It's never a happy moment to witness decay. 😢 I was just so happy to see that so much of history still remains for everyone to see and enjoy. We appreciate you watching! 😁🚗
Thank you so much for sharing our rich African past ...and with a wonderful earthy African couple like you. It was my pleasure. I left my beloved Africa so long ago 1998 just wanted to teach english.. but how good to visit again with humble folks with a passion for our heritage. subscribed...
Welcome on board, we're so happy you've joined us on our travels! 🚗 We love the historical aspects and find it amazing that every little place we get to, has its very own story to tell. We gather you're watching from afar and we look forward to taking you to many more places with us! 🤩👌🏻
My eldest daughter was in boarding school in Koffiefontein for a few years in the 1980's when we use to live in Vanderkloof. I am quite surprised that the Koffiefontein sign with kettle etc is still intact and that the cannon has not been cut up for scrap yet...the neglect is really sad. But what lovely accommodation you had. I suspect you will from now on see more potholes that people.... :-(
I must admit that I was also super surprised that the cannon, kettle, cup and saucer and even the water dispenser and pump were all still there, those were all great to see! I did not realise you and your family spent some time in the Free State, I was very happy to read that! 😁🚗 Our guesthouse was great and a fantastic place to relax for the evening. 👌
Hi you two! Thanks for an interesting trip again. Koffiefontein is such a well known name in SA history, it is a pity that it is not kept up more eg. the prison camp. The out of town area was interesting though, with the steam tractor etc. The Blue Diamond is lovely -- cuppas at Koffiefontein ! I hope they will have a good holiday season with people travelling through. Keep safe!
Thank you for visiting Koffiefontein with us, where the cuppas just tasted better that morning! 😁 There is barely anything left of the internment camp, which I also found rather sad. On the other hand, all those interesting items at the entrance to town and even the cannon on the hill were pleasant surprises! 👌🏻🚗
So sad seeing everything slowly rotting away, so much history being lost. Just a little notice at 24:00 the plaque I suspect refers to the then President FW Reitz the 5'th president of the Republic of the Orange Free State. Who was president from 1889 - 1895.
Worked for De Beers in Koffiefontein many many years ago.Don’t remember much of it because I was forever working.Left the mine in 1985. Excellent company.🇿🇦🇦🇺🇺🇦🇬🇪🇷🇺🇷🇺
Ah! Koffiefontein! Another train watching area. So sad to see the station in ruins! To think it was once a busy station. WE used to approach from Bloem, and along the way is a little station called Kloofeind. There we would picnic under the trees and wait for the choo choos. It was a busy line and we saw lots. Ag, ek is sommer nou hartseer! Ettienne le Roux....I studied him at university in Afrikaans Nederlands. Sewe day by die Silbersteins. Very wierd book. He certainly has a beautiful resting place. Ja nee, daai wind gons! Thanks for a unique and special video.
What a a interesting town must have been thriving back in the day love the kettle and cup and saucer old steam traction engine. I've told people how good the accommodation was on the mines amazing very interesting about Pow camp I knew the son of the guy who started Putco busses he was a Italian Pow because he was a good mechanic the local farmers would ask him to fix tractors cars etc when the war ended he stayed in South Africa where he started putco busses I remembered visiting his house massive with loads of marble thanks for trip and bringing back so many memories cheerio till the next one
My own grandparents had two Itialian POW live-ins. They became part of the family but were forced to return to Italy after Hitler's war. There is the most tragic yet romantic story of an Italian POW, which visitors to Nuy On The Hill can experience, including a monument for the real hero's grave. Visiting the Nuy olive & wine farms just east of Worcester comes highly recommended.
@@Afriqueleblanq hi from Kent England this history is not greatly known but very interesting by coincidence a while back I went to a local dentist it happened to be my pals nephew small world all the best 👍
@Charlie Treston What an interesting recollection of your Italian friend, thank you for sharing that with us. We were very surprised to see all those artefacts, the kettle and cup-and-saucer at the entrance to town in fairly good condition still. It was an interesting visit to Koffiefontein and our accommodation was super comfortable. Thank you for joining us on this leg of our journey! 😁☕
Ettiene 's father was Stephanus (SP) le Roux, a minister in the cabinets of PrimeMinisters DF Malan and JG Strijdom. His godfather (peetpa) was the well-known parliamentarian CJ (Neelsie) Langenhoven, also a writer and digter? (Wrote the words "Die Stem" , the previous national anthem. Another person born there was Walther (Whal) Battiss who do a study on Bushman rock art. John Vorster and his Ossewa-Brandwag members was not pro-Nazi, they was nationalist and against Jan Smuts policy to participate in WW2. Only Afrikaner who was found quilty as a Nazi was Robey Leibrandt, his grave is in town cemetery Ladybrand. John Vorster s prison number was 2229/42, located in House 48, Camp 1, Koffiefontein.....
Thank you for the info! 👍🏻 CJ Langenhoven was indeed the poet who was most probably best known for writing the Afrikaans lyrics of the national anthem at the time. We visited Somerset East earlier in the year and I was under the impression that Walter Battiss was born in that town. 🤔 Perhaps I did not express myself correctly as I was walking around at the site of the internment camp, but I didn't mean to indicate that John Vorster was pro-Nazi, I merely wanted to relay that he was also held at that facility.
Our guesthouse was lovely and a fantastic way to spend a relaxing evening. 😊 There was absolutely nothing left of that station, other than the nameboards. Nonetheless, it was an interesting visit to Koffiefontein and we're happy you could join us. 😁🚗
Thank you. This video meant much as my father was in the German camp due to his surname. He was in the Police before the war in SwartRuggens and was sent home only to be taken to the Concentration camp although he did nothing. I could see where my father used to walk from 1942 to 1945. The Ossewa Brandwag men were in a different Camp like John Vorster.
Thank you you two for taking us on another road trip in our beautiful country. Yea, it's very sad to see our once striving country in this bad state as it is in... Best of luck on your next adventure. Keep safe and God bless..............
We're also often saddened when we see the decay in some of the towns we visit. 😢 Fortunately there are always good and positive things to also enjoy in every single place, without exception, and we're very happy about that. We appreciate you watching our videos and look forward to you accompanying us to many more places. 😁🚗
Hello julle, this is a town i always wanted to see....super excited 🙂 a friend of mine from prieska goes to koffiefontei and he use to always tell me about this town. I wish i was "dusty" in the back of that car to explore all these places with you. hehe
But you're right there on the back seat with Dusty! 🧸😁 Koffiefontein is an interesting town with quite an intriguing and rich history. Glad you could join us! 👍☕
Great trip, very interesting thank you. We lived in Koffie in the late 70's. Remember talking to Etienne Leroux in Afrikaans in the mine bar. Roads looked a lot different then. Our mine house overlooked the lake. Pep stores still there in the same place 45 years later. Keep up the great work.
Good Afternoon you two , how are you two? Hope you doing well . I am sending you this Comment from Basingstoke Hampshire UK. Oh gosh that was one beautyful Town. From Koffiefontein you drive rough Jacobsdal to Douglas and Richie. Jou can go and look where the Orange River and the Vaalriver come together . In the end you arrive in Kimberly. Thanks you two for the video 😘😘😊🤗👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻👌🏻God bless you on your Trip . Lg. H . M . I view 65 Dorpies , startet in Benoni and all the way around the Freestaad , amazing and beautiful! And please carry on.
Hello to you in the UK! We're both very well, thank you! We're glad to hear that you enjoyed our visit to Koffiefontein. We'll certainly keep that route you detailed in mind when we're in the area again next time. It's fantastic that you visited so many South African towns during your visit, we love that! We hope to take you to a few more you haven't been to just yet! 😁🚗 Take care!
There is a gravel road between Fauresmith and Koffiefontein, my mother in law used to live on a farm next to that road. I wonder if the water canal is still in operation. The coffee kettle used to pour out water before the big collapse took place.
I would've loved to take that gravel road, but time was against us that day and we're super slow on gravel because there is always so much to see. I'll definitely look at taking that one when we're in the area next. My wife recalls seeing some canals on another gravel road in the area, but I'm unable to place it. Thank you for visiting Koffiefontein with us! 😁🚗
Next time you visit the eastern Free State,, visit Gumtree Station between Clocolan and Ficksburg. The highest sandstone building in the southern hemisphere. Old Mills and a station with a rich history.
There is a place called Theron, 4 houses and a train station. It is on Google earth. Please go there. My late father was the station forman there in 1976. Would love to see that place.
I've made a note and whenever we're in the Theunissen area on a future visit to the Free State, we'll most certainly try and include it. Thank you for the suggestion. 🚗😎
Vorster's son was our neighbor, we used to see the old man (his father) with his black hat when he visited. The mine suburb looks terrific with its trees and homes. The Blue Diamond Guesthouse looks great, great lapa and refreshing pool. I've always wondered what town has the open cast mine that one sees from the plane when looking down...it must be Koffiefontein.
It must've been quite cool to see John Vorster in person in such a personal setting when he visited his son nextdoor. He was Prime Minister and State President when both Sonia and I were fairly young and both of us basically only have his state funeral being broadcast live on TV as our first realtime memory of him. I actually can't believe that that's almost 40 years ago already. 😳 I must look down more when we fly again, I've never noticed the big hole. That must be quite a sight! We found the mine suburb very interesting and neat. Actually I find the whole concept of a mining community quite fascinating. Our guesthouse was super relaxing and comfortable, no wonder visitors to the mine often fequent this particular establishment. We're happy that you travelled to Koffiefontein with us! 🚗☕
Yet again a place once visited well over fifty years ago, and then only a farm in the district, from Jacobsdal. I've never seen this lovely little town, so thanks for the intro. Your episodes are just getting better and better, and Sonia's chuckle adds warmness to the experience. Sometimes, I watch Koffiefontein and Luckhoff when we pass over at thirty thousand feet; pax get bored and start looking outside. My game is to recognise objects and places on the ground, based upon my map knowledge and a tiny sprinkling of common sense. Yeah, I'm that crazy guy who reads maps and dictionaries for leisure......... Something about that internment camp: Afrikaner blood is about 40% Nederlands ("Dutch") and 40% Deutsch ("German"), 9% French, 8% Scottish and the rest was one wild party. BUT, given the substantial Teutonic DNA content, be sure that much of the pro-German support was actually an anti-British sentiment, something that lingers to this day. The British surely didn't attempt to make themselves very welcome here, and the Anglo Boer War just reinforced that sentiment. Given any opportunity, they would gladly oppose the British (especially the English) and really didn't need Nazi sentiments to motivate them. Yes, there was a pro-Nazi movement but that was mostly because the Nazi's were Germans.
We're glad you visited Koffiefontein with us. You're the second viewer who mentions seeing the town from an aeroplane, so I'll make an effort to see if I can spot it too next time we fly. They better not put me over a wing then! It makes complete sense to me that you would try and place places on the ground from up in the air. I do the same with coastlines, bigger towns and such, but have never looked for the smaller places, not that I knew much about Koffiefontein before our visit. 😁 Thank you for the fascinating input about the internment camp, I just wish more of it were preserved somehow so that those stories could be told in more detail. We'll see you again in Luckhoff! 🤩🚗
Which you could have seen Koffiefontein in the early year unfortunately it has been destroyed by the ANC. Early years it would win year after year - the cleanest town in this part. It was a lovely town to grow up in.
My oupa en ouma Jacobs le in die Koffiefontein begrafplaas, my pa is daar gebore, blykbaar was Jacobsdal my oupa grooitjie se plaas, my pa het baie van sy kinder jare staaltjies met ons gedeel oor hoe hy en sy broers in die Rietrivier geswem het, hy het ook baie van Ettiene Le Roux gepraat, my pa was in 1919 gebore, dit was vir my nostalgies om te kon sien waar my pa gebore, gedoop, en skool gegaan het. Dankie dit was baie interresant, ja so jammer die land word so afgebreek.
Thank you for sharing those personal associations that your family has with Koffierivier with us. We're glad that we could show you a little bit of the town where your father was born. We hope you'll visit more places with us. 😊🚗
I just watched the music video. What a cool song, I had no idea! 😁 Some of the artefacts are definitely in a worse condition now than when the video was filmed. Water was still pouring from the coffee pot too. 😏☕
Amazing! You have the ability to took away the depro that comes with the festive season. I love the old buildings and cemetry. Please drive safely and my wish is to meet to meet you guys in the new year . You sound like an opregte boertjie. Thanks!
I am an English-speaking person who spent many years in the Free State, therefore the accent. 😁 It's actually amazing when one looks at the beauty that still surrounds us in this country. I'm happy to hear that your festive blues were somewhat lightened by our visit to Koffiefontein! We hope to take you to many more places with us! 🤩🚗 Keep smiling!
The graveyard near Koffiefontein is well worth visiting to get an idea of the towns history. Those Italian murals had a roof when we were there a few years ago as far as I remember.
I did take a walk through the cemetery after we visited the Anglo-Boer war memorial. I always find them very interesting for the stories they tell. I saw a music video shot in Koffiefontein about eight years ago and the artefacts were all much more complete than what they are today. It seems as if the roof over the murals was another casualty, only the structure remains. 😏
We would've loved to see that, but I'm not sure how one gains access. We asked quite a few locals, including our host, and was told that there was no way to get closer to observe the mine or its operations. Thank you for the info. 👍🏻
Sounds interesting. We asked so many people in town what there is to see and no-one even mentioned the old prison and we had no idea! 🤷🏼♂️ We'll have to check it out on a future visit back to the area. Thank you for sharing our video! 😊
Koffiefonein reminds me of the concentration camp for the German men during the 2nd World War!! Although the war over in 1945 the men were only released on 1948 when Smuts was removed and D.F.Malan came to power with the NP!!😊
We were actually surprised at how much better the gravel roads between the towns were than the tar roads in some of the towns. Potholes or not, we'll always take gravel over tar whenever and wherever we can! 😁🚗
I suppose the population there is mainly Griqua and either Basotho or Batswana, or both, then Afrikaners and perhaps some other ethnicity. It would be interesting to know more about the spread of languages there.
Interesting that you should mention that. I thought that we would meet more Sotho-speaking folks in the Free State, including Koffiefontein, but there were as many Xhosa speakers as we chatted to the locals we passed by in town. The town is predominantly Afrikaans-speaking in my view, but these observations are obviously based on spending a very short time in the town. 🗣️
Sad to see that so many historical buildings, are no more. A copious history wiped out.........
It's never a happy moment to witness decay. 😢 I was just so happy to see that so much of history still remains for everyone to see and enjoy. We appreciate you watching! 😁🚗
Thank you so much for sharing our rich African past ...and with a wonderful earthy African couple like you. It was my pleasure. I left my beloved Africa so long ago 1998 just wanted to teach english.. but how good to visit again with humble folks with a passion for our heritage. subscribed...
Welcome on board, we're so happy you've joined us on our travels! 🚗 We love the historical aspects and find it amazing that every little place we get to, has its very own story to tell. We gather you're watching from afar and we look forward to taking you to many more places with us! 🤩👌🏻
My eldest daughter was in boarding school in Koffiefontein for a few years in the 1980's when we use to live in Vanderkloof. I am quite surprised that the Koffiefontein sign with kettle etc is still intact and that the cannon has not been cut up for scrap yet...the neglect is really sad. But what lovely accommodation you had. I suspect you will from now on see more potholes that people.... :-(
I must admit that I was also super surprised that the cannon, kettle, cup and saucer and even the water dispenser and pump were all still there, those were all great to see! I did not realise you and your family spent some time in the Free State, I was very happy to read that! 😁🚗 Our guesthouse was great and a fantastic place to relax for the evening. 👌
Been driving through the town a couple of times, only stopped at the Coffee kettle! Thanks for "giving" us a picture of the town.
The kettle is definitely worth stopping at! We're happy that we could show you a little bit of the rest of the town! ☕🤩
Hi you two! Thanks for an interesting trip again.
Koffiefontein is such a well known name in SA history, it is a pity that it is not kept up more eg. the prison camp. The out of town area was interesting though, with the steam tractor etc.
The Blue Diamond is lovely -- cuppas at Koffiefontein ! I hope they will have a good holiday season with people travelling through.
Keep safe!
Thank you for visiting Koffiefontein with us, where the cuppas just tasted better that morning! 😁 There is barely anything left of the internment camp, which I also found rather sad. On the other hand, all those interesting items at the entrance to town and even the cannon on the hill were pleasant surprises! 👌🏻🚗
The neglect is just so sad!
TIA
It me hard with this particular town as well, Roz. I have never been there, have no connections to it. Strange.
@@desh7120 Still, I am learning so much as we 'travel' along the (mostly) dust roads. What a lovely channel to follow, hey?
@@rozneilson8696
Oh, absolutely!!!
@Roz Neilson Decay is never good to see, but so much good still remains in every place. 😊
So sad seeing everything slowly rotting away, so much history being lost. Just a little notice at 24:00 the plaque I suspect refers to the then President FW Reitz the 5'th president of the Republic of the Orange Free State. Who was president from 1889 - 1895.
Interesting info that, thank you! 👍🏻
Worked for De Beers in Koffiefontein many many years ago.Don’t remember much of it because I was forever working.Left the mine in 1985. Excellent company.🇿🇦🇦🇺🇺🇦🇬🇪🇷🇺🇷🇺
Ah! Koffiefontein! Another train watching area. So sad to see the station in ruins! To think it was once a busy station. WE used to approach from Bloem, and along the way is a little station called Kloofeind. There we would picnic under the trees and wait for the choo choos. It was a busy line and we saw lots. Ag, ek is sommer nou hartseer! Ettienne le Roux....I studied him at university in Afrikaans Nederlands. Sewe day by die Silbersteins. Very wierd book. He certainly has a beautiful resting place. Ja nee, daai wind gons! Thanks for a unique and special video.
You say the train line was busy and you saw lots of trains. That must be a fantastic memory of a special time with your family. 😍🚂
@@DustBugsTravel very special memory. I am going back the 60"s and early 70
What a a interesting town must have been thriving back in the day love the kettle and cup and saucer old steam traction engine. I've told people how good the accommodation was on the mines amazing very interesting about Pow camp I knew the son of the guy who started Putco busses he was a Italian Pow because he was a good mechanic the local farmers would ask him to fix tractors cars etc when the war ended he stayed in South Africa where he started putco busses I remembered visiting his house massive with loads of marble thanks for trip and bringing back so many memories cheerio till the next one
My own grandparents had two Itialian POW live-ins. They became part of the family but were forced to return to Italy after Hitler's war. There is the most tragic yet romantic story of an Italian POW, which visitors to Nuy On The Hill can experience, including a monument for the real hero's grave. Visiting the Nuy olive & wine farms just east of Worcester comes highly recommended.
@@Afriqueleblanq hi from Kent England this history is not greatly known but very interesting by coincidence a while back I went to a local dentist it happened to be my pals nephew small world all the best 👍
@Charlie Treston What an interesting recollection of your Italian friend, thank you for sharing that with us. We were very surprised to see all those artefacts, the kettle and cup-and-saucer at the entrance to town in fairly good condition still. It was an interesting visit to Koffiefontein and our accommodation was super comfortable. Thank you for joining us on this leg of our journey! 😁☕
Ettiene 's father was Stephanus (SP) le Roux, a minister in the cabinets of PrimeMinisters DF Malan and JG Strijdom. His godfather (peetpa) was the well-known parliamentarian CJ (Neelsie) Langenhoven, also a writer and digter? (Wrote the words "Die Stem" , the previous national anthem. Another person born there was Walther (Whal) Battiss who do a study on Bushman rock art. John Vorster and his Ossewa-Brandwag members was not pro-Nazi, they was nationalist and against Jan Smuts policy to participate in WW2. Only Afrikaner who was found quilty as a Nazi was Robey Leibrandt, his grave is in town cemetery Ladybrand. John Vorster s prison number was 2229/42, located in House 48, Camp 1, Koffiefontein.....
Thank you for the info! 👍🏻 CJ Langenhoven was indeed the poet who was most probably best known for writing the Afrikaans lyrics of the national anthem at the time. We visited Somerset East earlier in the year and I was under the impression that Walter Battiss was born in that town. 🤔 Perhaps I did not express myself correctly as I was walking around at the site of the internment camp, but I didn't mean to indicate that John Vorster was pro-Nazi, I merely wanted to relay that he was also held at that facility.
The views from that grave site👌👌👌👌👌
A pretty mining town just a pity another station not working. Just loved your accomadation very beautiful quest house. Thank you.
Our guesthouse was lovely and a fantastic way to spend a relaxing evening. 😊 There was absolutely nothing left of that station, other than the nameboards. Nonetheless, it was an interesting visit to Koffiefontein and we're happy you could join us. 😁🚗
Picturesque old mine heap👌👌👌
Thanks again for a very informative and historical tour. Well done and thanks that you showed us the grave. Every episode you post is a bonus to me
I just had to find the grave, glad you also found it interesting. We always appreciate you joining us in each new place we visit! 😁🚗
Thank you. This video meant much as my father was in the German camp due to his surname. He was in the Police before the war in SwartRuggens and was sent home only to be taken to the Concentration camp although he did nothing. I could see where my father used to walk from 1942 to 1945. The Ossewa Brandwag men were in a different Camp like John Vorster.
I'm waiting patiently to see my home town,Ugie, farmers and also Maclea
I'll certainly make a note and see if we can include them in a future visit to the Eastern Cape! 😁🚗
Super addictive channel. So glad to see you. These videos are really informative. Thanks for the virtual tours.
Thank you you two for taking us on another road trip in our beautiful country. Yea, it's very sad to see our once striving country in this bad state as it is in... Best of luck on your next adventure. Keep safe and God bless..............
We're also often saddened when we see the decay in some of the towns we visit. 😢 Fortunately there are always good and positive things to also enjoy in every single place, without exception, and we're very happy about that. We appreciate you watching our videos and look forward to you accompanying us to many more places. 😁🚗
Neat town, big yards, big houses
Hello julle, this is a town i always wanted to see....super excited 🙂 a friend of mine from prieska goes to koffiefontei and he use to always tell me about this town. I wish i was "dusty" in the back of that car to explore all these places with you. hehe
But you're right there on the back seat with Dusty! 🧸😁 Koffiefontein is an interesting town with quite an intriguing and rich history. Glad you could join us! 👍☕
Lovely guesthouse !!
Wow!!!! That bridge!!!👌👌👌
Its old they promised to build a new one that's my home town
Great trip, very interesting thank you. We lived in Koffie in the late 70's. Remember talking to Etienne Leroux in Afrikaans in the mine bar. Roads looked a lot different then. Our mine house overlooked the lake. Pep stores still there in the same place 45 years later. Keep up the great work.
Good Afternoon you two , how are you two? Hope you doing well . I am sending you this Comment from Basingstoke Hampshire UK. Oh gosh that was one beautyful Town. From Koffiefontein you drive rough Jacobsdal to Douglas and Richie. Jou can go and look where the Orange River and the Vaalriver come together . In the end you arrive in Kimberly. Thanks you two for the video 😘😘😊🤗👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻👌🏻God bless you on your Trip . Lg. H . M . I view 65 Dorpies , startet in Benoni and all the way around the Freestaad , amazing and beautiful! And please carry on.
Hello to you in the UK! We're both very well, thank you! We're glad to hear that you enjoyed our visit to Koffiefontein. We'll certainly keep that route you detailed in mind when we're in the area again next time. It's fantastic that you visited so many South African towns during your visit, we love that! We hope to take you to a few more you haven't been to just yet! 😁🚗 Take care!
Love it!!!!
I can still visualise the station. Grew up there.
There is a gravel road between Fauresmith and Koffiefontein, my mother in law used to live on a farm next to that road. I wonder if the water canal is still in operation.
The coffee kettle used to pour out water before the big collapse took place.
I would've loved to take that gravel road, but time was against us that day and we're super slow on gravel because there is always so much to see. I'll definitely look at taking that one when we're in the area next. My wife recalls seeing some canals on another gravel road in the area, but I'm unable to place it. Thank you for visiting Koffiefontein with us! 😁🚗
Koffiefontein did not have a good vibe but as a history lesson it was informative.
We haven't happened upon the perfect place just yet, but there is certainly good left in every single one we've visited. Thank you for watching. 😊🚗
Hi Sir im OPPERMAN in Cape town would just like to know if you could help me getting hold of my family history at the farm OPPERMANgronde
Next time you visit the eastern Free State,, visit Gumtree Station between Clocolan and Ficksburg. The highest sandstone building in the southern hemisphere. Old Mills and a station with a rich history.
There is a place called Theron, 4 houses and a train station. It is on Google earth. Please go there. My late father was the station forman there in 1976. Would love to see that place.
I've made a note and whenever we're in the Theunissen area on a future visit to the Free State, we'll most certainly try and include it. Thank you for the suggestion. 🚗😎
the water damage on the outside of that church is something to see
Vorster's son was our neighbor, we used to see the old man (his father) with his black hat when he visited. The mine suburb looks terrific with its trees and homes. The Blue Diamond Guesthouse looks great, great lapa and refreshing pool. I've always wondered what town has the open cast mine that one sees from the plane when looking down...it must be Koffiefontein.
It must've been quite cool to see John Vorster in person in such a personal setting when he visited his son nextdoor. He was Prime Minister and State President when both Sonia and I were fairly young and both of us basically only have his state funeral being broadcast live on TV as our first realtime memory of him. I actually can't believe that that's almost 40 years ago already. 😳 I must look down more when we fly again, I've never noticed the big hole. That must be quite a sight! We found the mine suburb very interesting and neat. Actually I find the whole concept of a mining community quite fascinating. Our guesthouse was super relaxing and comfortable, no wonder visitors to the mine often fequent this particular establishment. We're happy that you travelled to Koffiefontein with us! 🚗☕
The huge open cast mine is at Jagersfontein and it beats Kimberley's supposed Big Hole by the size of a tennis court.
When flying between Capetown and Johannesburg you see Koffiefontein's open cast.
Yet again a place once visited well over fifty years ago, and then only a farm in the district, from Jacobsdal. I've never seen this lovely little town, so thanks for the intro. Your episodes are just getting better and better, and Sonia's chuckle adds warmness to the experience. Sometimes, I watch Koffiefontein and Luckhoff when we pass over at thirty thousand feet; pax get bored and start looking outside. My game is to recognise objects and places on the ground, based upon my map knowledge and a tiny sprinkling of common sense. Yeah, I'm that crazy guy who reads maps and dictionaries for leisure.........
Something about that internment camp: Afrikaner blood is about 40% Nederlands ("Dutch") and 40% Deutsch ("German"), 9% French, 8% Scottish and the rest was one wild party. BUT, given the substantial Teutonic DNA content, be sure that much of the pro-German support was actually an anti-British sentiment, something that lingers to this day. The British surely didn't attempt to make themselves very welcome here, and the Anglo Boer War just reinforced that sentiment. Given any opportunity, they would gladly oppose the British (especially the English) and really didn't need Nazi sentiments to motivate them. Yes, there was a pro-Nazi movement but that was mostly because the Nazi's were Germans.
We're glad you visited Koffiefontein with us. You're the second viewer who mentions seeing the town from an aeroplane, so I'll make an effort to see if I can spot it too next time we fly. They better not put me over a wing then! It makes complete sense to me that you would try and place places on the ground from up in the air. I do the same with coastlines, bigger towns and such, but have never looked for the smaller places, not that I knew much about Koffiefontein before our visit. 😁 Thank you for the fascinating input about the internment camp, I just wish more of it were preserved somehow so that those stories could be told in more detail. We'll see you again in Luckhoff! 🤩🚗
@@DustBugsTravel I really read atlases and dictionaries for leisure. Therefore, I quite know the lay of the land, also from flight level 350
😀
Which you could have seen Koffiefontein in the early year unfortunately it has been destroyed by the ANC. Early years it would win year after year - the cleanest town in this part. It was a lovely town to grow up in.
My oupa en ouma Jacobs le in die Koffiefontein begrafplaas, my pa is daar gebore, blykbaar was Jacobsdal my oupa grooitjie se plaas, my pa het baie van sy kinder jare staaltjies met ons gedeel oor hoe hy en sy broers in die Rietrivier geswem het, hy het ook baie van Ettiene Le Roux gepraat, my pa was in 1919 gebore, dit was vir my nostalgies om te kon sien waar my pa gebore, gedoop, en skool gegaan het. Dankie dit was baie interresant, ja so jammer die land word so afgebreek.
Thank you for sharing those personal associations that your family has with Koffierivier with us. We're glad that we could show you a little bit of the town where your father was born. We hope you'll visit more places with us. 😊🚗
Hi ek is n OPPERMAN kn u my se ken u d family gronde vn OPPERMAN da by Koffiefontein
D rede hkom ek vra x opsoek na d geskiedenis vn my family da by OPPERMAN gronde
Sowat 8jr gelede het Touch of Class 'n liedjie geskryf en gesing oor Koffiefontein.
I just watched the music video. What a cool song, I had no idea! 😁 Some of the artefacts are definitely in a worse condition now than when the video was filmed. Water was still pouring from the coffee pot too. 😏☕
Amazing! You have the ability to took away the depro that comes with the festive season. I love the old buildings and cemetry. Please drive safely and my wish is to meet to meet you guys in the new year . You sound like an opregte boertjie. Thanks!
I am an English-speaking person who spent many years in the Free State, therefore the accent. 😁 It's actually amazing when one looks at the beauty that still surrounds us in this country. I'm happy to hear that your festive blues were somewhat lightened by our visit to Koffiefontein! We hope to take you to many more places with us! 🤩🚗 Keep smiling!
The graveyard near Koffiefontein is well worth visiting to get an idea of the towns history. Those Italian murals had a roof when we were there a few years ago as far as I remember.
I did take a walk through the cemetery after we visited the Anglo-Boer war memorial. I always find them very interesting for the stories they tell. I saw a music video shot in Koffiefontein about eight years ago and the artefacts were all much more complete than what they are today. It seems as if the roof over the murals was another casualty, only the structure remains. 😏
@@DustBugsTravel glad you had the chance to go to the cemetery.. I was sorry to think you had missed it😊
Wow that bridge my heart almost stopped
The bridge is definitely not a young one anymore, but it felt sturdy enough. We just love single-lane bridges! 🚗🌁
As jy by die myn ingaan is daar 'n uitkyk punt oor die myn se MASIEWE gat wat met die hand begin was en vandag nog gemyn word.
We would've loved to see that, but I'm not sure how one gains access. We asked quite a few locals, including our host, and was told that there was no way to get closer to observe the mine or its operations. Thank you for the info. 👍🏻
@@DustBugsTravel you go to mine reception and they let you in, thats how i did it a few years back
Die uitkykpunt is ongelukkig al n paar jaar toe.
I’ve seen the most cars in this town!!!
Ai you guys should have made a turn by the old prison where the “hang Paal” was exercised by the river, most definitely sharing with the local fb page
Sounds interesting. We asked so many people in town what there is to see and no-one even mentioned the old prison and we had no idea! 🤷🏼♂️ We'll have to check it out on a future visit back to the area. Thank you for sharing our video! 😊
There is also the open pit that you can have an Arial view of the mine and also the canal that transports water to the farms and oppermasgrond.
And the flood area of the 80's on the river bank
Go to the train and kettle they once stole the kettle but it was recovered
59000 carats of diamonds out the mine
Thanks for the info. 👍🏻
Good riddance, that's 11 800 grams if my Math doesn't fail me.
Koffiefonein reminds me of the concentration camp for the German men during the 2nd World War!! Although the war over in 1945 the men were only released on 1948 when Smuts was removed and D.F.Malan came to power with the NP!!😊
Potholes delux 😂. Yo Die plek Se paaie is stukkend. Hulle Sal beter af wees met mooi gegradueerde grond paaie.
We were actually surprised at how much better the gravel roads between the towns were than the tar roads in some of the towns. Potholes or not, we'll always take gravel over tar whenever and wherever we can! 😁🚗
Is net n gemors vinaam die pad Bloemfontein toe is nie lekker nie mar dis my dorpie dis war ek gebore is
our coffee in CoffeeFountain. Ya nee daai dae
The coffee truly did taste better in Koffiefontein that morning! 😁☕
I suppose the population there is mainly Griqua and either Basotho or Batswana, or both, then Afrikaners and perhaps some other ethnicity. It would be interesting to know more about the spread of languages there.
Interesting that you should mention that. I thought that we would meet more Sotho-speaking folks in the Free State, including Koffiefontein, but there were as many Xhosa speakers as we chatted to the locals we passed by in town. The town is predominantly Afrikaans-speaking in my view, but these observations are obviously based on spending a very short time in the town. 🗣️
FANTASTIC!!!
Glad you found this episode enjoyable! 😎🚗