Tigers, moonshine and escaped convicts on the loose!
What does “white lightning”, breaking out of jail (legally) and rare tigers have in common with a Karoo dorp? Get to the Philippolis Witblits Festival to experience all three in an exciting fun-filled weekend in the Free State’s oldest town.

So, what's up?
The age-old secrets of distilling witblits, a traditional local moonshine will be revealed. This festival is unique in that the country’s only one at which witblits ("white lightning") is distilled, and legally - the town’s Transgariep Museum actually has a witblits distilling licence.
Jail Break! “Convicts” will escape from the original 1830 Philippolis jail and run the gauntlet of a "prison guard" army. Escapees will have to run, swim and abseil across 40 km of rough terrain within 12 hours.
Visit Tiger Canyon! Join maverick conservationist and filmmaker John Varty on two exclusive outings (numbers are limited) He will get you up close to endangered tigers and his ground-breaking conservation programme for wild cats.
Against the backdrop of the dwindling tiger populations in the wilds, Tiger Canyons was established 25 km north west of the town of Philippolis on the Van der Kloof Lake in the Karoo of South Africa. The tiger experience includes:
* A tiger talk and some film footage from Living with Tigers - 'JV' will tell you about the experiment, its mission and objectives.
* A game drive in a specially protected vehicle where you may get up close to free ranging tigers. The landscape and famous Karoo evening light provides perfect photographic opportunities to capture the tigers.
* Story telling, drumming and campfire singing.
* Supper

And if that isn’t enough to thrill you there’s a kaleidoscope of things to try out - quad bikes, line dancing, a potjie competition, boeresports for kids, food, wine tasting and more.

Missed the festival? Visits to Tiger Canyon can be booked throughout the year at a cost of R450 per person. Contact Sunette - Tel: 051 773 0063 Cell: 082 89 24680 or email info@jvbigcats.co.za, Tiger Canyons, Philippolis

Photos: ©John Varty