Whichever way you approach Clarens, the drive is beautiful. The R712 through Golden Gate Highlands National Park might be the most beautiful (where else does a public road cut through a conservation area, with the Drakensberg towering over you in golden hues?), but the route via Bethlehem from the north, through Naauwpoort Nek to the base of Rooiberg, is also wonderful: The pink cliffs hug the town closely, and to the south the purple curves of the Maluti Mountains reach into the sky.
Clarens was named after another mountainous place. In 1904, former president Paul Kruger spent his last months in exile in the village of Clarens in Switzerland. The settlement in South Africa was named in 1912 to commemorate the role Kruger played during the Basotho wars (1858-1868).
Those wars were mainly fought over land. Today, the only thing the residents of this small town fight over is a parking spot near the town square over a long weekend, especially if there's some sort of race happening.
This morning, about a thousand cyclists are riding the Cycle Lab Maluti Double 90. The town is abuzz and cyclists zip past. The weather forecast predicted buckets of rain and some of them look cold and miserable in their Lycra outfits.
Clarens has natural scenery and outdoor activities in abundance, but when the mountains are shrouded in cloud, there are also restaurants, shops, and art galleries to keep you busy.
Arts and crafts - and cats
At Clarens Inn & Backpackers, I grab a pamphlet for the Clarens Art Route. (The map is also available from many other shops in town.) The route's motto is "Art the heART of Clarens" and it includes 16 galleries.
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