July 26, 2013
According to Lonely Planet (and every single local we spoke to), Clarens is the place to go for a weekend away. However, no one could actually tell me why or what exactly to do there. But alas, we trusted, and packed ourselves into our car and headed 310 kilometres south to this tiny mountain town for two nights to get out of the city and to celebrate our upcoming anniversary.
On a much smaller scale, it reminded us of Canmore; a very special little dot in the Canadian Rockies where we've spent many weekend getaways during our time in Alberta.
The town sits next to Lesotho, with several mountain ranges serving as its backdrop. There is a main park in the centre of town, with quirky little shops, galleries and cafes lining all sides of the square's green space.
Our favourite feature of Clarens: we parked our car on Friday night and did not move it again until Sunday when we were ready to make our way back to Joburg. With everything so close by, and a reputation for being very safe, our feet were the only transportation we needed.
We ate our hearts out, hiked the nearby cliffs until we lost our breath, sampled the local brewery's specialties, enjoyed spectacular scenery, and basically just basked in Clarens for 48 hours. Bliss.
We did a leisurely hike around the cliffs near town on Saturday morning- not a soul in sight!
Exploring the town
Beer/Cider tasting at the local craft brewery
Signs around town
The Golden Gate Highlands National park is only 17km from Clarens, so we spent Sunday exploring the park before heading back to Joburg.
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