens Village Conservancy. Most give good views of the village and are easy to moderate in difficulty. Find more about these here. The Golden Gate Highlands National Park nearby also offers many hiking trails, from the one-hour Mushroom Rock walk near Glen Reenen Rest Camp, one-hour Holkrans and Brandwag Buttress walks near Brandwag, or the four- to five-hour hike up to Wodehouse Peak at 2440m. You don’t need to book for any of these but it’s always a good idea to tell someone where you’re going.

8. Go quad biking 

Make the most of the beautiful environment by joining Sethuthuthu Tours to quad bike up steep inclines and through little mountain streams to get a taste of what the Voortrekkers with their ox wagons must have struggled against in the old days. Guides will tell you about the indigenous plants, geology and history of the region. Other outfits that offer quad biking are Clarens Xtreme and Outrageous Adventures.

9. Fulfill your adrenalin junkie dreams 

If you’re looking for an adrenalin rush, then you’re spoilt for choice with Clarens Xtreme, who offer everything from abseiling and ziplining to white-water rafting along the thrilling Ash River Outfall from the Lesotho Highlands. Outrageous Adventures also offers white-water rafting and abseiling.

10. Visit the cherry festival 

Visit in November for the annual Cherry Festival in Ficksburg about 80km from Clarens. If that’s too far, support the vendors in the town square by buying a punnet of summer-fresh cherries.

11. Take to the skies in a hot air balloon 

Experience the romantic thrill of floating into the air over the Maluti mountains for wonderful views over the Eastern Free State and a chance to take superb photos. Enjoy breakfast in the village afterwards. Contact Hot Air Ballooning SA.

12. Try your hand at fly fishing
Put on your silly jacket and hat and go catch-and-release fly fishing for trout in the Little Caldeon River at De Molen or Craigrossie.

13. Eat out 

If you’re looking to enjoy a leisurely meal, there’s an abundance of Clarens restaurants and coffee shops lining the streets. I can highly recommend Clementines Clarens (sit outside under a shady awning to enjoy good food and a chilled atmosphere) and 278 on Main (where we enjoyed super burgers and salads). Other popular restaurants we visited were the Courtyard Café and Bakery (nice food and friendly staff, but the apple crumble was soggy), The Highlander (a nice buzz and the food not bad, though the cheese sauce on the chicken schnitzel tasted of uncooked flour) and Sugar & Cinnamon. This last one really irritated us with its high prices and compulsory 10% gratuity slapped onto all bills, even for two people. We checked with the waitress who confirmed that the gratuity is passed on to her, which was fine since she gave us good service; if we’d had bad service I’d have been annoyed.

14. Visit an art gallery
There’s no shortage of art galleries in Clarens, so if you love to surround yourself with art you’ll be a happy ray of sunshine. Think edgy contemporary art to landscapes, impressionism and realism to abstracts. A popular choice for browsing is the Blou Donki (blue donkey) in the Windmill Centre, which includes sculpture and ceramics from established and emerging artists.

15. Stay over for a few days 

As you can see from the list above, there’s no way you can visit for a day and experience all the activities in Clarens; much better to stay over for at least two or three days. When we were looking for Clarens accommodation we chose Ashbrook Country Lodge, a collection of units named after composers and artists. 

Ours was the one-bedroom, self-catering Da Vinci loft with views of distant mountains from the windows and patio. We had a spacious living room with a couch, TV, two-seater dining table, well-equipped kitchen with fridge, microwave and gas stove with oven. We could also cook in the braai on the patio or walk to one of the village restaurants. ​

We had a fireplace in the living room and under-tile heating in the bathroom for those icy Clarens winters. For hotter weather, there were ceiling fans in both living room and the bedroom, which had a queen-size bed, a dressing table/desk and a dormer window.

Other units – doffing their caps to composers Beethoven and Mozart, and artists Dali Renoir, Picasso, Rembrandt and Van Gogh – also enjoyed views of the Rooiberge or Mount Horeb and the beautiful Maluti mountains.

On our first summer afternoon, there was about half an hour of thunder and heavy rain. By six in the evening we were listening to the wind rustling the leaves and red-chested cuckoos (Piet my Vrous) calling before a massive electric storm descended, knocking out the power in much of Clarens. We didn’t care; we just drank wine by candlelight and woke before dawn to a magnificent view washed clean by the rain - and energy (both literal and figurative) restored.

​With all the comforts of home and luxury touches you’d expect in an upmarket hotel, Ashbrook was a wonderful base from which to explore all the Clarens activities and adventures.

Like it? Pin this image!