Sandstone Easter Steam and Cosmos Festival 2023.

Join us from Friday 7th to Monday 10th April 2023 at Hoekfontein Farm, Ficksburg. Sandstone is on the R26 between Ficksburg and Fouriesburg, just north of Ficksburg, the cherry capital of the Eastern Free State.

Images: Charles Hugo

The farm was built up by the Wille family who were originally German missionaries. Wilfred Mole bought the complex with his wife Linda in 1995.  Sandstone Heritage Trust is based around the railway transport of Southern Africa, but also covers an extensive global road transport and military vehicle collection. The Trust presently has 22 locomotives in use on the estate, with another many other currently under restoration.

Visitors to the festival often describe it as “unforgettable” with authentic railway stations, corn fields and sunflower fields, its world-famous narrow gauge vintage steam railway, vintage aircraft and military vehicles, Sandstone Estates is a marvel for enthusiasts from all over the world.

Highlights will be a fly in with vintage aircraft. Aircraft like Tiger Moths, Chipmunks and Harvards, plus other historic aircraft usually form part of the event.

A wide variety of other vintage equipment like tanks and armoured vehicles, vintage cars, trucks, buses and farm equipment is all available for public viewing.

For those photographers, Sandstone Estate’s fields of cosmos will be in flower, a visual feast for nature lovers and alike.

This year, Sandstone  will also be offering flips in a Tiger Moth together with various other rides like the steam train ride on the world-famous two-foot Narrow Gauge Railway.

There will also be foods stalls, exhibitors, and a gift shop.

Entrance fee is R265 per adult and R150 per child under 12.

For those that wish to fly in:

The farm has a 900 meter grass runway, with a road crossing through it.

GPS co-ordinates: 28, 50, 42.05′ S/28, 00, 07.86′ E.

OFM, the Free State’s leading Radio Station, will be broadcasting live from Sandstone on Saturday 8th April from 11h00 to 15h00 with Shandor Potgieter. Tune in and enjoy the fun!

Note: The condition of the roads in the Sandstone area are not in very good condition and careful driving at a fairly low speed is mandatory. A great deal of the tarmac has now been scraped off,  leaving a dirt road with potholes for the last 30km or so.

Be at Sandstone for this Easter, we would love to see you there!

Call 051 933 2235 for enquiries or visit:

www.sandstone-estates.com