The Valley of Art
Somewhere in the middle of a massive sandstone circle surrounded by the settlements of Aliwal North, Molteno, Jamestown and Burgersdorp lies a farm called Leliekloof – the Valley of Art.
Clearly this was once a place a lot of people wanted to get to. There are many signs to it, but not all of the winding roads are suited for platkarre (sedans) anymore. So, taking it slow in our old diesel bakkie, we carefully follow a hand-drawn map provided by Leliekloof’s Minnie de Klerk.
This is remote mountain country, outlaw country. Getting there is half the fun. We’re entering a world that geologists know as the Molteno Formation of the Stormberg Group, the Molteno Foundation, one of the topmost layers of the Karoo’s long geology. Local landmarks carry legendary names like Witkop and Predikantskop.
Anyone who knows the Eastern Free State would immediately recognise the sandstone formations, some baked hard by the, a distinctive woody shrub that is distantly related to the rose family.
