Head to Wakkerstroom for the weekend – you’ll find picturesque scenery, loads of things to do and inviting country roads.
As a weekend getaway from Gauteng, Wakkerstroom couldn’t be more perfect. Under 300km away, it’s an easy enough drive for a few days. The village itself is pretty, the area is a birding hot spot and the surrounding countryside boasts several walking trails. What’s more, if you’re longing for the crunch of gravel under your tyres, you can get there on good dirt roads.
That’s exactly what Willem Rudolph did for the August long weekend. Willem is always looking for suitable routes for his group of adventure bikers. So he and his wife set off in their Land Cruiser to do a recce along country roads.
Turning off onto gravel
The first part of their trip involved simply getting out of Johannesburg so the adventure could get underway. The route proper started at Witkop Blockhouse, south of the city. During the Anglo-Boer War, the British forces built these blockhouses across the country to protect their major supply line, the railway. This solution was effective as reportedly not one railway bridge close to a blockhouse was blown up.

Today the Witkop Blockhouse is situated conveniently close to an Engen 1Stop, handy for stocking up on your own supplies. From here, the route follows farm roads deep into the countryside and you may want to stop for coffee and a rusk at a scenic spot. The 1Stop is also a good place to deflate your tires and fill up as you won’t be able to refuel once you get past Villiers.
Some 22km from the blockhouse the route turns off onto gravel. This is a landscape of corn fields, bright green in summer but resting when Willem drove through it. “The terrain is rather flowing, which makes for a relaxing drive. It does something for you – it’s calming,” he says. The well-maintained gravel roads are a pleasure to drive. But like with all gravel tracks you will come across the odd patch of sand or rocky section, so don’t speed.



Sights along the way
The route leads from Witkop to Villiers and onwards to Volksrust and finally Wakkerstroom. It meanders through farmland with nice patches of oak and blue gum trees. “Sometimes we stopped in a thicket of trees to stretch our legs. It is always refreshing to smell that blue gum scent,” says Willem.
When they reached Villiers, Willem stopped for pictures because “these little dorpies have the most beautiful churches in them.” At Steel’s Drift they turned off the main track for an impromptu water crossing. “It was just for fun. We were lucky that it was the dry season, so it was quite doable.”

As the route crosses from the Free State into Mpumalanga, you start going into hill country. “It becomes more interesting as you wonder what lies over the next hill. It is in the last 75km or so that you get into the bowels of the mountain area,” says Willem. “I love going into the mountains. The change in altitude gives you a different perspective on things and you’re waiting for the next beautiful vista to be revealed.”
“From Volksrust to Wakkerstroom, we took the scenic route along Zaaihoek Dam, which was just mind-blowing.” It’s not much further to go by gravel than along the tar road and you will pass the glittering dam that lies below Mount Majuba.

An interesting quirk of this route is that you pass through several provinces. Near Volksrust is a point where the borders of the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga meet. In fact, at 3 Provinces 4×4 Adventures, you can tick them all off on a trail.
What to do in Wakkerstroom
The couple who run the local tourism service are dynamic, says Willem. There’s a lively calendar of events, from art fairs and parades to talks on the Anglo-Boer War and guided birding tours. So your first port of call should be Wakkerstroom Information for an update on what’s happening and suggestions of what to do.
Wander about
The village itself is pretty, with an imposing stone church in the centre, and it’s very walkable. Visit the cemetery with its graves dating back to the Anglo-Boer War or check out little shops along the main road such as the coffee roastery and the bakery. In addition to hourlong historical village walks, there are longer hiking trails. The Wetland Waddle Route is a 12km amble in the reserve while the hike up Ossewakop is more strenuous.
Go birding
At the Wakkerstroom wetlands there are several bird hides that let you get a closer look at water birds and waders. Or you could simply sit on a bench next to the water and enjoy the surrounds. With three biomes – wetlands, grasslands and forests – Wakkerstroom offers a rich variety of species. Sought-after ticks include blue and wattled cranes, Rudd’s and Botha’s larks and the white-winged flufftail. BirdLife South Africa has trained community guides to help visitors find birds. Contact Daphne Pyott on wakkerstroom@birdlife.org.za for details.

Tackle a 4×4 trail
From town it’s clear where Ossewakop gets its name: it features the design of an ox wagon in white stones near the top. The hill’s summit offers sweeping views of Wakkerstroom and the track leading there crosses undulating territory. Note that the route requires 4WD and high clearance, and a diff lock is advisable. Mountain Passes South Africa offers detailed notes on the Ossewakop track.

Route planning
Willem used Basecamp to plan his route to Wakkerstroom. “There’s a function that lets you draw a straight line from start to end. Then I zoom in and look for the roads marked as gravel to see if there are any intriguing points of interest (POIs) along the way. That’s how I found General Piet Joubert’s grave, which we visited along the way. My recommendation is that once you’ve got a general route, you’ve got to zoom in to discover POIs,” he says.
If you’re not a Basecamp fundi, you can use the new Tracks4Africa online trip planner to construct your route. Once the route is drawn up, sync it with the Tracks4Africa Guide App on your phone. While the app doesn’t give turn-by-turn directions, it enables you to follow the route since it shows your location on the screen. It’s like having an interactive paper map in your pocket.
Want to drive this route? View the Engen Blockhouse to Wakkerstroom route in the Tracks4Africa online trip planner. If you are registered as a trip planner user, you can sync the route to your Tracks4Africa Guide App or export it as a GPX file.
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