Swinburne is a little village just off the N3 National Route south of Harrismith, in the Free State province of South Africa.
Overview
| Country: | South Africa |
| Province: | Free State |
| District: | Thabo Mofutsanyana |
| Municipality: | Maluti-A-Phofung |
| Named After: | Sir John Swinburne |
| Time Zone: | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| PO Box: | 9883 |
About Swinburne
The village of Swinburne is named after Sir John Swinburne (1831-1914), the 7th Baronet of Capheaton and Sheriff of Northumberland.
Swinburne is a stopover point for travellers between Durban and Johannesburg, perched on the edge of the Drakensberg escarpment. The village has few amenities above a basic shop, restaurant and pub known as the ‘Hound and Hare’.
Swinburne is located between Harrismith and Van Reenen (both more popular stops on the N3), approximately 359 km northeast of Bloemfontein, the provincial capital and judicial capital of the country.
The village is also located approximately 24.3 km (a 22-minute drive) southeast of Harrismith via the N3 National Route and approximately 70.1 km (a 51-minute drive) northeast of Phuthaditjhaba, the seat of the Local Municipality and District, via the R712 Regional Route and N3 National Route.
The village has one of the oldest bridges in the Free State province which was opened 1884 and spans the Wilge River.
Swinburne also claims as its own the Rensburgkop Mountain, which looms over the town and is a firm favourite with climbers, mountain bikers and hikers. The Bald Ibis Hiking Trail, one of very few weekend backpack trails close enough to Gauteng, starts in Swinburne.
Yellowwood forests, grassy plains and typical mountain weather that can have you pulling your windbreaker on and off depending on which season strikes in which hour of the day all help contribute to a beautiful sometimes flower strewn countryside. Rather quaintly, the Bald Ibis trail includes a ‘windy corner’, which can be a little difficult to negotiate should it be a windy day.
If you have travelled the road between Johannesburg and Durban by bus at any stage in South Africa you will most likely have stopped at Swinburne, whether or not you were aware that it was actually Swinburne. This is because most people actually think Swinburne is just a petrol station where buses, cars and their passengers take a break whilst filling up with the necessary to complete the journey.
