When you explore Bothaville and its surroundings, it immediately becomes clear why NAMPO is held here every year. After all, it is home to vast cornfields and a flourishing farm industry. And indeed, thanks to its fertile terrain, the Free State is considered South Africa’s breadbasket. Hoopstad and Kroonstad are also important agriculture hubs in this province. The history of these places can be traced back to the Voortrekkers, who undertook a “Great Trek” eastwards during the 1830s so that they could live independently from the British. In a way, our journey across these amazing lands today evokes a sense of freedom that those trekkers must have felt all those years ago.
