Wepener is a small agricultural Free State town located on the border with Lesotho, in the Motheo district of the Free State Province, south of the Eastern Free State Highlands district.
Wepener sits on the banks of the Jammersbergspruit river, a tributary of the Caledon River, beneath the The Jammerberg, which means ‘Mountain of Sorrow’ and is so named for the area’s battle history and man the town was named after, Louw Wepener. The leader of Boer ‘army’ which fought Basotho tribal leader Moshoeshoe in the war of 1865, Louw Wepener was killed during the storming of Moshoeshoe’s stronghold of Thaba Bosiu.
Like almost every Free State town, Wepener’s centerpiece is a beautiful old sandstone Dutch Reform Church. Wepener’s church is a little different is appearance and also features the ‘Prince of Wale’s feathers’ on its steeple, in recognition of its design by a Welshman. A bust of town father Lou Wepener guards the entrance-way to the church and stands as a proud reminder of Wepener’s hard-won establishment.
The area around Wepener is very rural and scenic. There are sheep, cattle and horse ranches, dairy farming and maize and wheat fields, but is is also worth noting that the area was the site of many battles and prolonged ‘guerilla’ type warfare in the 1860’s, as the Boers fought the Basotho over land and resources, and quite a number of unmarked graves dot the landscape around Wepener.
Besides the town’s old architecture and beautiful rural and Maloti Mountain scenery, the main attraction here is the scenic Caledon Nature Reserve. The Reserve has several species of game and is a popular birding and angling spot, but it is best known for its unique floating camps, and well worth an overnight visit.
The Van Rooyen’s Gate borderpost to Lesotho is only 7km from Wepener.
Getting there: From Bloemfontein, take the R702 south via Dewetsdorp, or visit Wepener from Ladybrand on the R26 Maloti Route.
