Roxanne Reid - Africa Addict
  • Home
  • Book author
    • Travels in the Kalahari >
      • Photo gallery: Travels in the Kalahari
      • Book reviews: Travels in the Kalahari
    • A Walk in the Park >
      • Photo gallery: A Walk in the Park
      • Book reviews: A Walk in the Park
    • The Essential Guide to Self-Editing >
      • Book reviews: Essential Guide to Self-Editing
    • Betrayed
    • Book reviews online
  • Editing & proofreading
  • In the media
    • Travel features
    • Health features
    • Online media
    • Media kit
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Links
  • Contact

Why to visit the Royal Hotel, Bethulie, Free State

10/4/2019

14 Comments

 
The Royal Hotel, Bethulie, Free State
​By Roxanne Reid
It’s like falling down Alice’s rabbit hole to a wacky world where there’s no front door, walls are made of books, friendly ghosts walk the passages, and you’ll meet a character just as intriguing as the March Hare. Find out why to visit the Royal Hotel, Bethulie, Free State.

​Bethulie lies in sheep-and-cattle country in South Africa’s dry heartland. Call it the Free State or even the Upper Karoo, no one will argue. Founded back in the 1820s, it sits on the northern banks of the Orange River about 50km from the massive Gariep Dam.

At first sight this dusty little dorp looks like it has little to offer a visitor. You might wonder what the hell you’re doing here and whether you should turn tail and run – especially when you can’t find an entrance to your accommodation at the Royal Hotel. Litter and dry leaves scuttle across the pavement and the midday heat beats down as you walk the length and breadth of the hotel’s facade. Not a door is unlocked. Eventually you’ll go round the back, through an eerily empty parking lot and hear voices through a half-open door.
Royal Hotel Bethulie
The hotel faces the street on two sides yet you have to go round the back to find the entrance
​Yes, the young woman told me, I was in the right place. If I just went to that door around the back and waited, someone would let me in.

I did and before long the hotel’s owner, Anthony Hocking, was beetling his bushy brows at me, smiling a Cheshire Cat welcome and gesturing me in.

Down the rabbit hole.

One step inside and all you see are narrow wood-floored passages lined with books. More books than you’ve ever seen in one place outside a library. (Probably more books than inside a lot of libraries.) This is the reason I’m here. Because I’ve heard about it. And I love books.
Inside The Royal Hotel in Bethulie, South Africa
The book passage, your first sight of the Royal Hotel's interior
There’s a rabbit warren of dimly lit reception rooms stuffed with books and vinyls too (or LP records to the oldies among you). You see, Anthony is a bit of a pack rat, but with very specific tastes. He reckons his collection totals about 120 000 books and 80 000 records, but only a fraction of those are on display in the hotel. The rest spill over into his house across the road, and one or two other buildings he owns nearby.
Bethulie accommodation: the Royal Hotel
No, it's not wallpaper - books, books, books everywhere
The collection is eclectic. Some of the books may be valuable, others he perhaps used for research when he was writing his own books, a medley of works about the paper and mining industries, the Oppenheimers, a series about Canada. The collection includes history and biography, travel and art, as well as a ton of fiction paperbacks, some of them bought for a pittance as job lots to fill the boundless spaces.

The tale of the Royal Hotel
Back in the 1860s the building that was to give way to the Royal Hotel was a trading store owned by JB Robinson who later made a big splash in diamonds and gold. The hotel itself was founded in the 1870s and has seen its share of well known people, like the infamous Lord Kitchener and Boer President Marthinus Steyn.

Anthony has had a home across the road since 1983 so he watched as the Royal Hotel slid into shabby dilapidation. After it was auctioned and the deal fell through he bought it for a song in 2005, not quite sure what he was going to do with it. Luckily, he soon struck a deal to fill the rooms with people manning road blocks in the area. That brought in some income for about 18 months. Later, a Spanish tour company expressed interest in adding the hotel to their stopover route if he’d restore it. And that’s how the Royal Hotel’s renaissance began.
Bethulie hotel's collection of vinyls
Just a few of the vinyls in the extensive collection
It makes a good base for visitors who want to explore the historical sites of Bethulie. And although nothing was happening when we stayed there, you might strike it lucky and visit when a music recital, poetry reading, wine weekend or murder mystery weekend is on the go.

The rooms are nothing fancy, but they’re clean and have all the bits and bobs you need, including a life-saving portable fan to cope with the summer heat. It’s enough for anyone who’s there chiefly for the deluge of books.

Stories, stories, stories
A collection that’s more subtle, less in-your-face than the books or vinyls is the anthology of stories that Anthony has on the tip of his tongue. He styles himself a storyteller and raconteur and can certainly spin a good yarn, whether it’s about the town’s history or his own life adventures.

Over dinner, as we sat dwarfed by books from floor to ceiling, we discovered he’s a keen Bethulie historian and a bit of an Anglo Boer War buff. He drenched us in stories of the war and of his days as a dishwasher in Montmartre or working on a ship during his university holidays. Over breakfast he told us more about ‘the war’ (which around here always refers to the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902) and about the hoax debutante ball he and some friends at Oxford threw together for a lark.

​He tells a ripping ghost story too. Inset into the walls of books are a few panels where paintings hang. Four of them in one of the reception rooms are blank white spaces. Those, he insists, are portraits of ghosts, who he describes in great detail – like actress Joey Uys whose ghost helps to keep the others upbeat. Generally, they’re a peaceful lot so there’s no need to be afraid.  
Bethulie Royal Hotel has a few ghosts
Portraits of two of the 'ghosts'
Stories come burbling out non-stop. If you look interested and he’s not busy he might volunteer to take you to see historical sites around the town, all the while relating tales about shenanigans and perhaps some bad behaviour in the old days. His Duracell-bunny energy and tendency to jump from story to story can be exhausting, battering your brain with new information at breakneck speed. But if you can keep up, you’ll learn a lot of fascinating stuff.

Things to do in Bethulie
Obviously, experiencing the Royal Hotel’s book and vinyl collections and meeting its colourful owner are hefty reasons to stay over in Bethulie. But they’re not the only things to do in this small town. Here are some others.

1. Visit the oldest house north of the Orange River. Back in 1828 there was a London Missionary Society station here to convert the San, until Jean Pierre Pellissier of the Paris Missionary Society arrived in 1832. The Pellissier House museum dates back to 1834-35 and now has displays that include old furniture, photos, clothes and war relics. 
Pellissier House, Bethulie
Pellissier House, the oldest house in the Free State
2. See the house where actor and storyteller Patrick Mynhardt lived as a boy. He is best remembered for his renditions of Herman Charles Bosman’s character Oom Schalk Lourens and for his autobiography The Boy from Bethulie.

3. Visit the Louw Wepener monument on a farm 10km west of Bethulie on the Springfontein road (R715). Wepener led the southern Free State commandos during the second Basotho War and was killed in 1865 while trying to storm Moshoeshoe’s mountain fortress of Thaba Bosiu.
Louw Wepener monument, Bethulie
Louw Wepener monument
4. If you’re interested in San rock art and fossils, you’re in luck. Talk to Anthony for more info about a guide who can take you to see them. You probably need to arrange this ahead.

5. Pay homage at the Bethulie concentration camp cemetery, Kamp Kerkhof, where 5000 people were interned. When it was thought the Gariep Dam was going to flood the original Anglo Boer War concentration camp site, bones were exhumed and reburied on higher ground just out of town in 1966. (Later it was discovered there was too much porous dolerite underlying where they planned to put the dam so it was built in its current position instead.) At one place in the monument it says 1737 people died here during the Anglo Boer War, in another place it says 1714. Either way, it’s a lot. At the back, under lock and key, are some of the original rough gravestones. The monument is made of austere grey stone and when we visited a blistering wind made for an appropriately grim atmosphere. 
Things to do in Bethulie: Kamp Kerkhof concentration camp
Kamp Kerkhof, the Bethulie concentration camp cemetery and memorial
​We also went to the site of the actual concentration camp with Anthony, finding a desolate piece of veld and some remnants of broken gravestones. As many as 5000 people were interred here at full capacity. It was the worst of all 33 camps around the country – largely because the civilian running it was lazy and inexperienced. He put the tents too close together so disease spread quickly. Clean water was in short supply and the inmates used stream water that was contaminated by cattle that had died of rinderpest and been buried upstream. Typhoid spread like wildfire in the cramped conditions.

At the original site there’s also a strange blockish monument that looks like a ruin but in fact was never finished. British wellwishers funded the monument as the first of a series showing solidarity with Boer women. Construction started in 1918 but money ran out and so it was never finished.
Unfinished monument, Anglo Boer War, Bethulie concentration camp
Unfinished monument at the site of the Bethulie concentration camp
6. Take a drive to the Gariep Dam about 50km from Bethulie on the R701. It was completed in 1971 and is the biggest in South Africa, with a surface area of 374 square kilometres and storage capacity of 5,340,000 megalitres. Here you’ll find activities like water sports and game viewing in the adjacent nature reserve, where you might spot wildebeest, eland, kudu, red hartebeest, springbok and other antelope. Word is that the dam is silting up and there’s a plan to raise the dam wall.

7. At sunrise or sunset feast your eyes on the arched sandstone bridge across the Orange River. Known as the Hennie Steyn Bridge, it’s the longest road-rail bridge in South Africa. At 1.2km, it connects the Free State to the Eastern Cape.
Hennie Steyn Bridge, longest road-rail bridge in South Africa
Longest road-rail bridge in South Africa
8. If you’re a history buff, there are many more old buildings and monuments to discover in Bethulie, from an ox wagon monument and a monument to honour the role horses have played in South Africa’s history, to the Dutch Reformed church completed in 1887 and now a national monument.
Bethulie waterworks
What's left of an old water cooling plant at Bethulie's former power station
​9. Visit the old railway station at the edge of town. It’s an atmospheric corrugated iron building dating back to 1894 and painted a sun-bleached red. It has a connection to the Bethulie ‘book hotel’ or  ‘House of Stories’ too. When it was slated for demolition, Royal Hotel owner Anthony Hocking, who loves a bit of history, bought it to save it from destruction. For his efforts in preserving this small piece of heritage, the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (an organisation dedicated to preserving Afrikaans culture and heritage) recently gave Anthony (a dyed-in-the-wool Englishman) an award. He’s understandably chuffed.
Old railway station, Bethulie, Free State
The old railway station
10. If you’re looking for something more action-packed, there’s hiking, cycling (on-road and off-road trails), fishing, star-gazing and ghost hunting. If those don’t appeal to you, just sit back and do bugger all – it’s equally exhilarating.

​Like it? Pin this image! 
Love books and vinyls? There’s a grand collection at the Royal Hotel in Bethulie in the Free State, South Africa. Other reasons to visit this Bethulie accommodation are things to do in Bethulie: see South Africa’s largest dam (Gariep Dam), hear stories of Anglo Boer War history and the worst concentration camp in South Africa, see the oldest house in the Free State and the longest road-rail bridge in South Africa. #bethulie #RoyalHotel #bookhotel
Love books and vinyls? There’s a grand collection at the Royal Hotel in Bethulie in the Free State, South Africa. Other reasons to visit this Bethulie accommodation are things to do in Bethulie: see South Africa’s largest dam (Gariep Dam), hear stories of Anglo Boer War history and the worst concentration camp in South Africa, see the oldest house in the Free State and the longest road-rail bridge in South Africa. #bethulie #RoyalHotel #bookhotel
You may also enjoy
15 things to do in Clarens in the Free State
Maliba Lodge: a romantic & honeymoon getaway
​
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
14 Comments
Carel van Niekerk
12/4/2019 09:18:16 am

Very interesting place. I will definitely stop threre next time

Reply
Roxanne
12/4/2019 10:09:03 am

I hope it gives you a kick, Carel. It certainly did for us.

Reply
Cheryl Oakley
12/4/2019 09:42:21 pm

A book lovers dream. What an interesting place to visit. As i am a librarian would want to index them. What a job!!

Reply
Roxanne
13/4/2019 07:53:48 am

Oh my word, Cheryl, indexing 120 000 books would be a mammoth task! I bet you'd find a few duplicates too.

Reply
Peter Davies
15/4/2019 05:01:09 pm

Thanks so much for your description of this hotel Roxanne. It certainly is an amazing experience and a good reason to visit Bethulie for the history and the beautiful southern Free State landscape.

Reply
Roxanne
16/4/2019 06:47:14 am

Glad you enjoyed it, Peter. The hotel is quirky and the history fascinating.

Reply
Andre Meyer
7/6/2019 04:03:37 pm

Thank you Roxanne this was really interesting to read and something to remember if ever I pass Bethulie ( bucket list)

Reply
Roxanne Reid
7/6/2019 04:36:49 pm

Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Andre. It was on my bucket list for a couple of years too, then we grabbed the chance on our way back from Lesotho.

Reply
Lefras Erasmus
25/7/2020 05:57:32 pm

Roxanne Reid, not your normal request, I am a restorer of historical buildings by profession - need a retirement project for my own occupation and not commercial - I have been trying to contact Anthony Hocking about the Bethulie Railway Station - covid 19 maybe blocking phone and web attempts - do you have it in you to pass on an e-mail address - or perhaps right direction to proceed in ? Regards .

Reply
Roxanne
28/7/2020 11:58:46 am

Hi Lefras, I've also had trouble communicating with him in the past. I've sent emails that he doesn't get. The latest communication I had from him was from ach[at] absamail.co.za so perhaps that's the one to try. Or perhaps phone the number listed on the website, 071 683 7767.

Reply
Neville Baker
7/2/2021 08:26:48 am

BETHULIE IS A LOVELY PLACE. LIVED THERE 5 YEARS WHERE I MOVED FROM P.E. TO FISH. WONDERFUL PEOPLE. THE FUN WE HAD AT THE PUB "DIE OU KAR". MY HOUSE WAS ACROSS THE STREET FROM MUSEUM AND THE OLD POWE STATION OVER MY BACK FENCE. IM BACK IN P.E. NOW RETIRED AND HAVE THE FONDEST MEMORIES OF GOOD OLD BETHULIE. I CANT WRITE ABOUT EVERYTHING, NO SPACE. BUT BETHULIE GAVE ME A MEMORY I SHALL NEVER FORGET. THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE THERE. DEAD THERE - NEVER!

Reply
Roxanne
7/2/2021 09:12:35 am

Thanks for your comments, Neville. What wonderful memories you have!

Reply
Geoff Quesnell
7/12/2021 07:05:18 pm

My Dad worked for Caltex for 42 years. He travelled Southern Free State regularly and I am sure he frequently stayed at the hotel. That would have been round about 1960. One sweltering day he was cooling down with a beer in the pub when another Caltex employee bumped into him and reported him for drinking during working hours. They took him off the road for that. Miserable Boggers. Geoff Quesnell age 80.

Reply
Roxanne Reid
7/12/2021 07:28:16 pm

Great memories, Geoff. Of course, the hotel would have been very different then. I have to wonder what the other Caltex worker was doing in that bar to see your dad! Tough break.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Get email links to the latest posts

    Buy my books
    Travels in the Kalahari, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2012​

    A Walk in the Park, amazon.com e-book
    2nd ed e-book 2015
    The Essential Guide to Self-Editing, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2017

    About 

    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
    My travel buddy and husband Keith is the primary photographer for this blog.
    We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.
    Use this website to discover new places to go, revisit places you've loved, or take a virtual tour of destinations you only dream about.

    Categories

    All
    Baviaanskloof
    Books
    Botswana
    Camping
    Cape Town
    Chobe
    Conservation
    Drc
    Eastern Cape
    Etosha Namibia
    Food
    Free State
    Garden Route
    Gauteng
    Issues
    Kalahari
    Karoo
    Kenya
    Kruger National Park
    Kwazulu Natal
    Lesotho
    Limpopo
    Linyanti
    Malawi
    Mozambique
    Mpumalanga
    Namaqualand
    Namibia
    Nature Parks
    Northern Cape
    Okavango
    Overberg
    People
    Photography
    Richtersveld
    Tanzania
    West Coast
    Western Cape
    Wild Creatures
    Zambia
    Zimbabwe

    Archives

    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    January 2010
    November 2009


Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za

Privacy Policy, GDPR and POPIA compliance
​* We promise that we take data safety seriously and use your private data only to offer a personalised experience
* If you subscribed to our newsletter, you will receive our newsletters. You can always unsubscribe by following the link in email or by emailing us
* If you gave us your name, it will only be used to personalise the newsletters
* We have never sold, we are not selling, and we will not sell any of your personal data provided to us
* The blog uses cookies to track activity. It is anonymous except for telling us your location and what you did on our blog
​
Photo used under Creative Commons from berniedup