Outside Bloemfontein, the southern Free State is home to the Gariep Dam, a massive 374 sq km (144 sq miles) reservoir, built for irrigation and hydroelectric power. However, the State’s most interesting scenery lies in the eastern highlands, on the Lesotho border. From Bloemfontein, hills rise steadily as one heads past Thaba’nchu, the old seat of the Basotho kings, to Ladybrand, the main route into Lesotho. North from here are Ficksburg, which has an annual cherry festival in spring and the new-age settlement of Rustler’s Valley, which hosts an annual music festival in autumn. Further to the northeast is the Golden Gate National Park, verging on the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, characterized by massive weathered sandstone cliffs tinted a multitude of shades of red, yellow and orange.