Lindley

The tiny town of Lindley in the north Eastern Free State is best known for its working mill. Yes – it is that tiny, but don’t dismiss this little gem. It’s also quite special. Lindley is a typical Free State farming town, its economy centered on agriculture and its tourism profile supported by its location on the R57 Riemland Route, and it is bursting at its tiny seams with understated Voortrekker Heritage and rural Afrikaans culture.

Visit the rather unique looking and working mill, buy ‘Fancy Goods’ at Nonna’s se Winkel (Nonna’s Shop), and stock up on all sorts of solidly Afrikaans food stuffs and things such as Vetkoek (Fat Cake, which is delicious but as its name implies it will make you fat) and arts and crafts, visit the pretty churches and simply enjoy the hospitality and the ‘step back’ into a more relaxed day and age.

Despite its Afrikaans heritage, Lindley is named after an American Presbyterian minister, Daniel Lindley, who ministered to the Voortrekkers who founded the town in the 1800’s.

Besides farmlands, the area around Lindley supports game farms and country guesthouses.

Getting there: From Johannesburg take the R59 south to Sasolburg, then the R57 to Lindley via Heilbron.