Photo: Yolanda Lemmer
Traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see as visitors waited to enter Nampo Park in Bothaville for the Nampo Harvest Day 2025. Nampo is an annual event, which will run from 13 to 16 May this year. Thousands of visitors are expected to visit the showground.
‘Nampo is not going anywhere’
The traffic on the R30 through Bothaville to Nampo Park can easily be compared to peak-hour traffic on the N1 to Johannesburg during a weekday.
However, motorists are generally more relaxed in this agricultural area of the Free State than their city counterparts, even though the temperature dropped to 4°C early this morning, and Toyota Hiluxes, Fortuners and buses drove bumper-to-bumper.
It took the Farmer’s Weekly team around an hour to travel the 17kms from our accommodation.
“The traffic is not worse than last year, or the year before that,” said Bennie Zaayman, manager of Nampo Park. “There is, unfortunately, only one road going through Bothaville. That’s something we cannot change.”
“Be patient. Be relaxed. Nampo is not going anywhere,” Zaayman added.
Organisers geared to accommodate thousands of visitors
Nampo kicked off today, and organisers expect more than 86 000 visitors over the week. Accommodation is limited, with many visitors staying as far as Klerksdorp and Kroonstad.
“It’s usually an early start for visitors. I recommend leaving around 06:00. The peak traffic times are between 07:00 and 10:00. I suggest not arriving after that. There are over 800 exhibitors, and it’s worth taking your time to visit each one,” said Zaayman.
There is ample parking on the grounds. Zaayman said 25 000 vehicles used the parking facilities last year. “We can accommodate up to 30 000 vehicles per day.”
Growth of around 26%
Grain SA’s Nampo Harvest Day has grown from humble beginnings in 1967 to the largest agricultural trade exhibition in the southern hemisphere.
Statistics recently released by Grain SA show that, over the past 25 years (excluding 2020 and 2021), visitor numbers have increased by around 26% — from 68 900 in 2010 to 86 407 last year.
Visitors can also expect to see breed examples including cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.
Here are the stats:
- The exhibitor area spans over 40ha, with around 5ha undercover.
- The power supply at Nampo Park is serviced by 7km of voltage cable and 15 transformers.
- Nine boreholes and a main water line spanning 4,2km supply water to the showgrounds.
- 450 000 litres of water are consumed daily.
- The sewerage network is 4,65km long.
